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Subject: How to: Front wheel bearing (hub) replacement Author: thesteve : member since December, 2003 : 2930 posts Posted on: 2008-05-15 11:22:32

First off, lemmie just say that the front wheel bearings on our cars seem to last forever. Even with my near 250,000 miles, I think after replacing mine they were probably fine. But actually, they’re so easy to replace, if you have the money, you might as well go and do it just for fun.
The job, as bmw635 has mentioned, is indeed identical to that of the E34. This link is really all you need.

http://www.bmwe34.net/e34main/maintenance/suspension/wheelbearing.htm

So anyway, you don’t need anything except a 46mm or 1-13/16 socket, and either a long ¾” breaker bar or ½ “ bar and a ½” to ¾” adapter, ... a hammer, a chisel and your other regular tools to do the brakes.
So first get the dust cap off.




Bend those tabs back, and now put your wheel back on with a few lug bolts and with the center cap removed. Lower the car enough to keep the wheel from turning and have at it with your mongo tool.




A little extra leverage never hurt. (I used the bar from my jack)
Just get the huge nut broken free, then take the wheel off again.
Now remove the nut. (also remove the rotor and brakes (2 big bolts only, not the caliper bolts) set the brakes aside back in there on top of the control arms out of the way.)



You can just use a hammer to tap the hub off of the inner race from behind. There’s no point in hoping for it to all come off in one piece, it aint gonna happen.



So now you just have to get the inner race off of the spindle. To do this simply remove the dust shield. (3 10mm screws)



With the dust shield off, you can put the head of your chisel in a little groove in the inner race and tap it out from behind.






Here’s the most important step.

****Put the Dust shield back on!******

Ask me why I stress this. Yes, I forgot to. That’s how come I know that the outer race will always separate from the inner when you try to remove it. (I had to take it off again to put the dust shield back on. Hopefully I didn’t ruin things...so far so good. Oh well.) Anyway,
So the best way to put the new bearing on is to just use the 46mm or 1-13/16 socket to tap it on with a hammer. This way, all the force is perfectly distributed around ony the inner race. The first time I put it back on (without the dust shield in place) I used a block of wood, which put the force on the hub and outer race. Might not make a difference, but hey, might as well do it right.



So once you knock the new hub on, you should have some threads to get the new nut on, so put the new nut on.
At this point my friend stopped by and distracted me so no more pictures, but it’s all the same but in reverse.
Might as well put the rotor and brakes back on. (as a side point if you decide to use the centering screw (I no longer do, I use a lug bolt instead...does a better job IMO) use some nev-r-seize and just snug it. replace it too.)
Put the wheel back on enough to keep the hub from turning so you can tighten the big nut. TIS says 290 Nm. I don’t have a big torque wrench so I just tightened it as much as I could without fearing breaking my breaker bar. This was not a gray area, as the nut basically stopped definitively after a quarter turn or so of tightening and that was it.
I took the wheel off again to do the following:
Now peen the nut into the two notches with your chisel. (the TIS uses the verb calk to mean peen) From the factory, they cut out little notches in the lip of the nut to make tabs, but whatever...
Replace the dust cap with the new one you bought (using some sealant) and put the wheel back on. Your done.
Here’s the pdf of the TIS:
Replacing.bearings(wheel.hub).for.front.wheel.pdf
Ignore the part about a gasket and a new dust cover, since you’re not gonna screw with that.
I had this tool handy, but only used it to carefully remove the new hub after I stupidly banged it on before first putting the dust cover back on.



I borrowed it for free at the Autozone. But like I said, you absolutely don’t need it. Especially since the hub just separates from the inner race, which is what you have to get off the spindle.

• How to: Front wheel bearing (hub) replacement (pic) (url) - thesteve 2008-05-15 11:22:32 (1134 views)
  • Good job! I forgot the dust shield too, I ended up cutting - rilaw 2008-05-16 12:59:03 (54 views)
    • I hear that. Darn good idea. - thesteve 2008-05-16 13:31:35 (41 views)
  • Very nice, Steve! (nt) - Ed 2008-05-16 12:34:07 (57 views)
    • gotta say y/w since I responded to everyone else. lol (nt) - thesteve 2008-05-16 13:32:32 (35 views)
  • WOW, the originals still looked brand new judging by the color - Stu 2008-05-15 22:06:40 (48 views)
  • where did you purchase the bearing? $100 sounds like a good price (nt) - ian 2008-05-15 21:53:42 (51 views)
    • you're right (url) - thesteve 2008-05-15 23:21:44 (71 views)
      • Just added the F.A.G brand to the site :) (nt) - oembimmerparts 2008-05-16 08:54:02 (43 views)
        • You might want to step up and get the Timken brand (nt) - johnsjf 2008-05-17 06:21:26 (53 views)
          • Re: You might want to step up and get the Timken - johnsjf 2008-05-17 06:25:37 (36 views)
  • Nice Job, thanks for the info! (nt) - Magnum 2008-05-15 21:52:30 (35 views)
    • Thanks, shout out to kc314, he told me it was easy so I did it (nt) - thesteve 2008-05-15 23:36:26 (30 views)
  • read my statement. lol..... - 740ibimmer 2008-05-15 18:44:52 (46 views)
    • ha, hey I painted the rotors black! - thesteve 2008-05-15 23:38:34 (38 views)
  • Well Done and THANKS for the write up! (nt) - inconsistent 2008-05-15 15:49:07 (38 views)
    • thanks :) (nt) - thesteve 2008-05-15 23:40:47 (47 views)
  • wow Steve you rock. 200K miles. cool. (nt) - uSa4148 2008-05-15 15:44:09 (38 views)
    • two fitty! - thesteve 2008-05-15 15:44:47 (39 views)
  • Nice Job Steve! - IBHenry 2008-05-15 12:09:55 (33 views)
    • Thanks Henry. (nt) - thesteve 2008-05-15 13:06:22 (39 views)
  • What were the symptoms that prompted the replacement? (nt) - davidc 2008-05-15 11:34:56 (68 views)
    • When the bearing is bad it will look like there is wheel run-out - kfister 2008-05-15 18:53:57 (76 views)
      • cool, thanks for the additional info (nt) - thesteve 2008-05-15 23:33:24 (39 views)
    • I think they were the symptoms of bad lower control arms (same symptoms I have n - thesteve 2008-05-15 11:39:48 (79 views)
  • Great work! Going on e38.org today. (nt) - davidc 2008-05-15 11:32:57 (45 views)
    • ahh mannn someone crapified my beautiful pics :P - thesteve 2008-05-15 15:44:13 (50 views)
      • Sorry. Didn't think about it. I just copied your photos from your princeton.edu site and put - davidc 2008-05-15 21:50:33 (37 views)
        • oh wow...you da man. Thanks. - thesteve 2008-05-15 23:02:39 (29 views)
    • thanks, I'm off to lunch so I'll read all my accolades when I get back :o) lol (nt) - thesteve 2008-05-15 11:36:16 (39 views)
  • does that box say 'FAG'? by the way, you just made this look incredibly - ian 2008-05-15 11:29:14 (43 views)
    • FAG is the OE supplier. Make sure you get the FAG brand... - Imolatony 2008-05-15 16:14:48 (55 views)
      • You might want to step up next time and get the Timken (nt) - johnsjf 2008-05-17 06:20:12 (43 views)
    • ha - thesteve 2008-05-15 11:32:57 (39 views)