BMW E30 Front Wheel Bearing Replacement

You will need a three legged six inch puller. You will also need a 1/2 inch torque wrench which goes up to a 210 foot pounds (290 Nm) to tighten the collar nut.

To press the hub on, you will need a special BMW tool or a Special Tool which you can make yourself for less than a buck. I went to my local Home Something megastore, and got a four inch long piece of 1 1/2 inch iron galvanized pipe. This is your complete Special Tool for pressing on wheel bearings.

You will also need a large socket to remove the collar nut. It appears to be 35mm, but I couldn't find a 35mm socket in town. I purchased a 36mm socket for $9 which worked just fine. You will need threadlock and a sealant for the cap.

  1. To remove the old bearing, loosen the wheel bolts, jack up the car, and remove the wheel. Always take the time to use a jack stand. Pry off the hub cap, but you don't need to be too careful since you won't be putting it back on. I drove my trusty lifetime replacement guarantee screwdriver into it and then popped it off by hitting the screwdriver with a mallet.
  2. The collar nut is now exposed. Use a cold chisel or a lifetime guarantee screwdriver to remove the portion of the collar nut which has been smashed into the slot on the stub axle. Try to loosen the collar nut, but don't remove it yet. The collar nut on my car came off easily. If you find you are putting a lot of effort into loosening that nut then remount the wheel and lower the car to the ground, and use a big hammer on your breaker bar.
  3. Remove the two 17mm front caliper mounting bolts, and slide the caliper assembly off. Don't let the caliper just dangle there. You need support it somehow - I usually just wedge it between the inside of the body and the spring. Using a 5mm hex wrench or hex socket, remove the screw which holds the rotor to the hub. If you used anti-seize on that screw when you did you last brake job, it comes right out. If not, try the usual methods like heating the screw with a propane torch or good penetrator like PB Blaster. If you mangle the screw in any way, replace it or you will be sorry next time you do a brake job!
  4. Remove the collar nut and throw it away. Hook your three legged puller over the outer flange of the hub. I had to stick a 3/8" socket extension down the center of the stub axle to protect it from the puller's center screw. Since the inner race is a press fit on the stub axle, it will probably remain on the axle. Remove the brake dust shield, held on by three 10mm bolts, so you can easily get at the inner race. Use the puller to remove the inner race. Inspection of my hub revealed a lot of scoring on the inner race, which was comforting since this confirmed I was doing the correct side of the car. I also noticed that the grease had turned into a waxy dark green substance which probably is why the bearing got noisy. I suspect the waxy green stuff got that way due to that stuck caliper I had for about 2 months, which made the most delicious burning brake pad and rubber smell.
  5. Replacement of the dust shield on the inside of the bearing is recommended. My car doesn't have ABS and the new hubs have the ABS splines, and I was afraid that the dust shield may be just a bit different. Since the dust shield is only $2.12, I decided to replace it. Pull the dust shield off with your puller.
  6. I cleaned the area where the dust shield sat with a wire brush. Pressing on the new slightly different dust shield required the first use of my Special Tool. I used this Special Tool and a rubber mallet to gently persuade the dust shield on. Remount the brake dust shield with the three 10mm bolts and some blue threadlock.
  7. Clean and lightly coat the stub axle with some high temperature grease. Carefully remove the center support from the hub, which holds the inner and outer races together. Place the hub on the stub axle. Place the Special Tool on the outer race and carefully tap the hub onto the stub axle. Once you get it started you can put a block of wood on the end of the Special Tool and use your Persuading Hammer. Don't use the Special Tool to completely seat the hub onto the axle. You only need to use the Special Tool to get the hub on far enough for the new collar nut to catch, then let the collar nut do the rest of the work.
  8. Tighten the collar nut using a torque wrench to 210 foot pounds (290 Nm). You are using a jack stand, right?
  9. Take a dull chisel or a lifetime guarantee screwdriver with the end broken off to press a hunk of the outside of the collar nut into the slot in the stub axle. Be gentle. You want to push enough of the nut into that slot to keep it from turning. Don't worry if the collar nut looks a bit ugly from that 36mm socket and forcing parts of it into the axle slot.
  10. You won't have to look at that collar nut for long, because you will cover that ugly thing up with the hub cap. Put the hub cap on using a metal-to-metal sealer. Very carefully tap the hub cap onto the hub with a rubber mallet.
  11. Remount the caliper, using blue threadlock and torque the two bolts to 89 foot pounds (123 Nm). Remount your wheel and torque to 80 foot pounds (100 Nm).