RE: Wheel Bearing Pullers (longish)

["Frank J. Bauer" <frankbauer@thevine.net>]

At 11:55 PM 2/23/99 PST, gerard@dockside.co.za wrote:
>$300+ is what I was hoping to avoid. I still think that
>the bearings and hubs can be pulled using generic
>equipment, like wheel pullers from Clarke (I think they're
>British).
>Is the Audi hub and bearing really that specialised
>compared to other cars that it needs to have an fantastic
>bearing puller especially made for it?
>I know the bearings on the 200 are quite large, but there
>must be a generic type of puller large enough to fit and
>pull it. What about those bearing splitters, what are
>those?
>Can anyone perhaps give directions on how the Audi
>bearing puller is used? By this I mean, giving the
>procedure for removing the bearing starting at the
>point where the wheel is still attached to the car.
>Perhaps then I/we can figure out at what point a generic
>gear/wheel/bearing puller can be hooked up to do the
>same job as the Audi puller.
>$100 for a bearing is also what my local Audi agent
>is asking for them. Who makes Audi bearings anyway?
>I looked around and all the bearing people (SKF and
>others) say that the Audi 100 and 200 all had the same
>bearings (ie. 5k and 5kt). Not true, but I know that
>100 auto and 200 auto 1988-1990 did use the same
>units. Just want to know who is the official manufacturer
>of the Audi bearings.
>G. (Bearing Puller Finder Extraordinaire).

SKF and FAG are typical oem bearings for vwag vehicles.
typical price is us$50 each. 
get new snap rings. some hubs use one, others use a pair.
before you start, make sure you have a fairly strong pair of internal snap
ring pliers, especially if they have rusted in place.
you start using the schley puller as soon as the cv joint is out of the hub
and the snap rings are out.
getting to that point is well covered in bentley, haynes, qlist archives,
web sites, etc.
this is a fairly generic tool.
what makes it special is the ability to remove and install without using a
hydraulic press.
this is done with a screw mechanism.
it comes with tools sized for several bearing combimations.
this is a very substantial tool with pieces made of 1/4 inch hardened steel.
the bolt is about 10 inches long and nearly an inch in diameter.
the entire kit probably weighs 20 pounds.
shut up, beavis!
a u-shaped backing plate is used to draw the hub off with long bolts
through the wheel bolt threads.
a cup is used to receive the old bearing (from the inside of the hub) and a
disk to press the bearing into the cup.
a pair of disks are used to press the new bearing into place and seat it
without putting any force on the inner race.
finally a cup and a disk are used to press the hub into the inner race
without axially loading the rest of the bearing.
all these tools are properly sized and designed to maintain stability under
a heavy load (perhaps a ton or more to break one free) while remaining
coaxial with the bearing.
i hope this helps someone...

frank