[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.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[NZJay]

Most fwd cars we have here are Japanese and every one ive seen is exactly the same for the front as most rwd cars are in the rear ie no bolt on hub. Just started doing a Nissan X-trail today that needs both front bearings, i have the hubs off and knuckles out ready to press out the old bearing using a the shop press.

Ive come across a few cars that use a bolt on hub\bearing for the drive axle but they were all GM based cars iirc. Makes the job easier but hubs w\bearings are and far more expensive to buy esp here in NZ, lots of crappy Chinese aftermarket stuff on the market. The press bearings are Japanese more often than not ie NSK,NTN,SKF.

Specials tools are rarely needed in my experience, you can also make or have your own copy made to mimic them. They certainly make the job easier and faster though, if you are on flat rate they may pay for themselves if you doing lots of the job while the car is in production.

 

[NZJay]

I just don't see it as an issue given they generally last a very long time in these cars and others like BMW's. Its a one of expense if ever needed.

Took me 3 hrs at a relaxed pace to do the 2x X-trail bearing taking the whole knuckle off to press them out. Its an easy job provided the axle comes out easily.