Front wheel bearings shot - try DIY or take it in?

Heh, I've had mixed results with HF stuff. I had a T35 t-handle explode on me while turning a bolt on a motorcycle - shattered and lodged a piece of metal in my glasses. Not that much force on it either.

Bought a jack from them once that lasted one use

Bought some tin snips that wouldn't get through plastic Panduit

But I've had successes too. The drill press I got there has been good. And a vise.

I generally go there for limited use stuff - like this press. I use tools for a living and only one HF thing lives in my tool bag - has proven itself invaluable and the bits are surprisingly long-lasting. It has saved my hide countless times.

 

One word - Total Chaos uni-ball UCA. Wait, that's four words.

 

Definitely a good option if you're lifted, want max travel & alignment leeway. But it's just as much work, if not more, to go this route as opposed to just replacing with OEM upper ball joints.

 

If the solution is to throw money at it for more parts, I would get the JBA UCAs that have greasable ball joints. I don't want *ANOTHER* squeaky aftermarket part on my truck that requires daily cleaning & lubing in order to be quiet...

 

I have a 75 ton dake press, I also have a harbor freight 20 ton press. I use the 20 ton for small jobs like this. if something is not going well the 75 will bust a bearing in a minute. the harbor freight press will do this no problem. I have done many. what you need with any press is all the furniture ie. press plates and packing you can find. I use 6 inch x 2 in x 14 inch press plates. you are also going to need 1/2 plate to support spindle while you press bearing out. these must be same thickness. small pieces of cold rolled cutoffs will work for bushings to push against bearing to get out. also to push on old spindle while removing. any small machine shop should be willing to cut for you at very small cost. use outer shell of old bearing , grinding down outside diameter to push new bearing in. when use push in spindle, find pipe or socket, something to support inner race of new bearing, very important. do yourself a favor clean out bear fit in spindle well, coat outer race with never seize before you press in. also coat spindle before press into new bearing. start saving old bearings and scraps to use with your new press. sorry this is so long I sincerely hope this will help steve

 

I use 6 inch press plates to raise spindle up enough to get hub out. they use wood 4x4 in video . take out bolts that hold backing plate you will need to put your 1/2 plates under ears in hub,use them to support spindle, while pressing out hub. harbor freight press plates are on the cheap side. any machine shop should also cut you some good press plates. it is very important they are the same size.

 

Thanks for the video links on Page 1.

Could I please get some recommendations on a what jaw pullers to get?

I will actually be having someone else do the hub work, so this is for future uses.
Specifically I want to do my own suspension replacement, I saw a jaw puller being used for castle nut stuff on the front. After seeing the video I can see in general how having some would be vary useful for various repair jobs.

I was looking at Amazon, but I don't know what brand, size, and how many tons, etc.

What would people recommend?

 

Borrow one for free from your local AutoZone, O'Reilly, etc. @KeptOnChooglin

 

I can't get that kit that Timmah has here in time, but found

$96 WINTOOLS 27 Pcs Universal Press & Pull Sleeve Kit Bush Bearing Removal Insertion Tool Set

one that might do the trick. The sleeves get a little bigger too - up to 92 mm which seems about perfect for hitting the outer race. Anyone see any reason not to go down this road?


I knew these bearings were gonna be big, but dang. This could suck

 

All I gotta say is, I had my front wheel bearing (passenger side) go out on me while on a 400 mile road trip. As soon as it started to go, heard the infamous growl and next thing I know my brakes are going out too. Don't let it get to that point (even though mine seemed to go almost instantly, had no symptoms until that road trip). Get it fixed pronto.

Unfortunately since I was 400 miles away from home and had a wedding in 2 days out of town, I had to take it into the closest shop...they did a great job but it was nearly $1k to get it all fixed.

 

use outer race of old bearing, after you have ground outside diameter down a little to press in new bearing. use socket or piece of pipe that is same diameter as inner race to support new bearing as you press in spindle. no biggy you can find stuff like this any where I use a 3/4 drive socket. the real trick is:: push on outer race to install bearing. support inner race to install spindle, this is to avoid damage to your new bearing. I buy new spindles from rock auto. if you don't do this it is very easy to damage end of spindle where threads are.

 

Oh, the truck has been grounded for a week now. This is gonna cost me a grand, but I get to keep the tools when I'm done

 

Thanks again for the advice. Yeah, this is why I'm looking at the kit with bigger sleeves - so I can hit the outer race.

 

grinding down diameter of old bearing keeps you from getting your pushing piece stuck in bearing fit. by design you have no choice but to push out by inner race as bearing fit prevents you pushing on outer race during removal. keep all the old bearings you can find to use with your new press , you will need them. I don't have a lot of trust in harbor freight press plates. never broke 1 . they are tall enough for this job anyway. access to a machine shop dumpster or a decent salvage yard work wonders collecting what we call furniture to use with your press. most steel suppliers will cut you some small pieces for a very nominal fee. they also have a scrap bin too. if you can make friends with people in shops , you might be surprised how much they will help with metal that is just scrap to them. explain to them what you need and ask if they can help you . this works great me.

 

I always use old bearings if possible to install new 1. big old races make great spacers or for shims to build up spacing under press ram. be sure that you are applying force with ram straight ,or at 90 degrees to table of your press. if your are not straight bad things will happen. wish I was close I would help you do this. again never seeze outside race as you press bearing in. never seeze inner race or spindle as you press in spindle , makes everything go easier and prevents galling. any parts store has this in small bottles. if you can ever make a friend in a machine shop, get them to set your new press plates up on milling machine and cut both of them at the same time. just a small cut to make sue they are same thickness, this will help you a lot keeping things straight. this is how I make mine I surface them on a mill to the same height.

 

Good stuff steve - thanks for all that! Yeah I'm having quite a time finding press plates and they're pretty expensive online. I did find some tractor parts at Jax Mercantile today that might work though - roughly 1 inch thick steel bars that I believe go between a tractor and implement. If I can get a machine shop to make me some parts tomorrow I may go down that road...starting to run out of time to get this going though. But I think I'm off work tomorrow so will probably spend the 1st half of the day trying to get that done. I have a couple 1 foot sections of 4x4 standing by and the HF press comes with 2 arbor plates.

 

great if their cut off same piece thickness should be ok. I know tinman tech used wood in video but with all respect to him, it doesn't do well for me compresses to much. you can do this don't get in a hurry, check you setup over before you apply to much force, make sure you are centered up in center line of ram. I will look for a press manual of operation if I can find I will send to you. you may have to push old bearing back in a bit after removing spindle , to help free lock ring. make sure you plates are cut longer than bed of press. I use mine on both of my presses. I have seen these put in with a 5 ton arbor press. I was just watching , while visiting a friends machine shop.

 

Wondering if the freezer trick works for these? It usually works on motorcycles, but the scales are a bit different. Seems like they would have a good bit of thermal mass. Worth the effort maybe?

 

I've tried heating motorcycle hubs and didn't have much luck but cooling bearings alone did seem to help. The thought was that heating the hub made it expand in all directions - not just outward while the 2 extreme temperatures just fought one another and just wasn't effective without very quick hands.

 

freezing bearing couldn t hurt , then freeze hub before you pressed in. you could try heating spindle with propane torch. not enough to get it red, just warm it up.