I have a 20 ton press and I dunno how I'm gonna remove the hub with the whole knuckle already removed from the vehicle?

 

You'll have to press it out. It's difficult though, because you have to support the knuckle assembly BEHIND the hub so that the hub can be pushed down/out but also so that the hub doesn't hit your support and thus prevent itself from being pushed out. And then you'll find that no matter how you piece it together, it's impossible to support the knuckle completely perpendicular to the press, and each time you try to press the hub out the knuckle goes crooked thus preventing you from pressing it out. It's really quite frustrating without the proper tools.

I've been thinking lately of welding up my own little holder/support to do the wheel bearings as I need to do them on my blue car.

Here's what Nissan has to say about it (which doesn't really help much):



*edit*

This is about identical to doing the 3rd gen hubs (complete with the outer race invariably sticking to the hub when you remove it):



*double edit*

http://www.amazon.com/OTC-1123-4-5-B...6518420&sr=1-1

That's the type of tool you need that is shown in the video.

 

Hmmm. So any bearing splitter that has a max spread of 5in will work? I'm thinking about removing that damn dust shield but I'm not sure how. They say it's a press fit. Will it damage anything?

 

Probably not but I wouldn't bother cuz u might just mess something up trying to remove it.

 

Yeah it should. You'll likely need some sort of "spacer" under the bearing splitter as well unlesss the distance between the two "arms" on the press is wide enough to allow the hub to pass between it (which has always been my problem).

Also, yeah, if you can remove the dust shield it'll make it infinitely easier. Otherwise, you'll have to bend the **** out of that lip behind the hub to use the splitter.

 

I'm wondering what's purpose of the spacer, but I think you mean a "mount" to elevate the hub if the bed doesn't have a wide opening like mine. I'm planning to use those blocks that came with the press and just put a thick rag on the bed to catch the hub. Using blocks of wood are pretty useless >.<

 

Your press came with blocks?

Mine is so old (it was my dads) I don't know if it came with anything like that. I'm always scrounging around trying to find I-beam scraps and whatnot to use

 

yup. but the blocks i'm pertaining to are those inch-thick plates with cut outs in all 4 edges (big and small semicircles and Vs). How will I remove that damn dust shield? It seems welded to the bigger shield. It also has a little notch somewhere in the edge of the lip. Have you tried using a splitter? Because I'm not sure which size to look for.

 

Becareful don't hurt yourself!

 

I did it!!!!! I used a harbor freight splitter and ball joint separator. Fortunately, when the ball joint popped out, I wasn't on its way. I held the whole assembly in the press and removing the joint, then it shot like a bullet. If I was on its way, I probably have a bleeding abdomen or bruised o.O I used big impact sockets to press several parts. I have to remove the dust shield by destroying 4 (or 5) weld points with a chisel and a dead blow hammer. It's just a very greasy job and I have to use 6 pairs of nitrile gloves because of that damn sharp big dust shield. It's just scary when you're pressing the assembly and it's not moving, and it creaks xD

 

I actually bought my 20 ton press from craigslist for $90. Me and the seller had a nice talk and before I left, he gave me those 3/4in drive big hex socket set and an air impact wrench for free

 

Nice, so how will you get the dust shield back on? Will it need to be tack welded back?

For future reference - no need to use the press for the ball joints. Those will hammer right out

 

I destroyed the hell out of that mini dust shield. You can tack weld it but since the bearing is a press sealed unit, I think that would be enough to keep dirt from the bearing. The dust shield just protects the unit from brake dust but it still has an opening to let dust in so I think it's useless.
I didn't press the ball joints. I just have to have something to hold the whole assembly while using the screw type separator.

 

Damn Big O Tires. June 2011, I have them replace my bearing for $210 and ball joint for $75 because my max sounds like a skateboard over a rough road. I provided my own parts so they can't put a warranty on it. They said the old bearing was shattered to pieces and I had them do it. So when I replaced the whole knuckle and hub assembly just earlier today, I pressed out the old bearing, knuckle, and hub. The bearing shows no visible damage but I found a bunch of goddamn problems.
1. The knuckle and hub's surface has chips and big scratches
2. The outer grease seal was reused although it's warped and maybe that caused lack of lubrication for the bearing.
3. I have 'em install a Duralast balljoint and they didn't put the goddamn grease fitting.

For numbers 1 and 2, they didn't inform me about those and it's not written on my receipt >.<

 

I'm not sure anybody makes 3rd gen ball joints with grease fittings. MOOG is about as good as it gets and normally has grease fittings whereas other aftermaket manufacturers don't but even their ball joints don't have the grease fitting. Their tie rod ends do, though. I just outfitted my black VE in all MOOG

 

The duralast BJ that I got does have a zerk http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...er=758441_0_0_ And I'm pretty sure it does because it has a threaded hole at the bottom.

 

old thread bump warning

I am nearing another front wheel bearing job, and at only 16,000 miles.. which is when the bearings were last replaced. I handed the spindle assemblies over to a local shop to have it done since I don't have a press. And right now, at 16k later, the passenger front wheel has significant play in it when I do the 12oclock 6oclock up down and 3oclock 9oclock side/side shake test with it jacked in the air. driver side is ok

So here I question..
1 - did the bearing fail prematurely
2 - if the hub was worn and they pressed it all back together with the new bearing and didn't inspect the hub prior to doing so
3 - or was it pressed back together carelessly
or a combo of the 3

Anyone here have any particular bad luck with a certain brand of bearing? Timken is what I went with 16k miles ago, theres also beck arnely, skf, and national- all for about $33 each or Nissan oem for $75 as quoted by local dealer. Im willing to spring for the OEM if the aftermarkets are no good. I have yet to inspect the hub since I didn't pull everything apart yet, but the hub I was quoted $160 (each) from a local Nissan dealer, and about $150 from courtesy and nismoparts.com with a $20-30 ship

 

I bet the hubs were borderline. I doubt it had to do with them being Timken brand. Timken is an OEM supplier to many manufacturers and is widely regarded as a go-to brand. Really though I wouldn't hesitate to use any of those brands. I believe Timken and SKF may be in cahoots of some sorts as I've had bearings that are boxed Timken yet stamped SKF right on the bearing inner race. The old bearings I pressed out of my blue VE are marked NTN.

I just did new bearings (Timken), new hubs and wheel seals on my blue VE. I got my hubs from nissanpartszone.com IIRC. I only have a few hundred miles on them but I also took the new bearings apart and packed them fully by hand with grease. The new bearings only came with a tiny little squirt of grease in them! Since I wasn't sure what type of grease it was I wiped out all the stuff that came with it. After packing them and pressing everything together I couldn't make the new hubs spin by hand as they were pretty tight.

 

yeah i'm calling hubs too.

oh and James...i figured out a new way to do this job...1000X easier.

i have this...

while the spindle is on the car still...bolt on the puller to the wheel studs. put slide hammer on and start pulling...(assuming you already separated the hub from the axle).

the hub comes out and it'll comes out with the inner race. use an air hammer and a chisel and a few taps and the race falls out. if you're careful you won't scratch the hub.

pull off the spindle and set it on the press...you now have a flat part (part behind the hub) where you can straight press the outer race.

i'm sure you know how to press it back in so i won't go into those details.

after swapping so many audi bearings this is a piece a cake to me now..LOL

 

oh and if you don't feel like pulling the spindle...get this...

http://www.harborfreight.com/fwd-fro...ers-66829.html

swap the bearing while the spindle is on the car.

 

I actually almost bought that HF kit before doing mine. Since I was putting in new hubs and didn't need to get anything removed off the old hubs I just decided to hammer the old stuff out. The hub was fairly easy to hammer out and of course it separated the bearing too. And I had a socket that was just smaller than the bearing outer race so I was able to hammer it out without issue. One side was super tight and took some effort physically to hammer out but I got it without too much trouble.

Then I pressed the new stuff in hub side down (so technically I pressed the knuckle onto the bearing and then the knuckle/bearing onto the hub rather than the other way around). This orientation let it sit flat on its own (like what you were talking about). Worked out great and I didn't have to buy any new tools as the old bearing parts work perfectly to press the new stuff. The only small issue I had was on one of the sides when I was pressing the knuckle/bearing onto the hub (with the lug studs facing down), the pressure pressed out a couple of lug studs. I just used washers and lug nuts and pulled them back out so no biggie.

 

good stuff....but the hub tool is nice for people w/o presses.

 

update - I finished the install and all is well

I bought the same bearing again (Timken), a new Nissan hub and both seals. The snap/retaining rings i just reused.

http://www.harborfreight.com/fwd-fro...ers-66829.html

I looked at the harbor freight kit and I wound up just making my own tool - a 5/8 threaded rod with 2 nuts at one end (jam nut) pushed up against a steering wheel puller - the Y shaped plate which i already had - and that sat against the back of the knuckle


and I used the impact gun on a nut at the other end with the right sized disc plate to push and drive the old bearing out. I already had the metal disc plates from another bearing/seal driver set. I cleaned everything up, fully packed in new grease into the new bearing and pressed it all back together with the rod setup. I was actually able to get it back together and pressed in with some good force on just a 1/2 drive hand ratchet on the nut, i didn't need to use the impact gun

So far so good, all tight with no noises, and it drives quiet now

I did some searching before i did the job and found this thread on an MX6 forum, i found it to be pretty helpful, even though i didnt use a press:
http://www.mx6.com/forums/1g-faq-sus...-required.html