Hub/wheel bearing assembly question

[LiquidX]

Well this is going to be my first wheel bearing removal and replacement due to having to change out the parking brake cables. My question is does the selected part need pressed in with an actual press or will it be pressed in when the axle nut is tightened down? More or less wondering if "pressing" it in by hand will be sufficient until axle is tightened down?

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[mschlanglv]

I haven't done rear bearings yet, but assuming they are similar in design to others you need to press them in. If they go in by hand you have a problem, i.e. the hub was spinning inside the bearing and will need to be replaced.

 

[knochgoon24]

I'm amazed that you got the old one apart. I've had to buy the whole hub assembly on the last 3 I did. On 2 of them, the axle wouldn't even come out of the hub.

 

[LiquidX]

I haven't touched mine yet at all. I'm trying to get a sense of how it goes together if using the axle nut to press them together is all that is needed? It's going to make a difference if I can just by the wheel bearing section or buy both units as a whole pre installed.

That picture was taken from http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...lace-rear-awd-hub-assembly-wheel-bearing.html

Bottom of post 2 says "Now just push the old splined part of the hub into the new hub assembly/wheel bearing. Old and new."

Wes, where did you get the whole assembly from? On Rockauto they only have the fronts as a whole assembly for AWD. If the assemblies are the same for FWD and AWD then I would be fine. Other than that, it's just the bearing half that I am finding available. That is also including AutoZone.

Side note, my axle will come out freely as well as I just had them all out recently

 

[H4G64T]

As long as you push it in fully it's fine...maybe some guys can do it with hand (no real corrosion on the splines due to their location), but I feel like you are going to need a press.

 

[LiquidX]

What I need to know is if it is actually possible to begin seating the spline half into the bearing half by hand until the axle nut fully seats it?

The bearing half will be new at the least and any possible rust on the spline half will be removed.

 

[knochgoon24]

My one rear hub that I did was OEM. I bent over and took it because I didn't know any better. This was more than 4 years ago.

 

[bjones18]

You could use compression between the axle (cv tulip) and the washer-nut to press fit the hub in the bearing. Here are a couple things to think about:

1. may be difficult to know if it is fully seated (inspect/clean the tulip mating surface - and other surfaces in the stack).
2. a loose fit is not good for ecentricity (balance).
3. Torque on nut has pre-load effect on the wheel bearing.

bearing preload has a huge effect on bearing life. Too tight or too loose is not good.

I haven't mic'd the thick axle washer to see if it is actually a belleville spring. I have seen them used as a means to achieve a more uniform bearing preload.