Hi all,
I'm halfway through a full brake job, and have my first front rotor and hub ready to come off. I took off the spindle nut and caliper, the bearing fell out and the rotor and hub are loose, but when I pull, they just clunk back and forth a bit. I tried some hammer persuasion, no luck. It feels like there is some sort of retainer. What am I missing?

Thanks,
Jack

never mind. got it. haha

Well, what was it ?

Call for help to fixed in 9 minutes ?

__________________
1980 240d ,

chain elongation, cam marks reference:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/10414-help-i-need-check-stretch.html

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/305365-9-degrees-chain-stretch.html

evap fin cleaning:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/156207-photo-step-step-post-showing-w123-evaporator-removal-1983-240d-1982-300td.html?highlight=evaporator

A/C thread

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/297462-c-recommendations-mb-vehicles.html

Just got to pull a little harder.

__________________
Jim

if you are changing the rotor, you need to know how to unbolt it from the hub!
yeah, that grease seal will GRAB and feel like it's stuck on something sometimes... that or you forgot to pull the caliper off...

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

The spindle nut and outer bearing were off, and the rotor and hub were just flopping around on the spindle. It would move out ~.250 but no further. I hit it with a hammer while turning it (probably damaged the bearing... should have just gotten a new one rather than giving myself another project) and eventually it came off. I need to just bit the bullet and buy a 3 jaw puller.

The ID of the inner bearing simply hung up on the accumulated corrosion that is just outside the bearing track. This is somewhat common and does require some force to "press" the bearing through this area. It's not easy to tap the front rotor due to the heat shield, but if you did it lightly and did not jam the rotor/bearing combination at an angle, you would not have damaged the bearing.

This situation tells you, however, that you need to polish the spindle with some very fine emery cloth (I like 400) prior to reinstallation. Otherwise the same problem will occur when you attempt to seat the newly repacked bearing. The clearances between the bearings and the spindle are very tight..........on the order of .0005".

The inner bearing typically gets damaged when the mechanic removes the inner seal to remove the inner bearing. If any prying is done against the bearing, you will damage it.

You did remove the inner bearing for a proper repack...........right?

I did not remove and repack the inner bearing- only the outer. I also had the thing jammed at an angle. I'm pretty sure I messed it up because of the thunkthunkthunk I get when turning to the one side. I've got another thread going about my brake buzz issue... looks like I'll be tearing the front end apart again soon.

Well, the need to repack the bearing is definitely the case, so you ought to take care of that. The grease doesn't do well after about 50K miles.

As stated, be real careful in removing the seal. You cannot pry on the bearing. I take a screwdriver and lightly deform the ouside edge to break it loose from the hub. Then I pry it off the hub with an 18" bar. However, the leverage is given by pushing down on an old brake pad that is sitting just inside the rotor. The tip of the bar is behind the seal and you can smack the far end of the bar to get the seal to move. Hit it a few times at various angular positions and it will pop right out.

You are aware that the seal is toast upon removal and you need a new (2) to complete the job?

I just purchased a Ruville bearing kit (comes with 2 bearings and a dust seal) off peachparts. It will go in once it arrives. Thanks for the help, folks.

Your next challenge, if bearing replacement is in the cards, is to remove the outer races from the hubs. This is not an easy task and requires a proper drift and considerable patience. You must lightly tap the race all around its circumference. There will appear to be no movement, but, in reality, it will be disengaging itself by .002" with each tap. If you hit it hard, you'll jam it and be there for hours.

One of those "cold shot" sprays would probably assist greatly, especially if you warm the hub first.

When I removed the hubs to replace the rotors, the outer race fell out of the hub once I removed the spindle nut. Do you mean the inner bearing?

Thanks

That would be incredibly unlikely. What usually falls out is the inner race (not to be confused with the inner bearing) and the tapered rollers. The outer race should have remained behind in the hub.