x1rider

I was reading Bentley on replacing the front wheel bearing and it seems like it is held in the bearing housing by 4 screws. The instructions do not say that you have to totally remove the wheel bearing housing to remove the bearing and the hub. I know the rear ones are pressed in the housing but not sure about the front ones. My question is can you really remove the front wheel bearing/hub without having to remove the whole housing to press it out? Thanks in advance.

tonyj

use a tool like a Hub Shark to avoid re-alignment after bearing R&R.

x1rider

that's what I feared! Thanks for the information.

rummy

so the ecs wheel bearing kit still needs to be pressed into the housing even though its in the hub with the four bolts?

blindfold7

Raising this one from the dead...

I've searched all over for a definitive answer to this question, and have yet to see one. Can someone tell the group whether or not the ECS-style front wheel bearing assembly (bearing and housing) still need to be pressed/"sharked" out of the hub, or can you just remove the four bolts (after moving half-shaft out of the way) and replace?

Thanks!!

olaf

I just did this job and yes, the bearing is pressed into the upright on the car as well as into the flange. The four bolts are additionally used to secure the flanged bearing assembly to the upright. You will have to take the upright off of the car and press out the flanged bearing assembly. It will not come off if you simply remove the bolts. The good news is that none of this will affect your alignment. Here are a few pictures of mine:



https://www.audiworld.com/forums/alb...ctureid=213993

Buy the kit from German Auto and you get the bearing pressed into a new flange, 4 new bolts, as well as a new axle bolt:

tooez4me

HOW HARD WAS THIS, AND DID YOU NEED A SPECIAL TOOL, CAN YOU GIVE ME THE STEPS.

Riley's A4

How hard depends on the attitude of the car. All it takes is a stuck pinch bolt to ruin your day of pulling the hub assembly and taking to a shop to press out the bearing. Or a bearing that does not want to press out w/ a hubshark, no matter how much torque your gun has.

Regarding the steps, just take a look at the technical articles. They are straight forward and give you what you need to replace the bearing.

I purchased a hubshark off ebay but still found some bearings that did not want to come out. If your going the route of a hubshark, make sure your air gun has at least 500+ ft/lbs of torque.

If I was to to do it again and not purchase the hubshark, I would probably just pull the hub and take it to a shop to replace the bearing. Then all I need is a tierod puller, a control arm seperator and a can of MEPP gas to apply a lot of heat....

I will have to add, I have also had a few bearing come out like butter. Like I said, it depends on the attitude of the car.

Good luck.

derrickb69

What size bit did you need to get the four 12 point screws out?

s4master1

The bearing is not pressed to the upright or wheel bearing carrier, on the case of the guy with the pictures looks like is so rusted that is hard to remove but tap it with a hammer and it will come off.
usually just remove the 4 bolts after pushing the axle to the side and it will come out, once out you need to press the wheel hub apart, any shop can do it for you with a press and press it on to the new bearing before you bolt it to the carrier, always use new bolts and also for the carrier and axle