How to replace your MkIV's front wheel bearings

jmodge

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 18, 2015
Location
Greenville, MI
TDI
2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
Just for clarity on my end, I take an air hammer to the back side of the inner bearing race. This removes the inner race and both sides of the bearing. The outer race stays in the spindle. There is a point in the outer race that separates the two rows of bearings. I start the torch at this point and slice across the outer race, but not through it. Then set the air hammer on that point and a light tap tap removes it.
I imagine without the air hammer it may be simpler to pull the spindle. The outer race can then be used to draw the new bearing in using threaded rod/bolt and washers.
 

scurvy

Good Ol' Boy
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
Chicago IL USA
TDI
2006 Golf
Here's where I f-ed up: I did not know at the time that I was cutting the outer race, and assumed it had to be in the bore of the steering knuckle (I failed to look at what had in fact been removed by the wheel bearing service tools).
By the time I realized my error I had already cut a decent sized groove into the bore of the steering knuckle.
Please, please, please, someone tell me that I can just sand that a bit, or fill the cut with a little jb weld, and proceed to press the new bearing in. The circlip will still fit.
Eh, you're probably fine. Use JB Weld, or don't, I don't think the bearing will care much. Press in a new bearing and motor on. Try not to work hungry or tired again.

Everybody's got to eat their share of **** sammiches, just remember the taste next time.
 

Oo-v-oO

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2000
Location
Live Free or Die, USA
TDI
98 Jetta Expired... Now 2000 Golf & 2002 Golf
Thanks for the writeup, scurvy. Did the RF on my 2000 Golf today, will need to do the other side some time soon as it has as much slop as the right did, but isn't noisy yet.

I found that when pressing the outer race out of the knuckle, it worked best when I used one of the discs that caught the rib inside, between the races. When I tried pushing on the thin lip on the outside edge the disc slipped down and started to get pulled in crooked.

I also left my lower ball joint attached to the lower control arm and disconnected it at the stud. Much easier and no worries about alignment that way - only wrinkle is that you need to put some pressure on the lower control arm when putting it back together so the stud won't spin when you try to tighten the nut back up. I used a prybar, but you could also put a jack under it.

Nearly silent now, other than the tread noise from the snow tires and probably a little grumbling from the left front or rear bearings. It's like Whack-A-Mole.
 

Oo-v-oO

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2000
Location
Live Free or Die, USA
TDI
98 Jetta Expired... Now 2000 Golf & 2002 Golf
The carnage:



No wonder they were noisy. This was the inner row of balls, if it makes any difference. This side of the car was involved in an accident before I got it and the knuckle and some other parts were replaced with junkyard parts to keep from having the car totaled by the insurance company, so I don't know how many miles this bearing had on it. I do know the other side is OEM because the PO was the original owner and he never had the bearings done so that one has 430,000 miles on it now. I guess it has earned the right to be a little loose...
 

mizzn44

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 6, 2007
Location
CO
TDI
'02 Jetta
Now you just have to button everything back up.

Reinstall the brake caliper dust cover and the three 8mm bolts.

Put a light coat of grease on the hub splines and insert the stub axle through it. Don't let the other end come out of the transmission.

Put the balljoint bracket back in the control arm and line it up with the scribed lines or rust marks. Reinstall the three bolts, torque to 20 Nm + 1/4 turn. I used 25 Nm and called it even.

Replace the brake disc and install its retaining screw. Snug is good enough.

Replace the brake caliper and slider pins. Torque to 28 Nm.

Install the new 12 point nut on the axle shaft. My electric impact will really only run something up to about 100 ft-lbs or so, so I snugged it on very well.


Then put the wheel back on minus the center cap.

12 point nut torquing procedure, according to the Bentley:
Weight of the vehicle must be on its wheels.
First, tighten to 200 Nm.
Immediately loosen 1/2 turn.
Roll car to turn wheel 1/2 turn.
Tighten nut to 50 Nm + 1/6 turn.

I did this, but plus about 1/4 turn on the last tightening. This nut is one of the tightest on the car and there's virtually no downside to making it a bit tighter than spec. Some folks like to put a dab of blue loctite on the threads as well. I had one side installed without the weight of the car on the wheels solely with an air impact wrench on a medium torque setting - probably 200 ft-lbs or so. Both sides seem to be doing fine. Use your best judgement which one works best for you.

Enjoy your new, quiet car. Ahhh, blissfully silent!

Bad wheel bearing post-mortem inspection.
Here are some pictures of the bad wheel bearing after it spent a day in a parts washer. Notice the pitting & fretting on the races, all the corossion on the outer shell & how dull the balls appear:






Yeah, it was ugly. No wonder it was making a hell of a racket. Compare to the new bearing I had to remove after forgetting to install the circlip.


This is not a crazy difficult job, but there are a number of pitfalls. If you screw something up mid-stream, you'll have a car out of commission. If you're unsure about this in any way, or don't have a backup vehicle, or don't have ALL the tools, or don't have an afternoon to spend doing this the first time; DON'T DO IT. Take the car to a guru instead. If you're in the Chicago area, I can highly recommend jobob307 or JasonTDI.
I'm having trouble lining up my scribed marks, any special technique I need to employ?

Side note: Slow down folks, In my haste I used the wrong backing plate when I installed the hub. As they say - measure twice, cut once. Resulted in another trip to the parts store for another bearing after the hub pressed the center race out the back.:mad:
 
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scurvy

Good Ol' Boy
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
Chicago IL USA
TDI
2006 Golf
I'm having trouble lining up my scribed marks, any special technique I need to employ?
Pry bar? Hammer? Sometimes I will lift the hub with a floor jack to make it easier.

There's enough rust patina on most of them in the Midwest to not need to scribe a mark at all.

Side note: Slow down folks, In my haste I used the wrong backing plate when I installed the hub. As they say - measure twice, cut once. Resulted in another trip to the parts store for another bearing after the hub pressed the center race out the back.:mad:
It's true, you must obey the rules of time and space for this job to be successful! Glad you found your mistake easily.
 

flashmayo

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2007
Location
Santa Cruz CA
TDI
'03 Jetta - Gator Tuned
This has to be one of the longer threads on this site.
I just finished replacing the passenger front side bearing on my 03 Jetta. This thread helped quite a bit. Thanks Scurvy!
I was convinced that the bad corner was the drivers side. I tried raising both front corners and running it in 4th gear, but the diesel just makes too much noise to hear the bearing grind with my naked ear. Also the drivers side was solid using the 6 and 12 test.
This morning I got all scientific and before tearing apart the drivers side, I raised both corners one at a time and gave them the grab the spring and 6 and 12 test, which revealed the passenger side was likely the bad side. It was pretty ugly.
Very quiet ride now, we’ll see how things go over time.
The only thing I could add to the thread is that I bought a bearing press kit from Amazon for $67 delivered (with prime), so HFT isn’t the only game in town. I used the rental 5 lb slide hammer from Auto Zone to slam the bearing out, and scribed the inner race with my HFT Dremel tool and a couple taps with a cold chisel freed it up enough to slide off with a screwdriver.
Another blowmolded tool box to take up room in the garage and I’m good to go for now.
 

dubStrom

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Aug 6, 2007
Location
Kansas City Missouri
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2003 A4 Jetta (sold), 2010 JSW (sold), 2013 Passat 6MT traded for 2014 JSW with 6MT-TOTALED in November 2016, 2003 ALH 5MT conversion (sold), wheezing 2015 GSW/DSG and a new 2021 Tacoma Access Cab 4x4 p'up
Thanks for the write up. I did use a bearing removal and install kit like the one you used. The last ~3mm was REALLY tight. In fact, I think I damaged the threads on the bolt tightening it while pushing it in. I barely got the new circlamp installed. I don't know why it was so tight. The knuckle was new (wheel bearing housing), and the bearing was too (of course). Both from IDParts. I guess the housing was just a little tight at the outer end. All good now and glad to have it done!
 

scurvy

Good Ol' Boy
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
Chicago IL USA
TDI
2006 Golf
Thanks Scurvy!
...
This morning I got all scientific and before tearing apart the drivers side, I raised both corners one at a time and gave them the grab the spring and 6 and 12 test, which revealed the passenger side was likely the bad side. It was pretty ugly.
Nice work, good call on only raising one side at a time.


I have had 100% success rate with having the front end on jackstands and letting it idle in 5th gear, but this is a good thing to try as well.


Just to be clear, you felt play at 6 & 12 when rocking the wheel, and could feel grinding noises in the spring while rotating the wheel by hand?



The last ~3mm was REALLY tight. In fact, I think I damaged the threads on the bolt tightening it while pushing it in. I barely got the new circlamp installed. I don't know why it was so tight. The knuckle was new (wheel bearing housing), and the bearing was too (of course). Both from IDParts. I guess the housing was just a little tight at the outer end. All good now and glad to have it done!
Gotta be super tight at least once, right? :D


Glad you found the thread useful.
 

jokila

Vendor
Joined
Dec 3, 2004
Location
Houston, Texas
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, Manual
Pro tip:

If you buy from Harbor Freight online, be sure to search for "Harbor Freight promo code" for discounts on each item. I was able to put in two codes for 25% off on each item i purchased.
 

scurvy

Good Ol' Boy
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
Chicago IL USA
TDI
2006 Golf
General Hazard Fraught tips:


0. Save your receipt.
1. If buying in store, open the package and see what you got before you drive home.
2. Save your receipt.
3. 20%+ coupons are always out there.
4. Save your receipt.
5. Save your receipt.
6. Save your receipt.


;)
 

Powder Hound

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 25, 1999
Location
Under a Bridge, Crestview, FL, USA
TDI
'00 Golf 4dr White 5sp, '02 Jettachero 5sp, Wife's '03 NB Platinum Gray auto(!)
Did the driver's side of my wife's gasser Jetta last Saturday (29 Dec). We had spent 30 minutes both in the car, switching driving to figure which side was the bad one. Finally decided to pull the trigger on the driver's side.

The outside race was perfect. The inner race had grease that had liberal quantites of rust mixed with the grease. While the race itself where the balls were looked OK, there was corrosion just getting to where the balls actually roll. After the job was done, the noise was only marginally reduced. So, next chance I get I'll swap out the passenger side. I would have celebrated New Year's Day by doing it then, but the weather decided it would rather have me shovel slush instead.

Upshot is that instead of kicking myself for changing the wrong side, I know I just did the first one and both needed replacing.

For pulling the old bearing, I use a large 2-jaw puller and a brace I made to pull the hub, then the HF kit to pull the rest of the bearing out. I use the special puller to get the inner race half off the hub. It works much more quickly than trying to cut the old one off. Everything goes back together as you'd expect.

I think I'll go get a couple of large sockets to run the puller though. All I have to use right now for something that big is a pair of adjustable end wrenches and that gets rather tedious.

Cheers,

PH
 

BobnOH

not-a-mechanic
Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
Yes, for us that fix our own, I'd replace in pairs unless I suspected a premature failure.
 

ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
I respectfully disagree... replace the one that's bad ... I've had several years' difference in longevity between sides....
 

Powder Hound

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 25, 1999
Location
Under a Bridge, Crestview, FL, USA
TDI
'00 Golf 4dr White 5sp, '02 Jettachero 5sp, Wife's '03 NB Platinum Gray auto(!)
Ordinarily, that is exactly what I do. In this case, I made a mistake, and if I would have followed Scury's advice, I'd have jacked it up and correctly determined the failing side. But as I explained, on observation, even the side that was still 'good' was a short time away from failure. I can't believe that rust colored grease indicated a 'good' bearing. In my case, I think all I would have found if I had jacked it up was a very noisy side and a not nearly so noisy side, but both sides were bad.

I went and did the right side today. I also got a 28mm and 32mm to help drive the HF bearing kit driver bolt and nut, and it really helped speed things up. I also had fun with the 3 bolts on the control arm because the previous owner had work done by someone who just didn't care to use anything close to the correct parts. What a pain that was to get the incorrect rusted parts out.

This side has been done before. The gap in the c-clip was at the 1-2 o'clock position, again showing work by someone who doesn't give a rat's patootie about doing it correctly. That may have contributed to the failure. I haven't done the pathology report on the failed bearing on this side, but the grease on both sides of this one was gun-metal grey. It was coming unglued, and advertising that fact. This time, the drive home after the operation (I have a friend that generously allowed me to use his clean dry garage) was nice and quiet. Yay!

Cheers,

PH
 

scurvy

Good Ol' Boy
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
Chicago IL USA
TDI
2006 Golf
I respectfully disagree... replace the one that's bad ... I've had several years' difference in longevity between sides....

Yep. Same here. Spend the time to figure out which one was bad and just change that one.


PH, you got lucky and found the first side was in the process of going bad along with the other side that was already bad.


I'd rather be lucky than good any day!
 

Powder Hound

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 25, 1999
Location
Under a Bridge, Crestview, FL, USA
TDI
'00 Golf 4dr White 5sp, '02 Jettachero 5sp, Wife's '03 NB Platinum Gray auto(!)
Yes, in fact I feel quite lucky, and that keeps me from feeling like I wasted a good bearing and sore wrists and back on that day!

I also had a very good look at the passenger side half shaft when I did that side and now I need to find a real oem half shaft. Yikes, the deeper I look into this thing, the less I ever want to meet the previous owner's mechanic. I'd have to take a ball peen hammer and save all the rest of the cars he might ever touch.
 
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Oo-v-oO

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2000
Location
Live Free or Die, USA
TDI
98 Jetta Expired... Now 2000 Golf & 2002 Golf
Bump for a good thread. I'm doing one side of my '02 Golf today and it was a nice refresher to review the process.
 

B100

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Location
Berkeley, Eastbania
TDI
2003 Golf
I took my Golf to local mechanic (Matt Phelan) last week, in part to get the wheel bearings replaced. The whine from the wheels has been noticeable for a while. Once on the lift, he checked each wheel, and found no evidence of any bearings needing to be replaced. The noise, we determined, was from my tires...

So, my bad for jumping to an invalid conclusion, but I'm glad he saw they were fine, and we moved on to the TB replacement.
 

APDC

New member
Joined
Apr 25, 2019
Location
USA
TDI
2012 Passat TDI SEL
Thank you for taking the time to write this up, with pictures and all! It will prove very helpful this morning, I am sure.
 

TownsendTDI

Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Location
Tn
TDI
2000 Golf TDI, 5 spd 2003 Golf TDI, 5 spd
Great how to

Thanks for the how to!

Bearing replacement went well, the noise is gone. However, while yanking the hub off with the slide hammer I tore my ball joint boot on the end of the control arm. I usually get my parts from idparts or OEM quality parts from elsewhere, but I really wanted to finish the job and picked up some cheap ball joint from Advance Auto. My steering wheel isn't straight anymore and it's pulling to the left pretty hard. Could a cheap ball joint cause this? I did put the ball joint in the same spot by marking the position of the plate and nuts- but now it's a different ball joint...

If not, before using the slide hammer I did attempt to remove the hub with a puller. I used c-clamps to hold a big flat wrench against the back of the knuckle so the end of my puller was hitting it through the center of the bearing with the puller yanking the hub off in the same position used to push the axle out. The big wrench I clamped behind the knuckle ended up bending and the hub didn't budge. I wonder if I also bent the knuckle where it was clamped near where the tie rod connects. Seems unlikely but I don't know how my steering could have gotten so screwed up.

Also, in my haste, I cranked down the axle nut with an impact without the weight of the vehicle on the wheel. What kind of issues could that cause?

Thanks
 

BobnOH

not-a-mechanic
Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
It'll need aligned. Not surprised an aftermarket ball joint has a slight different fitment. Haven't read any complaints for aftermarket ball joints, but who knows.
 

scurvy

Good Ol' Boy
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
Chicago IL USA
TDI
2006 Golf
However, while yanking the hub off with the slide hammer I tore my ball joint boot on the end of the control arm
...
picked up some cheap ball joint from Advance Auto. My steering wheel isn't straight anymore and it's pulling to the left pretty hard. Could a cheap ball joint cause this? I did put the ball joint in the same spot by marking the position of the plate and nuts- but now it's a different ball joint...
You replaced a ball joint? You need an alignment.



Also, in my haste, I cranked down the axle nut with an impact without the weight of the vehicle on the wheel. What kind of issues could that cause?

You can retorque the nut any time you want. Pop the wheel center cap out and tighten away.


Any time I have had to mess with the axle nut (wheel bearing, CV joint, etc...) I leave the center cap off for the next week and check torque on the nut every few days. Never loosen it, just pull out the torque wrench and check that it clicks without the nut turning. More than once I've had it move slightly on the first recheck.
 

jokila

Vendor
Joined
Dec 3, 2004
Location
Houston, Texas
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, Manual
You replaced a ball joint? You need an alignment.


You can retorque the nut any time you want. Pop the wheel center cap out and tighten away.


Any time I have had to mess with the axle nut (wheel bearing, CV joint, etc...) I leave the center cap off for the next week and check torque on the nut every few days. Never loosen it, just pull out the torque wrench and check that it clicks without the nut turning. More than once I've had it move slightly on the first recheck.
You have that problem using the torque steps from the Bentley?
 

scurvy

Good Ol' Boy
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
Chicago IL USA
TDI
2006 Golf
You have that problem using the torque steps from the Bentley?

I have a problem using the torque steps from the Bentley because it has me loosening a nut, then retightening it. It doesn't make sense to me and I especially don't like loosening a nut designed to lock on the threads.



However, I've done it both ways - Bentley method & German torque method - and have had it turn slightly after a few days' recheck, yes.
 

TownsendTDI

Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Location
Tn
TDI
2000 Golf TDI, 5 spd 2003 Golf TDI, 5 spd
I brought the car to the independent VW/Audi shop I've used for years for an alignment. They checked it twice and the car is still pulling hard to the left. Could I have messed up my steering rack from the force of the slide hammer? I held the knuckle as best as I could with my feet. They checked my work and didn't see anything wrong. Anyone got any ideas? Can the rack shift on the subframe?
 

Mike_04GolfTDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 19, 2003
Location
Richmond, BC, Canada
TDI
Mine: 2019 Golf R DSG, Wife's: 2015 Golf Comfortline TDI
Even if the rack did shift on the subframe, that would just mean one tie rod needs to be lengthened and one needs to be shortened. I doubt that's it anyway.

Maybe the whole subframe shifted? Or a lower control arm has very loose bushings? Those are things a shop should easily find though, when they are specifically looking for a reason why the car is pulling to the left.

A dragging brake perhaps? The left rear parking brake often sticks on these cars. You could try jacking up the back wheels with the parking brake off and make sure it is easy to spin the wheels.

Or a sticking front brake for that matter, but the rears do it more often.

Maybe a bent strut, or really bad upper strut mount? Again, shop should find that kind of problem easily.

The whole car is bent? Rear axle bushings?
 

ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
I have a problem using the torque steps from the Bentley because it has me loosening a nut, then retightening it. It doesn't make sense to me and I especially don't like loosening a nut designed to lock on the threads.
I'm sure you know this (I'm writing this for possible newbies who may not), but... the first tightening is meant to pull the outer CV joint firmly into the wheel hub, before loosening, rotating to redistribute the load to the internal components (balls), and doing the final torque tightening...


Y.
 

benshaw

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2004
Location
51
TDI
Jetta bew
I brought the car to the independent VW/Audi shop I've used for years for an alignment. They checked it twice and the car is still pulling hard to the left. Could I have messed up my steering rack from the force of the slide hammer? I held the knuckle as best as I could with my feet. They checked my work and didn't see anything wrong. Anyone got any ideas? Can the rack shift on the subframe?
is the steering wheel off centre, subframe needs shifting opposite direction?
 
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