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Renault Front Wheel Bearing replacement

November 27 2003 at 3:50 AM
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from IP address 67.70.54.227

 
Replacing the Reanult front wheel bearing is a complicated procedure once started destroys the original bearing.

I have knocked out the hub flange from the carrier, which leaves the inner race of the bearing on the hub flange shaft. The Haynes manual says to pull off the inner race with a three-jaw puller. Trouble is that there isn't much to grab on the inner race to pull it off.

Anyone have recommendation as to how to remove the inner race from the hub flange?

 
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Juha

193.166.232.79

Use an angle grinder(!)

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December 9 2003, 2:25 AM 

There are basically two methods of removing thebearing's inner race:

1. The brutalo method:

WARNING: This method has a potential risk of damaging the hub axle carrier!

With an angle grinder, grind away the bearing's inner race at one point, until you (almost) reach the hub flange shaft. You can see you're nearing the shaft when the inner race starts to change its colour. With the race ground through, it either loses its tension around the flange shaft and can easily be pulled off, or then you can crack the race in two parts with a sharp blow from a chisel or equivalent.

That's the method one of my friends used when he hadn't the proper puller. But under no circumstance must the grinder touch the hub flange shaft!


The by the book (not Haynes!) method:

You definitely can't use a three-legged puller like Haynes suggest. If you want to do the job properly and absolutely safely (=with no damage to the hub possible), you'll need a special heavy-duty puller with two halfmoon-shaped, sharpened/tempered "jaws" (or "prongs"?) that are tightened towards each other, driving their sharp edges under the edge of the inner race. You then attach a puller to these jaws.

It's hard to describe the tool in words, but here's how it looks like:



And the tool in place:




It's a heavy-duty piece of equipment only available (AFAIK) from "serious" tool manufacturers like Facom, Hazet et al. Which means it costs A LOT. So if you only need it once you'd probably better borrow one or go to a repair shop and have them remove the inner race for you. But if you plan to do wheel bearing jobs (or similar) on a relatively regular basis, then this tool is an absolute must.

 
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Juha

193.166.232.79

Re: Use an angle grinder(!)

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December 9 2003, 2:35 AM 

The photos aren't taken by me, just found from the net.


There's actually a universal two-legged puller used in those pictures, but there's also a special type of puller available that is screwed directly into those two vacant (threaded) holes visible in the center of those jaw halves.


(and I meant to write the a risk of damaging the hub flange shaft, not the axle carrier.)

 
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