Changing front wheel bearing... Replace or Reuse Hub?

On my 98 Jetta TDI, I need to replace the front and rear wheel bearings. Can I reuse the front hub? I am gonna use the harbor freight tool to press bearing in/out. (I don't have ABS.)

You can either cut the wheel bearing race that stays stuck on off with a dremel or hit it off with an air hammer and then reuse the hub. Many times, the splines get very tight with the axle and corrosion sets in all around. You may want to put a new hub in there due to that and the extra time needed to remove the race. Your call, it can be reused yes but sometimes it's a better option to replace it.

I just did mine and looking back, I wish I would have just bought the hubs from the start. I ended up reusing my old hubs but getting off that stuck on race was a serious chore. I didn't think of trying to cut it off with a dremel though, good call jolly.

I just did mine on a 98 Jetta, and reused the hub. But I took the assembly to a local shop, they pressed off and on for about $30. I asked them to check the hub dimensions for any problems and if necessary I'd replace it, but it wasn't necessary. I think metalman has the hubs for $35.

New 4 lug hubs with ABS rings are $30 from autohaus. If you are doing both fronts it might be a good idea to just have a spare on hand

Many times it is faster to have NEW hubs added instead of re-using the old ones.
1. time in R & R
2. possible wear in old hub, not visible but shows up later(have to R & R again!)

Well, i am in the middle of trying to get the hub off. I am using a 5lb. slide hammer and it wont budge, I am putting allot of force into it .

I read some where of another way to remove the hub by using a 6" round ID pipe that is 4" Tall that slides over the hub? Would I use my Harbor Freight tool with a 6" pipe to get the hub off?

Anyway the slide hammer is NOT working... anyone have any suggestions?

Well, just my opinion, but if the reason you're not taking the knuckle off to work on it is that you don't want to need an alignment afterwards, I would think that all that force from the slide hammer would call that into question -- how can you be sure you're not changing the knuckle-to-strut alignment? If you google for a "Hub Shark", you might get some ideas about how to adapt the HF tool to mimic it -- it involves only pressing actions, no sharp blows. I was thinking about getting the HF tool myself, would be interested in what you think of it when you're done. But just before I did my Jetta bearing, I had to do bearings on our Saturn, and even the shop couldn't get them out just by using their press; they had to cut the inner races out with a torch -- which is precision work in this case, because you don't want to warp the knuckle.

I got the hub off and the old bearing out . Ok, now I see why it is best to buy a new hub. Looks like a very difficult job getting the race out of the hub . The HF tool worked awesome!!!

Good job BUD, now go hunt a pair of hubs...
Life will get easier!

I personally would never do bearings without pulling the knuckle. Its faster with a press to pull the knuckle and work it on the bench. you also eliminate the extra stress on the other front end components.

I'd pull the hub on the car with a 10lb slide hammer.

I remove the stuck race with a air chisel. you can do it with a cold chisel and a hammer but its much more of a work out. once you get it started you can use a two jaw puller to get all the way off.

pull the knuckle and press the bearing out. then press the knuckle onto the bearing.

remember the snap rings!