Replacing front wheel bearings on a front wheel drive VW is a challenge. This process requires some hefty tools that are usually not possessed by most backyard mechanics. Unfortunately for longterm owners of front-wheel driven Volkswagons, this is a procedure that should be done more often than not. If shopping for a FWD VW from this era, I can almost guarantee the front bearings are in need of replacement. Common symptoms of worn bearings is a knocking sound emminating from the front end of the car as the wheels rotate. The knocking noise can become more apparent when turning or braking.
The front wheel bearings are not visible when the drivetrain is assembled and is often overlooked because of the labor intensity in the procedure. However, once it is replaced, the driver immediately notices a marked improvement and smoothness, then wonders why one would allow this condition to go on for so long. Since it is a slow degradation, one does not notice how bad it becomes until it is replaced with fresh smooth bearings.
At $25 each, the front wheel bearings are not expensive. A pair is needed to complete the front end. However, labor to replace the bearing requires a moderate disassembly of the front suspension and brakes. In addition, the removal of the bearing requires a hydraulic press, which in turn necessitates the removal of the hub thereby making a front end alignment necessary after the installation is completed and the front end reassembled.
To achieve the bearing replacement, one needs to safely suspend the front wheels off the ground. A decision point is necessary at this stage. One must either remove the entire hub and take it to a hydraulic press. Or remove the Drive Shaft anduse VW's special bearing press tool which is available from Schley Specialty tools. The tool can set a backyard mechanic back about $300. However, consider that one would be charged roughly $300 in labor for a mechanic to do this procedure in a shop--that is per wheel! From that perspective, the Schley tool begins to appear economical. In fact, the purchase price will be quickly returned if you do this procedure more than once. Consider also that if you use the press, you will not be required to get an alignment after completion which--assuming your alignment was good prior to the bearing replacement-- will save you another $50-75.
To remove the axle shaft requires a special 12 point driver that can be purchased from any VW retailer. Then one must remove the 28mm bolt at the end of the axle shaft. This is a challenge considering that it is torqued to 256 ft/lbs. An air impact wrench or very long breaker bar and a strong arm is helpful in achieving this feat. Once out of the car, one can now remove the hub flange.
The bearing tool comes with a horseshoe, two large screws, several jigs of various sizes, and a threaded rod and bearing cup. With the front wheels and brake rotors removed, place the horseshoe behind the hub flange. Then thread the two screws into two opposite holes in the flange where the wheel bolts would normally go. Thread the screws through the flange until they contact the horseshoe. Then using alternating rotations, evenly rotate each screw to slowly seperate the flange from the hub. Note that the inside bearing race may remain attached to the flange once it is removed. If it stays in the hub then you can proceed to the next step. However, if it remains on the flange, you will need a tool similar to a gear pul
ler to seperate it from the flange. To achieve this, I purchased the generic gear puller pictured above from Sears for $35. It's been handy for pulling steering wheels and other projects on the car too.
Now on to the bearing. Remove the circlips from the outside of the bearing. There is one on the inside and one on the outside surfaces of the bearing. Once removed, the bearing tool threaded rod can now be positioned through the axle shaft opening. The cup remains on the outside while a jig slightly smaller in size to the bearing diamter is placed on the inside. Then the large supplied bolt is threaded onto the rod and slowly tightened. This requires a large crescent wrench on one side and a 32mm wrench or socket on the other. As the tool is tightened, the jig presses the
bearing outward and into the cup, effectively seperating it from the hub.
A new bearing can now be positioned in the back and the tool can once again be used in similar fashion pressing the new bearing into the position formerly held by the old bearing. Once it is in place, remove the bearing tool and replace the circlips. The new bearings should come with new circlips.
Now position the flange and then reinstall the bearing tool. However on the inside, use a bigger jig with a large enough diamter to rest on the backside of the hub. Now press the flange back into position. Finally remove the bearing tool and spin the flange by hand. Feel how smooth the new bearing rotates inside the hub.
Reinstall the axle shaft as outlined in the Bentley manual. Then reinstall the brake rotor and caliper.
The front bearing replacement is now complete. Now repeat the entire procedure on the other side!
With the bearings done, we can now proceed with replacement of the front brake rotors and pads.
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