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  Aug. 2, 2011 9:47 a.m. motomoron HalfDork

  One of the rears is failing - have new fronts and rears on the way since they're all due/overdue. I've got a big hydraulic press, a lathe to make arbors for pressing-pulling, slide hammer, all-thread up to 1", oxy-acetylene, bearing splitters w/ puller-pushers.

  Any tips from anyone who's done this - and who can express themselves better than the kids on the M3 boards?

  ( "Then I took teh Dremmle and grounded the inside part of the berring till it poped off teh axles" it was mad tyte yo" )

  I think: Axle nuts off, Heat upright, pull hub/bearing out of upright, split/press bearing off hub, press new bearing on hub, push brg/hub assy into upright w/ shop made version of BMW B90 tool.

  Anything that makes this more complicated aside from stuck axle nut / stuck bearing/ access?

  Thanks!

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  Aug. 2, 2011 10:02 a.m. Ranger50 Dork

  I take this has a seperate hub flange from the bearing? If it does, press the hub off the bearing then press the bearing out. Reverse process to install. I also am cheap, I would just use a disposable, IE- cheap China Freight, deep impact socket to press the hub flange out with the press.

  To avoid damaging the axle threads, just leave the nut on a few threads and hammer on nut.

  "Never trust an intelligent man with no money to play fair."

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  Aug. 2, 2011 10:15 a.m. Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork

  Edit: nevermind - wrong car.

  E36 to follow after my next meeting.

  Lord of drivel and harbinger of Floundering

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  Aug. 2, 2011 10:44 a.m. MadScientistMatt Dork

  Theoretically, once the axle nut is off and you pull the hub, you just unbolt the axle from the diff and it pops out with a mallet. In real life, you can often get the hub off with a puller, but the axle will be stuck to the bearing. On my E36 328, I ended up pulling the trailing arm (the upright and rear trailing arm are one assembly), and just took the trailing arm / axle assembly to a machine shop and had them do it. Didn't have a press myself, though.

  So the sequence is usually something like this:

  1. Disassemble the brake assembly
  2. Remove axle nut
  3. Pull hub off axle
  4. Remove axle and trailing arm from car
  5. Press axle out from rear of trailing arm
  6. Press bearing out in the opposite direction
  7. Press in new bearing and put back together.

  "Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer

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  Aug. 2, 2011 1:37 p.m. motomoron HalfDork

  Bought Harbor Fright FWD bearing adaptor/press kit at lunch, AKA "The $300 BMW tool for $71"...

  "All my tools are hammers except screwdrivers which are chisels and punches"

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  Aug. 2, 2011 10:39 p.m. mad_machine SuperDork

  I will be taking mine to a machine shop

  Be careful of your words, for someone will agree with them. Be careful of your conduct, for someone will imitate it. -Leih Tsu

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  Aug. 4, 2011 10:16 p.m. motomoron HalfDork

  Ow. What a brutal pig of a job. The axle stub was really stuck in the hub. Eventually I did a shop-made puller w/ a 5 on 120 bolt circle drilled into a chunk of 1/2 steel plate w/ a length of 3/4" all-thread w/ the nut welded onto the face of the plate. I got the hub/axle as hot as I dared w/ oxy-acetylene, wicked AeroKroil in, tightened the extractor bolt as tight as I dared and beat on the head w/ a 16# sledge. It crept a tiny bit after a while. 5 or so cycles of this later it finally cracked and merely required a 2' cheater pipe to turn the extractor bolt...

  Then the hub was really stuck on the inner bearing race. I turned a bushing for the 10# slide hammer to squarely engage the hub. More energy applied with the blue heat wrench followed by some world-class fustigating w/ the slide hammer and it gave way eventually. I've got bearing extractors that should deal with the outer race fairly easily.

  Tomorrow? other side.

  Plus the breaker the lathe is on took a sh1t, and the O2 regulator stopped regulating, choosing instead to gradually creep to 200 psi on the low side. And a nearly new Performance Friction 06 rear brake pad had the friction material separate from the backing. Sweet.

  But tomorrow will go smoothly and easily.

  "All my tools are hammers except screwdrivers which are chisels and punches"

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