[talisman311]

I have about 106k miles on my car now and started to hear droning noises indicative of a wheel bearing failure. My car was purchased in the NE and stayed there until I brought it to VA in 2009. For any users that attempt this job, good luck getting the axle out of the hub if it's stuck.

I tried a 20-ton hydraulic press, 3 arm gear pullers, soaking in liquid wrench for 1.5 weeks with the axle side down and this axle would NOT budge. I ended up breaking the arms off my spindle and eventually cutting them all off to try and salvage the axle, but 0 luck.

I ended up ordering used parts from ebay in the end and having a shop press a new bearing in because I didn't want to deal with it. Even after taking a wire brush to the splines to clean up any rust and then painting it with anti-seize, it was difficult getting it back in the hub. Talk about small tolerances.

Anyone else try this and able to get a stubborn axle out?

tl;dr - You better be patient and prepared to spend a lot more money if you DIY a wheel bearing.

[Efthreeoh]

I replaced both sides. The right axle came out easily. The left was rusted in place. I eventually got it out with a 3lb sledge hammer against another 3lb sledge hammer. It slightly mushroomed the threads, so the axle lost its life. I power-brushed the splines on the hub and the new shaft went on far enough to pull it the rest of the way with the hub nut.

But once they corrode in place they are a bitch to get out. And the bearings only come out with a bearing die set and race remover tools.

[smass]

I had no trouble with the axle shaft but the bearing removal was awful. The puller I used was a combination of tools. First I rented a ball joint puller kit. From that I used the cups as big washers for the front and rear of the tool. I then went to Lowes and bought a grade 8 3/4" x 5" bolt w/ nut and washers. I also purchased a piece of 1/4" steel that was 5" x 12". Drill a hole in the steel plate big enough for the bolt. Position the plate on top of the carrier and use the bolt/washers to to pull the bearing to the top of the carrier. This distance to the top is less than 10mm. Once the bearing is flush with the top continue with a slide hammer to finished the job. I used an impact wrench on the big bolt to help rattle the bearing loose. Heat from a torch can also make this easier.

Pressing the bearing back in is easy. Just put it in the freezer and it shrinks so you can easily tap it in. Just make sure you get it in the right way. The inner edge has the abs tone ring in it. Also, remove the abs sensor as it is easily damaged by all the banging around.

To put this in perspective, changing the oil pan gasket was less frustrating and I did that on jack stands.