Reinstalling front wheel bearing

#1

I’m replacing my front right wheel bearing since it’s making some noise and managed to get it off with minimal effort. However, I had a problem with the new wheel bearing so in the mean time I decided to see how easy it was to get the old bearing back on just so I knew what to expect when I went to install the new bearing and I cannot for the life of me get it to go on. It slid right off with no puller but now the damn thing won’t go back on. I’ve tried heating the bearing some with a hot plate and cooling down the spindle with ice and even using some grease to try and get it to slide on.

So what am I missing? Is there a special tool I need?

#2

Odd. This is normally pretty easy. The only thing I can imagine is that something is preventing the bearing from going back on “square”. It should happily go on with a couple gentle bonks. Less likely is that something got deformed a little bit so one of the surfaces is no longer a flawless cylinder.

IIRC, I use a great big socket to help keep the bearing square while I gently tap it into place. If it’s hard to go on, don’t force it because something will get damaged.

#3

Mine hung up slightly initially but slid on pretty easy. Make sure you only beat on the inner race.

I found that an appropriately sized socket and light taps with a rubber mallet was all I needed.

Make sure there are no burrs or scores on the spindle or the bearing and give it another try.

#4

I don’t see anything that looks too out of the ordinary. Can I try sanding it down some with some fine grit sandpaper? I was also thinking of just dropping it off at the one shop and letting them mess with it.

#5

Quit screwing around with the old bearing. Get a new high quality bearing and try to put it on. If it doesn’t go on reasonably easily, take it to a shop.

#6

Well I feel slightly better about myself now. The shop looked at it and said that something is wrong. Either I have the wrong bearing or it’s damaged or my front spindle is damaged and I need to replace the front strut holder assembly.