[rallyegolf]

I have a right rear bearing making some noise and I hear that the bearings come pressed into the hubs and you just replace the whole hub. Here on Realoem.com I can see it seperate.

HERE

Do I need the hub, or can I just get the bearing pressed in the hub at a shop?

thanks

[Express]

you can press the new bearing into your existing hub (i think)

[psre08]

I just completed the rear driver side bearing a few weeks ago. It was a HUGE bitch to diy.

You will need a new bearing, collar nut and lock ring. Unless your hub is damaged, you can use your existing one.

The best thing to do is disconnect the entire bearing carrier from the car and bring it (with the new bearing and lock ring) to a shop. For that you need to remove the drive axle entirely and disconnect all the suspension parts that tie into the carrier... try not to loosen the interior bolts (the ones that connect to the subframe) as that could ruin your alignment.

You'll also probably have to disassemble the parking brake. I found it much easier to work with that way.

Good luck!

[rallyegolf]

I read your post you did a while back and to be honest, it scared the shit out of me. I found a couple youtube videos that have tricks to removing the bearings and I may just give it a try. I have both rears to take care of. I enjoy working on cars, but when I don't have anything else to drive, I have to be careful about opening a can of worms I cant put back together.

[psre08]

Which videos? I would be very interested in them, for the next time. Because I watched several over and over again. There's a guy, I think it was Ed's Garage or something, who removed a bearing from his E46 using a contraption with a 4 inch pvc pipe, a harmonic balancer, washers and a thick gauge bolt. I thought it was amazing, until I tried the exact same thing and ended up flattening the pvc and warping the balancer out of shape, while the bearing went absolutely nowhere. If a bearing has been pressed in by machine, I think it can only be removed by machine. You will at least need to rent a press.

[rallyegolf]

GREAT! that was the one i'm talking about. I'm screwed. I cant afford to pay someone to do it so I may just have to power through it and see what happens. I have quite a surplus of tools, I just hope I have enough patients to get it done.

[psre08]

lol.. ok well all I can say is godspeed. Please let me know how it goes. My local BMW stealership pressed out the old bearing and pressed in the new bearing for $200 CDN (I think).

Since it appears you'll be making an attempt, make sure your harmonic balancer is the stiffest on the market and that it's at least 6 inches wide. The same with your piece of pvc.. it needs to be like steel. Last but not least, the car, bearing carrier and suspension (if you plan on doing it like on the video) need to be extremely solidly secured because you'll be using a huge amount of torque on your wrench.

Remember that your point of no return is when you use the bearing separator to push out the axle drive and remove the hub. This will break the bearing and render your car undriveable.

[rallyegolf]

I was thinking about picking this up. It has the piece in the middle lower of the kit, so I dont think I will need the balancer. http://www.harborfreight.com/bearing...set-93980.html

Also, I do have GoodYear close by, so I will call and ask them what they would charge just to press out the bearings and put new ones in just in case.

Thanks, I wish you lived closer to help. I would buy you many beers.