Is front wheel bearing hard to change?

[Robert K]

I've had a little bit of noise from the front end which I thought just might be my 17" Michelins. But, when I took the front wheels off this weekend, it appears that the driver's side front wheel bearing is probably shot. My Bentley manual shows a crows foot type puller being used to pull the bearing off, which doesn't look to be too difficult. It's putting the new one back on that worries me. The manual says to use a press. I'm just wondering exactly what you're pushing or pulling against to do this. As long as a person was careful and pushed against the inner bearing race, would it be okay to use a large socket or pipe and tap it on with a hammer? Any info would be appreciated.

Grace and peace,

Robert K
1991 535i

[shogun]

Here is a good info from Johan and Sean's E32 webpage
http://shrubbery.student.utwente.nl/sean750/front_wheel_bearing/ReplacingFrontWheelBearing.htm

[Kalevera]

Yeah, those guys kick ass!

best, whit

[Robin-535im]

1991 is when they changed the styles, so look on Bruno's site to see the differences, look at yours, and make sure to order the one you need. I had the more expensive one, and my build date was 3/91, and even after double checking still got the wrong one the first time from BMA. Of course they fixed it and paid for shipping, like they are known to do.

My bearings just came right off by hand. I seated them by hand, then cranked them down to the required torque and that seated them all the way as far as I know.

Be sure to buy new collar nuts and outside dust shield, as the outer sheild is hard to remove without destroying it. I reused my inner shields.


- Robin

PS - not only was mine a 91 535im, but granite silver with dove grey interior... add style 5's and it could pass for your car!