How hard is it really to get a front wheel hub off?

We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms

spiritofjosh

know your role!
I need to get the front hub off my eg hatch because one of the lug stud holes are stripped out so I can't replace the stud. I've looked it up and read a lot of different things from it "comes right off" to "its a huge job" and that I'll have to replace the bearing and it won't work right if I replace it myself.

So what do I really have to expect?
 
it really could be anywhere from "pretty easy" to "absolute cunt"

it goes on a case by case basis

one side of the car could be pretty easy and the other can be the biggest pain in the ass ever imagined

i know thats not very helpful... sorry
 
I know exactly what you mean, when I put in my rear coilovers the right side took me 20 minutes to take out the old strut and put in the coilover and lower the car back down. The left side took me 3 days because the nut and bolt were rusted in the bottom of the strut and just kept spinning so I had to cut it off. I guess I'll just have to try my luck.
 
You'll need a press to get it out. And it will destroy the bearing in the process. So, get a new bearing too. Also inspect the hub where it mates to the bearing to make sure it is still true. I had to replace my hubs last time because they had worn.
 
Replacing hubs is very easy, but like E SolSi said, it goes case by case. In a perfect world where things didn't go wrong, it would be a matter of minutes to take a hub off. But this isn't a perfect world & sh*t get's old & worn. Good luck though!
 
First of all, it's bullshit that it will wreck your bearing. The only special tools you will need are a vice and a press, and a little wheel bearing grease. Take the knuckle off (I'll assume you know how to do that much) and put the longest part of the knuckle in the jaws of the vice, you'll have to mess around with it to perfect the angle but you'll quickly figure it out. Next find a socket the size of the hub, smaller than the inner bearing race. You'll basically use it as a punch and beat the shit out of it with a hammer until the hub pops out- you're trying the drive the hub out from behind/the back side, if that makes sense. The bearing race will stay on the hub, don't worry about it, just make sure you don't get any debris into the exposed inner bearing that will stay in the knuckle. Now you can put the hub in the vice, tap the old stud out and the new one in. For reassembly a press isn't 100% necessary, but it makes it 100x easier. again you'll need a large socket to support the hub with- you'll be laying the hub studs down in the vice and if you don't put something underneath the hub, as you press the knuckle down the studs will just all press out of the hub. Anyway, position the knuckle carefully so that everything is square and press the knuckle back down onto the hub. I've done this job twice in the last few months and it took me around an hour start to finish on each. Don't forget to wipe out as much old dried up grease as you can and replace it with new clean wheel bearing grease. Good luck!
 
thanks dude, when its not close to 100 degrees out i'll figure it out.
 
Back
Top