GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk2 => Topic started by: dj.paterson on 11 April 2009, 18:48
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Is it possible to replace the wheel Hub only without having to change the whole wheel bearing?
It is just that the threads on the Hub where the wheel nuts go have got worn.
I have managed to take the brake calipers and brake discs off. This is as far as i've got.
It is just that the threads on the Hub where the wheel nuts go have got worn.
If so could someone please tell me what tools would be required?
Many Thanks
David
Edit: Car is an 89' Golf GTI MK2 8V
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i think you will find when you pull the hub out half the bearing will come with it
id remove the whole upright and take it to a garage with a press along with a new bearing and outer hub bit.
or maybe you could re-tap the thread?
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The bearing *shouldn't* come out, its held in at either end by some fairly large circlips. Just use a suitable sized socket, put it in a press and the hub will pop straight out the bearing housing.
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It's going to be a new bearing and hub, unless you get really lucky and manage to get the hub out without carrying one of the bearing shells out but this is extremely unlikely. It's the inner shells that come out, not the outer shell, which is held in with the circlips.
If the threads are shagged then you'll not be re-tapping them. What's beoing proposed here? Using different size studs and drilling out the holes on the wheel to accommodate the larger studs? :huh:
Not sure that would be entirely sensible or at all cheap and quick.
Just buy a new bearing and flange.
You may well be able to wind out the bearing shell using steel plates and some M10 thread bar - I've done it before in the absence of a press.
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hi mate its easier to get a new hub.
Ive got a set you can have for free. If your local (bedfordshire) then pop round and there yours :smiley:
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Thanks for the offer Mr Blue, however I am all the way in Somerset.
I don't need to fix the car quickly and want to try and fix this without going to a garage to gain experience etc.
So can anyone direct me to a suitable press, to get the hub off? Can one be purchased at Halfords? How much do they generally cost?
Also, if when trying to get the hub off, part of the bearing comes with it, how does one install a new bearing?
Thanks
David
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The bearing *shouldn't* come out, its held in at either end by some fairly large circlips. Just use a suitable sized socket, put it in a press and the hub will pop straight out the bearing housing.
or get a nice big hammer and tap it out with a suitable size sockect its what most garages do anyway
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as a mechanic i would definitly advise against the hammer/socket option, especially on a front wheel bearing! and as for buying a press unless you have a lot of spare cash i would seriously advise just using a garage, i'm sure if you got yourself a new/second hand hub and a new bearing any local garage wouldn't charge too much for pressing the bearing in. as for gaining knowledge, your really not missing much in just pressing in/out a bearing, there is more satisfaction gained just removing and refitting the hub.
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So once I have bought the wheel bearing and hub and got a garage to press them.
What tools do I need to install the bearing and hub to the wheel and how do I do this?
Really appreciate your help
David
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You need a press to install the bearing into the hub.
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I'm in Filton and have a 12t press.
PM me if you want to get the hub pressed out of the bearing, the bearing pressed out of the upright, the new bearing pressed in and the new hub pressed in.
I'll get Beavis to quote you for the bearing and hub from Vee W Services, too - probaby cheaper than GSF et al.
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So once I have bought the wheel bearing and hub and got a garage to press them.
What tools do I need to install the bearing and hub to the wheel and how do I do this?
Really appreciate your help
David
assuming you've already removed the old ones it's just the same process but in reverse
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You could buy one like this, http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12-Ton-Industrial-Hydraulic-Workshop-Garage-Shop-Press_W0QQitemZ130296271533QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_3?hash=item130296271533&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318
But i would only bother if you are likely to use it more than once. I've got a similar one at home, i've done quite a few bearings now. Once you've got one, everyone else wants to use it!
As for using a socket and hammer, forget it, anyone thats actually pressed a front bearing knows that it won't work!
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So once I have bought the wheel bearing and hub and got a garage to press them.
What tools do I need to install the bearing and hub to the wheel and how do I do this?
Really appreciate your help
David
assuming you've already removed the old ones it's just the same process but in reverse
I haven't removed the old ones yet. Could you please tell me how to do this and what tools are required?
Thanks
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Remove the wheel bearing housing by undoing the bottom ball joint, track rod end, driveshaft and suspension strut.
Then use a suitable sized socket and press, push the hub out of the wheel bearing housing. Then you will see both circlips, on either side of the bearing. Using a suitable sized ring, push the bearing out the housing.
Get a bearing kit, so you have all new parts.
Get your new bearing, apply plenty of grease to the bearing outer face and the wheel bearing housing inner face, then insert the far one of the circlips back into place. Line up the bearing and press in into the wheel bearing housing until it makes contact with the circlip. Make sure you press the bearing from the outer rim. Put the second circlip back in, apply grease to the inner bearing faces and hub, then press back in.
Its child play really, should take you about 1hr per side from removal to refit.
As a sidenote, no mechanic in his right mind would hammer a bearing in or out, it would take far longer than just using a press.
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Also you will need a knife edged puller to remove the inner race from the hub. Every front bearing i have done so far, the inner race always stays on the hub when pressed out off the housing. I'm amazed no-one has mentioned that yet!!
Also no mechanic would use a hammer and socket, because it just wouldn't work. Some bearings need 2 tonnes off pressure to move them, try doing that with a hammer and socket.
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Also you will need a knife edged puller to remove the inner race from the hub. Every front bearing i have done so far, the inner race always stays on the hub when pressed out off the housing. I'm amazed no-one has mentioned that yet!!
You shouldn't need one, I've done a good few and never had to.
A lot of times, I've had the bearing collapse with the inner race still stuck to the hub shaft. But its easy to remove with a hammer and stake. A few strikes and it falls loose, without any damage at all to the shaft itself.
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The ones i have done, the inner race was stuck right down the bottom off the shaft, there was no room to get anything in to drift it off, and the shell is an interference fit on the shaft, there was no way they were going to shift without a puller.
Maybe it can be done without a puller, but i'm not convinced!
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Yep, stuck fast at the bottom, I normally use a 3 ft pointed stake and a lump hammer, a few taps (and sparks) and its easily off.
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I think i'll stick with the puller method :grin:
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Lol, if you've got the right tool ;) Just for the OP, so he doesn't need to buy tonnes of tools.
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Don't forget to loosen the drive shaft nut before you jack up the front and take the wheel off. These are TIGHT.
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Also you will need a knife edged puller to remove the inner race from the hub. Every front bearing i have done so far, the inner race always stays on the hub when pressed out off the housing. I'm amazed no-one has mentioned that yet!!
he did state that he needed a new hub so there would be no need to remove any old bearing race as he would just be preesing the new hub into the new bearing.
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That is true. I just meant in general really, no-one ever mentions it as a possible problem.
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Thanks so much for you help guys, however I have been unable to undo the bottom ball joint due to it being too tight.
Guess I will have to take it to local garage :sad:
So I assume that if you manage to undo the bottom ball joint, the center nut does not spin around when trying to loosen?
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Bottom ball joint is easy :laugh: Get a spanner on one side and rest it against the wishbone, then a deep socket on the other side and loosen it off. Tap the pinch bolt out with a copper stake (or thread the nut back on a few turns) to prevent damaging the thread. Then use a big flat blade and lever the wheel bearing housing from the ball joint.
But I'd undo the ball joint last.
1. Hub nut
2. Track rod end
3. Suspension strut
4. Ball joint
The hub nut will spin regardless, either get a windy gun and buzz it off, or get a scaffold pole, a breaker bar and a friend. Hold the brakes down in the car and slacken off the hub nut.
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Why is it necessary to undo the Track Rod end, suspension strut and ball joint?
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How exactly were you planning on removing the hub otherwise?
The hub needs pressing out of the wheel bearing housing. To be able to fit the wheel bearing housing into a press - you either have to flip your car on its side and find a very tall press, or remove the wheel bearing housing and pop it into a press to push the hub and bearing out.
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Do you know of a link to a picture showing where the track rod end, suspension strut and ball joint are located, because the bolts seem extremely tight, and am wondering if I am undoing the right ones.
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Try http://vwpolo2000.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=howto1&action=display&thread=146
If the link doesn't work, go on my forum link, how to mechanical, removing front hub.
Its for an Audi, but the golf is very similar.
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(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6694.jpg)
http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=49436.msg869371#msg869371
Balljoint bottom
Strut top
Track rod left
Driveshaft bottom right
It should all be obvious. But, if you can't tell a track rod end from a driveshaft - I'm not sure you should be disassembling a major component of your car without help from someone who knows what they are doing.
Here's how your hub should look after a fresh bearing ;)
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q171/blessani/mini-CIMG6699.jpg)
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Or someone with a big hammer? :grin: