front wheel bearing advice

[glenandem]

my nsf bearing has gone and i believe theyre bolt on bearings to the uprights and ive done similar type bearings on transits, but my question is do i access the bolts for the bearing behind the disc through the hub or behind the upright?
also do they come out of the upright without having to remove the upright off the car as i really dont want to remove that off the car!!!

 

[john777w]

Here's a guide;

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/360253-Front-wheel-bearing-replacement

 

[Mike_B]

A pity that excellent write up seems to have lost its pictures. When I looked at doing a bad bearing on mine, the ref to the need for a press put me off. I accept that some people have had success with the drift and lump hammer approach, and a vice - but watching the tech at my garage doing it using a press, and noting the amount of pressure used, validated my decision!

 

[desertstorm]

+1 I normally do all the repairs on my car myself but after seeing the grief the mechanic had with pressing the old bearing off and having to grind the inner bearing race off the hub I think it was well worth paying Midland VW to do the job.
I did source my own bearing though as it was cheaper than what they quoted me.
You can get a bearing and hub for around £100 that you just need to press together it would then be a straightforward swap.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUDI-A4-8...del:A4&hash=item259caa7055:g:wCIAAOSwc0FUpAoI

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Meyle-Whe...del:A4&hash=item4adb0bb46e:g:R2gAAOSwnDZT~Jw9

The seller of the two parts above seems to offer the pair together for £80, you could ping him and see if he can do that.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUDI-A4-8...del:A4&hash=item23483bd588:g:URsAAOSw7ThUpAlf

Karl.

 

[john777w]

Or this;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUDI-A4-B...B-FLANGE/331232575704?_trksid=p2047675.c10000

 

[desertstorm]

No manufacturer quoted on that part so likely to be a cheap Chinese bearing. The parts I linked to are Meyle which are a quality German make.

 

[jimmcgee]

i used a 10 quid hub puller from screwfix to remove the old bearing and a 2 quid bolt and washer from b&q to put the new one in lol.

 

[Mike_B]

No manufacturer quoted on that part so likely to be a cheap Chinese bearing. The parts I linked to are Meyle which are a quality German make.

From personal experience, I'd suggest not going for cheap bearings. In my case, my garage footed the bill for the labour to do it the second time, but as the blasted thing failed just over a year after it was put on (as therefore out of warranty) they couldn't get their supplier to refund. I wasn't happy!

 

[aragorn]

The interference fit on the hub flange isnt all that tight (unlike the interference fit on the bearing itself on older cars with press in bearings.)

This is because the flange is held in place with the clamping action of the CV joint and its mounting bolt.

If you have a decent vice you should easily be able to knock the hub off the old bearing and press it onto the new one, just make sure your pressing against the inner race on the inside of the bearing, or you risk dislodging it. I wouldnt hammer the hub into the new bearing, better pulling it in with a vice or even a nut and bolt. You could probably even use the CV joint and hub bolt to pull it into place.

A pry bar usually gets the left over race off too. Or a hammer and chisel if its being awkward.