[frchdragon]

Still not a month of ownership and the noise I am hearing at the back is probably a rear right wheel bearing.
And BMW being super cheap, they have a pressed in bearing and some fancy new axles without bolts... (I miss my E60 already).

There is 1/2 a video on youtube where the guy disconnect most of the suspension to get the axle out of the rear hub and leaves it attached to the differential.
1- Is it better / possible to remove the axle only (without expensive BMW tool) and then press the bearing in and out? (I have a bunch of tools to press the bearing in and out.)
2- Will putting the axle back into the hub give me trouble?

From the search on the web/forum people mainly get it done at the dealer or a shop.

[frchdragon]

I love replying to my own threads...
So yes it was the wheel bearing, and I never liked changing them as so much usually goes wrong.

Shop next door removed the whole spindle and changed the bearing on the press. The axle in and out was a pain, glad I didn't do it.

Car is now very quiet.

[QuestMCoupe]

Thanks for posting and replying to this thread about your experience. My 435 sounds like the rear left bearing is bad.

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by frchdragon

I love replying to my own threads...
So yes it was the wheel bearing, and I never liked changing them as so much usually goes wrong.

Shop next door removed the whole spindle and changed the bearing on the press. The axle in and out was a pain, glad I didn't do it.

Car is now very quiet.

Thanks for sharing the details. What was the mileage when the rear wheel bearing had to be replaced?

[frchdragon]

Originally Posted by cfm56d7b

Thanks for sharing the details. What was the mileage when the rear wheel bearing had to be replaced?

I had 124k miles (200k km) on the rear wheel bearing.
Seems really low if you ask me, I still have the original wheel bearings on my '85 635csi and I never changed them on my 2 E60 and they both had above 240k miles.

It would seem that there is some cost saving involved in newer cars, like the newer fridges...

[brigade24]

Originally Posted by frchdragon

It would seem that there is some cost saving involved in newer cars, like the newer fridges...

+1

[5w20]

You don’t need to remove the axle from the differential, only from inside the hub. I’ve done this job.

[WingZeroX5]

Originally Posted by 5w20

You don’t need to remove the axle from the differential, only from inside the hub. I’ve done this job.

Can you elaborate exactly what you did and parts needed?

[krith]

If you are like me and are a DIY'er and found yourself on this posting trying to figure out how to do this Job.

Then did it. Here's the 10K foot view on how to replace the rear hubs & bearing without removing the axel at the diff in photos.

In summary, pull the hub with a slide hammer & applying heat on the bearing with a torch is highly advised. Then get to slide hammering. Trust in the process. -sometime later.

Once the Hub is out, press the bearing out. There a many videos on this process. This is the tool I used: https://a.co/d/5YH6n70


Now unbolt the upper to rear control arms and rear toe link. Articulate the wheel knuckle downward and pull out the axle.

Carry on with the repair. Repeat on both sides for peace of mind.

[fs34]

Originally Posted by krith

If you are like me and are a DIY'er and found yourself on this posting trying to figure out how to do this Job.

Then did it. Here's the 10K foot view on how to replace the rear hubs & bearing without removing the axel at the diff in photos.

In summary, pull the hub with a slide hammer & applying heat on the bearing with a torch is highly advised. Then get to slide hammering. Trust in the process. -sometime later.

Once the Hub is out, press the bearing out. There a many videos on this process. This is the tool I used: https://a.co/d/5YH6n70


Now unbolt the upper to rear control arms and rear toe link. Articulate the wheel knuckle downward and pull out the axle.

Carry on with the repair. Repeat on both sides for peace of mind.

Sorry to bump an old post.

How did you handle pressing the hub back onto the output shaft?

[krith]

Originally Posted by fs34

Sorry to bump an old post.

How did you handle pressing the hub back onto the output shaft?

All good. You have used the search button and should be rewarded with an answer.

My at-home DIY solution was simple and thought up on the fly, as I did not realize how much of a pain it would be to reseat the shaft.

Process -
Assuming you used the method of disconnecting the top control arms to drop the assembly forward.
Clean the spindle shaft and apply a very thin amount of bearing grease to the shaft.
Line up the spindle to the hub assembly.
Reinstall the control alarms temporarily. You do not need to tighten the bolts all the way. The goal is to hold the assembly in place.
With everything lined up and the hub assembly mostly where it should be.
Use a 2x4 or other scrap wood wide enough to span the width of the hub bearing receiver (solid metal lip, not the bearing), then tap, tap, tap it in with a hammer striking the wood.
After some tapping, threads will start to protrude. Once you have about two threads, you can thread the spindle nut on the shaft, then by hand, not power tools, tighten the nut, thus pulling the shaft all the way through.
Done!

[mike082802]

not a fun job, did this last sunday. took the whole day and 3 trips to home depot/harbor freight. the bearing retainer clip was a pain, broke 2 snap ring pliers, also had to cut the remaining old bearing off with a cutoff wheel that was stuck to the hub. i used a n amazon bearing press kit to get the hub back in.

[krith]

Originally Posted by mike082802

not a fun job, did this last sunday. took the whole day and 3 trips to home depot/harbor freight. the bearing retainer clip was a pain, broke 2 snap ring pliers, also had to cut the remaining old bearing off with a cutoff wheel that was stuck to the hub. i used a n amazon bearing press kit to get the hub back in.

Yep. I agree. It is still a DIY garage-doable project.

I bought the Harbor Freight ICON snap ring pliers kit. However, I should have just bought the largest tool they had in the store, as the kit's maximum size was just not enough.

I rented the 5-pound sliding hammer puller from AutoZone because all the other bearing pullers kept deforming the hub. It still took 3 hours of whaling on the slide hammer, plus heat from a torch.

Once the outer race was clean and clear, I used an eBay bearing press kit.

Rinse and repeat on the other side because repairing in pairs is the way to go.

Then beer.

In hindsight -
Buying a hydraulic hub puller and larger snap ring pliers would have made for much better use of time.

[g340ix]

this job sucks, if you don't get the new bearing in perfectly they can bind and you're back to the beginning... ask me how I know. Had to bring the knuckle to a shop to use a proper press and put the new bearing in.

Also, I tried using the axle nut to pull the axle through, did not go well, partially because i warped by bearing getting it in, but this tool helps:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1