Kwhistle Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 (edited) I broke the ABS tone ring on my 98 OBW, tried to fix it on the car, but (10 hours later) that didn't work :mad: So seems like I'll have to pull the hub. Was looking things up online for various tips and tricks for an easy way to do, and haven't found much. I see that Autozone has a wheel hub puller as a loaner tool, but I can't figure out how that would work. I understand the body of the puller is bolted to the hub with lug nuts, but I can't see any place to anchor the center bolt. Or am I missing something here? Anyway, would much welcome any suggestions here. Edited August 30, 2011 by Kwhistle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 That tool will not help you. You will have to get into the wheel bearing if you want to get the hub off. Basically the removal of the hub requires that you apply forces to the wheel bearing that will warrant its replacement. Look at some of the threads concerning wheel bearing replacement and specifically my reccomendations on the use of the Harbor Freight FWD Bearing Adaptor set. Using that you can get the job done for about $150 or so. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwhistle Posted August 30, 2011 Author Share Posted August 30, 2011 Is this the one? http://www.harborfreight.com/fwd-front-wheel-bearing-adapters-66829.html How would that work? Also, what about passing some bolts through wheel stud holes and pressing it off the knuckle? Could something like this work? My other idea was to get a tone wheel off a junk yard car, break it carefully into two halves and bolt it onto mine. Is there a relatively easy way to get the hub off a junk yard car? There is a 97 Leg at the local yard, and I'd wanna try getting it off of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike104 Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 (edited) That's the tool that some have used. It may be easier to just change the hub assy from a junk yard car rather than fussing about with the hub removal. If you live where lots of salt is used you could get one from say Arizona using http://www.car-part.com and having them ship it. Here is a generic guide to replacing a wheel bearing (that you may have to do to change the tone ring). http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=787070 Here is a Subaru procedure (for rear bearings) that uses the Subaru tool that is similar to the HF Kit http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/--Articles--/--Endwrench--/WheelBearing.pdf Edited August 30, 2011 by Mike104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Is this the one?http://www.harborfreight.com/fwd-front-wheel-bearing-adapters-66829.html How would that work? Yep - that's the one. It's used like a hub-tamer or hub-shark to replace the front wheel bearing. Also, what about passing some bolts through wheel stud holes and pressing it off the knuckle? Could something like this work? Most likely not. In any case the hub itself is simple to remove - you pull the axle and you select a socket that is slightly smaller than the ID of the bearings and you pound the hub out from the back. That is the first step in replaceing the wheel bearing. You need the set above to do the rest of the job though. My other idea was to get a tone wheel off a junk yard car, break it carefully into two halves and bolt it onto mine. Is there a relatively easy way to get the hub off a junk yard car? There is a 97 Leg at the local yard, and I'd wanna try getting it off of it. Breaking it is a bad idea - they are quite flimsy and the tollerance between the tone ring and the sensor is VERY small. Any amount of bending at the breakage point and you will have contact between the two. Similarly cutting it is a bad idea as all cutting operations result in some loss of meterial. You don't want gaps or it will confuse the signal to the ABS computer. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwhistle Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 That's the tool that some have used. It may be easier to just change the hub assy from a junk yard car rather than fussing about with the hub removal. If you live where lots of salt is used you could get one from say Arizona using http://www.car-part.com and having them ship it. Thanks for the advice, all! Another question though. How hard would it be to replace hub with knuckle for a junk yard one? I don't have access to too many tools or equipment. Would that be doable in a house garage with some minimal hand tools, e.g. breaker bars, torque wrench, various wrenches sockets, but not much else? Would I need to remove the axle? How long would that take, given that the car is rather old most any bolt and part is stuck where it is. I'm really on a budget, and trying to get it done properly, but as cheaply as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Replacing it with a used one is not that hard - but could potentially affect your camber and anytime you are installing different components that deal with alignment it is best to have the car aligned to avoid tire wear problems. Removing and installing the *same* knuckle does not pose a great risk if the camber adjustment bolt is properly marked and returned to the exact orientation.... but even that cannot gaurantee proper alignment when you are substituting used parts. Thus a used knuckle is going to breakdown something like this: 1. Used knuckle - $30 to $50 2. Possible ball joint damage (requireing replacment) - $25 3. Possible tie-rod end damage (requireing replacement) - $25 4. Alignment - $75 That's a possible outlay of $175 Now a bearing change OTOH: 1. Wheel bearing - $25 to $35 2. HF FWD bearing adaptors - $110 (can be returned) 3. Used tone-ring - $5 That's about $50 or less assuming you return the HF FWD set after doing the job within the 30 day return or whatever it is. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY_Dave Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Is the assumption here that just pulling the axle from the hub will trash the wheel bearings? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Is the assumption here that just pulling the axle from the hub will trash the wheel bearings? No - removing the hub from the bearings will apply force through the rotating elements of the bearing. That requires their replacement. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwhistle Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 So if I got it right, the hub is essentially jammed into the wheel bearing, while the axle will come out once the axle nut is off? Or is there a trick to getting the axle out? Would I need to mess with the CV joint? So far, I figure that if I can just move the axle out of the way without any disassemble or special tricks, I can press the hub+bearing out of the knuckle with the HF tool (still have to figure out exactly how that works), then just press in the new bearing, then press in the hub, again with the HF tool? I sounds a bit too easy, almost like there is more to it than just that. Also, saw a youtube video that I can't find at the moment of a guy propping the hub against a heavy spot on the frame with some wrench sockets and turning the steering wheel one way or the other to get the hub off. What's the opinion of pros here about this method? Is there a good spot on the Subaru frame to prop it against? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 1. Remove axle nut. 2. Remove roll-pin on inner axle cup. 3. Remove pinch bolt on ball-joint, widen pinch joint by pounding in screwdriver, and lever out the lower control arm with ball-joint attached. 4. Remove axle - should slide out of hub without effort. 5. Re-insert the ball joint into the pinch joint on the knuckle for stability. 6. Pound out the hub from the back side using a large (28mm or so) socket. 7. Remove the rear wheel bearing seal, and the spring clip that holds the outer race in. 8. Remove the inner bearing (falls out) 9. Push out the outer race using the HF FWD set. 10. Push in the new outer race using the HF FWD set. 11. Remove the outer wheel bearing from the hub - using a puller, or bearing seperator, or by cutting it off, etc. 12. Assemble the new bearings to the race and install the outer wheel bearing seal using the HF FWD set. 13. Press the hub into both bearings using the HF FWD set. 14. Press the inner wheel bearing seal into the knuckle using the HF FWD set. 15. Reinstall axle, and reassemble. I omitted the removal of the brake hardware, etc. since you are already that far in obviously. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwhistle Posted September 1, 2011 Author Share Posted September 1, 2011 Thank you, sir! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisd Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 (edited) GD, thank you for the helpful write-up. I'm in this process right now, 99 legacy wagon left front wheel bearing. I've got cv axle out and am considering doing the bearing myself with the HF FWD Tool. Ive got the bearing but need to get the two seals. My question is can the HF FWD set be used without the impact wrench? I don't have one but maybe with a socket breaker bar? Also is it hard to tell when you have the bearing pressed in to the right spot or is it a stop, undo press assembly, look and go back to pressing process? I could always take knuckle/hub to local shop with press. Edited September 7, 2011 by lewisd found new info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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