03
Oct
Once it breaks free a little you can remove the axle nut push the axle in a little loosen the four bolts some more and use the hammer. If it moves at both 39 and 126 it could indicate a bad wheel bearing or ball joint.
Dress any chisel damage to the hub with a file.
How to get a stuck wheel bearing hub assembly off. A BCA-sponsored Maintenance Minute on the correct way to remove a stubborn wheel hub assembly from the knuckle. Dont just hit it with a hamme. If it moves at both 39 and 126 it could indicate a bad wheel bearing or ball joint.
If you can hear a hum at highway speed or even slower wheel bearing is suspect. Wheel bearings are an involved repair. Youll need a press or puller or die grinder to take off the old race on the hub.
Vehicle lowered to a floor jack with a pipe wrench attached to loosen a stuck wheel hub and bearing assembly A wheel bearing puller tool attaches to the lug nut studs and can loosen the knuckle. If you do not have access to this tool you can improvise by attaching a long pipe wrench to the top of the wheel hub. Sometimes you can get the hub bearing and ABS ring as an assembly for not much more than a plain bearing.
Its also 10x easier to change since you dont need a press or puller tools. Just pull the hub nut pop the hub off and replace it and torque down the hub nut. Same problem i had pb blaster heat mushroomed the head of the axle had to get a new one.
How did i get mine out pulled the axle out of the trans bolted the knuckle back up and let my step-father hit it with a 5lb sludge. One Hit and out it came i was replacing the hub anyways bearing was tost but when you shroom the tip need a new one. We got the other side off 1-2-3 using all the correct methods and tools.
We finally removed it using a torch and heating the crap out of it and using the hub puller again. The auto teacher who was helping me said it was the toughest one he had ever seen in 35 years. BTW it had looked like someone had worked on that axel before.
I then used a flat chisel and my BFH to break the bearing loose from the knuckle. Of course doing it this way I left the inner race stuck on the hub so I had to notch that with a dremel and cut off wheel and then split it with my chisel but the whole job including pressing the new bearing back on and reassembly was only about two hours. Hook the three prongs onto the hub then use a 12-inch socket to bolt down the center plunger which causes the bearing to break loose.
Clean the knuckle mating surface with a metal wire brush and apply anti-seize to ensure that the next time the hub bearing assembly needs to be removed it separates easily from the knuckle. I have never had a problem removing hub bearing like yours by backing off all the through bolts to about 050 clearence and smacking them each with a brass hammer then backing the bolts out uniformely 2 turns and smacking them again then repeating until there was clearence for a cold chisel to be inserted and used to wedge the bearing assembly out. Try and get something behind the bearing so you can evenly pull the bearing assembly off the spindle and not damage it.
A little heat applied to the bearing going to replace anyway may help break the corrosion seal and expand the metal shell a bit. There may be a specialized tool for this but a little creativity may help get it removed. I got the axle nut off the rotor off caliper off abs sensor off and the 4 hub bolts off.
I cannot get the hub unit to budge. The CVsplinedriveshaft moves freely relative to the hub so I know that isnt the problem. I used a hub puller put all that happened was the drive shaft got pushed into the rear diff.
I drew the driveshaft back. Remove uprightknuckle from car and use a hydraulic press to remove the wheel bearing hub and press the new parts together as needed. Hammering or using prying tools will damage the parts.
Now you need the bearing puller tool. The inner race that remains on the hub is removed by clamping the hub in a vise and with a face mask and gloves use a big chisel in the seam between race and hub hitting directly downward with a big hammer to create a gap. Next either use two giant pussy foot levers to finish the job or clamp a two piece press plate under it and press it off.
Dress any chisel damage to the hub with a file. Use the bearing tool to reinstall the bearing. Loosen the four bolts holding the hub but dont remove them.
Leave the axle nut in place and use the slide hammer. Once it breaks free a little you can remove the axle nut push the axle in a little loosen the four bolts some more and use the hammer. Or take the caliper off.
You took the axle nut off right. Sometimes they get stuck and the center of the bearing will come out with the hub. Its nest to put anti seize on the splines and bearing when assembling.
Some penetrating oil may help to spray on to get the hub off. Having a wheel stuck on the tire is not a pleasant affair especially when you are in a hurry. The main cause of a wheel stuck on the tire is when corrosion forms in the area between the rim and hub.
This corrosive element acts like strong glue and can cause problems removing the wheel from the hub.