[1994v12]

doesn't look like a DIY home driveway job....
special tools out the wazoo
the rear hub in mine has one snapped off wheel lug bolt, since I got it.
was looking around for procedure to remove hub...so I could drill the broken stud out.
lol !! nut-uh, no thanks...

I guess you could remove the entire knuckle and put it in a press, and press it off/on somehow, but those special tools must cost a fortune, more than the car.

 

[jal1224]

Looks like a standard hub puller and bearing puller should work. Don't need all of that hydraulic stuff for DIY. They can justify buying that stuff for a shop.

Jon

 

[1994v12]

agreed definitely, pricey tools- when we had to pull axles in the shop, we used a slide hammer. or rented a puller that mounted to the spindle. a strap of steel across the hub, bolted to the wheel lug bolt holes, and big slide hammer may pull it out. just don't want to damage the bearing inside there. it has to come out evenly and straight.

just one thing, look at the way that HUB PULLER works- he removes the axle, and puts a big nut on back of knuckle, and pulls forward. the axle nut must be removed to pull the hub- then what do you press against to get it off with the puller ? pressing against the axle will only push the axle back in.

I'd give it a shot with slide hammer, if that doesn't work, time to punt....could just change the whole knuckle with hub on it. there's plenty OF used ones available on ebay. if you noticed, there's only like one bolt holding the knuckle in place while he's doing it, on the bottom ! one more bolt and the entire thing would come off the car. it can then just be swapped out as a whole. instead of rebuilt.

may also be able to get the piece of broken stud out with hub still on the car....we'll see

 

[NZJay]

Ive done it (made a thread with sizes iirc) with a slide hammer and one of those Chinese wheel bearing kits. The axle may come out come out easy or it may not, took a few hammer blows on the W140. A few BMW's ive used a gas torch around the bearing and 3 jaw puller to push it out of the hub when it was seized.

 

[1994v12]

I see, thanks...
I'm thinking...take wheel off, take outer axle nut off, pound axle inward off inner splines with big brass drift and sledgehammer, so as to not damage threads on axle, attach slidehammer to hub at wheel lug bolt holes, snap ring should/will hold bearing in knuckle, while the hub is slide hammered outward. I won't change bearing as it doesn't make noise.

 

[NZJay]

Yeah the inner race will come off with the hub as usual. I suppose you can press it back on but given a new *** one is $60 id replace for piece of mind but that's just me.

 

[jal1224]

You will usually ruin the bearing pulling the hub. Don't try to reuse it, not worth doing the job again.
I had to use a 3 arm puller to push out the stub axle when I replaced a torn CV boot, and my car has never seen salt. A brass drift wouldn't do it. When you put it back in, use copious amounts of antiseize on the splines.

Jon

 

[1994v12]

holy smokes those are pressed in there that tight ? they look the same as front axles on a FWD car, I've knocked them out of there before with a 1" diameter drift and sledgehammer. thanks for the heads up.

 

[1994v12]

Yeah the inner race will come off with the hub as usual. I suppose you can press it back on but given a new *** one is $60 id replace for piece of mind but that's just me.

I thought there was a snap ring holding the bearing inside the knuckle, from the outside ? the mechanic in the video removes it with snap ring pliers, and it's in the exploded diagram parts view list

 

[NZJay]

There is a snap ring holding the bearing but given its on the outside it cant prevent the inner race from being pulled out with the hub because its pressed onto it.

My axles came out with a punch and hammer, one side took a bit more force than the other. In my experience here it's mainly luck whether they come out easy or not, there isn't usually obvious reason why some are hard or easy given similar variables.

 

[1994v12]

being the right rear is the drive wheel on these non-posi MB cars, it would make sense, one hub will be stuck on more than the other. your experience explains why that tech in the video I posted, uses that special pneumatic tool to pull the bearings and hub. it pulls the hub off while holding the back and front of the bearing in place, so the inner race stays inside the bearing. what you are saying here, means that the bearing is most times destroyed when removing the hub, and must be replaced. did you have difficulty pressing the new bearing back in ?? if you pull the inner race off when removing hub, that means the ball bearings come out and fall all over the place, no ?? how did you press the new bearings in ? most times with FWD cars with pressed bearings, they remove the spindle and do it in a press. but there are pullers you can make that will remove/install the bearing as well, my brother made one to do a 2002 Saturn SL2 coupe.

 

[NZJay]

Grease holds the ball bearings in place and its a dual race bearing . Technically it can be pressed back in but ive seen anyone do it.. The seal likely gets damaged when the race comes off also so its not going to last long if the grease flings out.

You can do it in a press also but its a lot of work to remove the hub compared to a fwd car. I used one of these to remove and replace the bearing in my thread

https://www.amazon.com/OrionMotorTech-23-Piece-Adapters-Replacement-Installer/dp/B01FLVOAZI/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Front+Wheel+Drive+Bearing&qid=1595105946&sr=8-1

W140 rear wheel bearing diy

Since i had my driveshaft and diff out of the car i thought id replace both rear wheel bearings and do a quick diy, i know many cars are the same but i always found it helpful when you know exactly what sort of sizes are required. Bearings had done 223,000km, no play but aren't that quiet or...

www.benzworld.org

 

[1994v12]

being I only have a snapped off wheel stud bolt, I'm going to remove rotor, caliper and heat the hub with a torch, and try to get the little piece of bolt out, with an EZ out, or by grinding a slot in it, and turn it out with a screwdriver. my car doesn't have bad rear wheel bearings.
but good to know- thanks for the thread posts and tool link. will keep as reference. the video shows there's not many bolts holding the knuckle in place, after he disassembled it to change bearing. at that point, rather than fuss with pressing bearings in/out, and buying a puller set, I'd just change the entire housing with new bearing already in it. the race sticking on the hub and having to be cut off, is a hassle. I've had to do that before with rear diff bearings on American cars, cut them with a torch to get them out of the cast housing.
it's silly that the hub won't come out, without the inner race coming out with it, and ruining the bearing. WTF were those German engineers thinking there. that should just come right apart.

 

[NZJay]

Personally removing all the suspension arms and handbrake cables would put me off. If you removed the entire thing doing it in a press would be easy, i doubt anything is available new besides the bearing for these cars. It's not just Germans, most IRS rwd cars ive come across use a similar setup.

99% of the cases the only time hub needs to be removed is when you are replacing the bearing which would probably be only be done once this cars lifetime if you are using good quality bearings.
Snapping off a wheel bolt is isn't common and takes a special kind of person to do something like that, unfortunate you have to deal with someones screw up

But yeah no need to remove the hub anyway given the many options for stud extraction. EZ out and heat would be my first option.

 

[1994v12]

I appreciate your input, allow me to elaborate:
the rear bearings, hub are available new. if need be.
if you watch the opening post video, the tech has the rear knuckle almost completely removed just to do the bearings with the pneumatic puller on the lift. an electric or pneumatic impact gun will remove those few remaining control arm/mounting bolts like nothing. (I have both types of impact guns). you can see how fast he removes them with his pneumatic impact.
the complete assemblies are listed by the dozen on Ebay now, ready to bolt on. when you look at them, it's just a series of trailing arms bolted to the knuckle, taken apart like a puzzle. really nothing to be afraid of.
the biggest hurdle is finding a place to do it, that is sheltered from the weather, and has heat/ac so you can work like a gentleman ! instead of sweating in the sun like a slave.

 

[1994v12]

ok, the show is over folks, the party is starting now...the stud came right out from the backside, with vice grips,
was hoping the stud stuck out behind rotor enough to grab with pliers, and it was- easy job no sweat !!

 

[1994v12]

this deserved a new thread so I started it, in case anyone breaks a stud off in hub. what a relief. but here it is in this thread as well, for posterity....spray it with PB blaster, turn it out from the BACK with vice grips. the stud protrudes enough to get a good grip on it, to turn it out. if it doesn't turn out, next step would be use heat on it, and try again.

 

[1994v12]

I won't be needing the puller kit, etc.

thank God....

 

[1994v12]

but I did have to address the rusty crust around the rear caliper and brake pads !! the spring bracket was also broken. this is what northeastern USA winter salt brine will do to a car....bad scene !! welcome to the northeast...on a quiet night, you can hear all the cars rusting....like Neil Young said, "cuz rust ne-ver slee-eeps"

the crystal ball says....will need rear calipers, rotors cut in this cars future....

 

[NZJay]

I appreciate your input, allow me to elaborate:
the rear bearings, hub are available new. if need be.
if you watch the opening post video, the tech has the rear knuckle almost completely removed just to do the bearings with the pneumatic puller on the lift. an electric or pneumatic impact gun will remove those few remaining control arm/mounting bolts like nothing. (I have both types of impact guns). you can see how fast he removes them with his pneumatic impact.
the complete assemblies are listed by the dozen on Ebay now, ready to bolt on. when you look at them, it's just a series of trailing arms bolted to the knuckle, taken apart like a puzzle. really nothing to be afraid of.
the biggest hurdle is finding a place to do it, that is sheltered from the weather, and has heat/ac so you can work like a gentleman ! instead of sweating in the sun like a slave.

I agree its not that hard to do but far more work than needed if you have the right tools. You'd have to release the handbrake cable from the automatic adjuster which sits above the exhaust\driveshaft which (like the wrecker has) and re-torque all those control arm bushings under load also. Just not worth it unless you have major problems getting the axle out of the hub.

Those assemblies aren't new so you'd have to be ok using hand bearings and lower bushing\ or replacing it. Id rather spend $60 and 30mins to press a new one with a shop press and know i'll never have to do the job again.

Great you got the stud out, im glad we don't see rust issues like that here.