How to replace your MkIV's front wheel bearings

B100 said:

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.

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I did the same thing as your mechanic...got the car off the ground and spun the wheel. It was as smooth as glass. My bearing was bad. To do a proper job of diagnosing bad bearings you need to have weight on the wheels or dissasemble and check. A chassis dyno should find it, or dissasemble/get the halfshaft out and then spin the hub. One member said he was able to find the bad bearing by loosening the spindle nut. Your bearings could have indeed been good,,,mine sure weren't.

Check my YouTube video showing what my bearings sounded like before and after: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NLYzW8lHUU


Next time I have to do one, I'll do the "idle in 5th gear on jackstands video for comparison".

Feh... I was all ready to replace the RF bearing... got the knuckle off the LCA... and... the bearing's just fine... so... now to put that side back together and look elsewhere...


Y.

TownsendTDI said:

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?

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Check your tie rod ends (inner and outer) for play - have someone in the car move the wheel left and right as you are safely underneath the car and can check both sides of both joints for relative movement. LCA bushings still good?



Otherwise the only adjustment on the front is toe, hard to have that right and the car still pulling hard left unless something else is badly wrong.

I'm hitting 200k miles and wanted to replace my axles as well as the wheel bearings since I'm getting the WUBWUBWUB during high speed turns.

If I'm taking off the axles, is there any need to mark and remove the steering knuckles and swing them away? Can I just remove the axles from the transmission and pull them out completely? I'm overly paranoid about messing up my alignment.

Stuffing said:

I'm hitting 200k miles and wanted to replace my axles as well as the wheel bearings since I'm getting the WUBWUBWUB during high speed turns.

If I'm taking off the axles, is there any need to mark and remove the steering knuckles and swing them away? Can I just remove the axles from the transmission and pull them out completely? I'm overly paranoid about messing up my alignment.

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If front end components are worn, then it's worth the money to get an alignment after new parts as you might likely be out of alignment.

But to your question, you don't need to mark the knuckles. Disconnect the tie rod ends. Those are what is keeping your toe in check. If you don't adjust those, you should be close.

Stuffing said:

I'm hitting 200k miles and wanted to replace my axles as well as the wheel bearings since I'm getting the WUBWUBWUB during high speed turns.

If I'm taking off the axles, is there any need to mark and remove the steering knuckles and swing them away? Can I just remove the axles from the transmission and pull them out completely? I'm overly paranoid about messing up my alignment.

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I'm getting a wubwubwub noise from low speed turns so I've just ordered myself some new wheel bearings.
You've got me worried now. What do you mean replace the axle as well? You mean the driveshafts/cvs joints?

jpjeeps said:

I'm getting a wubwubwub noise from low speed turns so I've just ordered myself some new wheel bearings.
You've got me worried now. What do you mean replace the axle as well? You mean the driveshafts/cvs joints?

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Oh, I'm no expert here. Yes, I meant the driveshafts. Just figured I'd do them while I was in there, but I'm having second thoughts about it given I don't really have any of the associated wear symptoms yet and also given the price of new (good quality) axles. Unless you are actually seeing symptoms of failure I'd not recommend doing them either.

First, rule out the simple stuff.


Swap tires L/R then F/B and see if the noise goes away, gets better or gets worse.


If you spray paint where the ball joints attach to the LCA, you'll get it super close when putting it back together. I would rather do that than mess with the tie rod ends.


But why are you paranoid about your alignment? It's adjustable for a reason. Just have it redone afterwards. Get the Firestone Lifetime Alignment and use it every 5 - 10k miles.


If the CV axles are in good shape, boots not leaking or split, LEAVE THEM ALONE. Your noises are almost certainly coming from wheel bearings or tires.

Iv done every alignment on my golf with a tape measure after changing struts, ball joints and tie rod. I get it within 1/16" from front to back of tire. My tires wear even and the car drives straight. you need a helper though.

vandermic07 said:

Iv done every alignment on my golf with a tape measure after changing struts, ball joints and tie rod. I get it within 1/16" from front to back of tire. My tires wear even and the car drives straight. you need a helper though.

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Make a YouTube video and show us how it's done!

Im not into youtube. I am not pleasant to be around when working on cars.

I just have someone hook the tape on the tread on the front of the tire as high as i can get it without touching the underneath of the car. Record measurement in other tire. Go to the back of the tire and measure off the the same point of tread to the same point of tread on the front side (this is very important so you dont have different reference points). Record measurement. Then try to split the difference between the measurements.

Make sure you set the wheel as straight is possible. I also push the car back and forth a few feet between each adjustment. And when changing tie rods i measure the tie rod and get the new one as close to the old one as possible. If changing ball joints i have done the spray paint method and have also just pulled them out to the end of the slot.

I have been pretty fortunate not to have caster and camber issues. I just did a whole suspension refresh on my Golf 6mths ago. Struts, springs, 2" lift, all poly bushings, ball joints, complete tie rods. Installed the ball joint by pulling them out to the end of the slot. Set the toe with a tape measure. Handles very well, no pulling . It would be interesting to see what the alignment sheet looks like.

Used this guide years ago and everything went fine. Running into some trouble now and hoping someone can offer advice. The issue is the 3 jaw puller is just pushing the axle spline in further and not freeing up the hub. Sometimes it does so at weird angles and I am worried about damaging the axle threads. What am I doing wrong this time?

intro said:

The issue is the 3 jaw puller is just pushing the axle spline in further and not freeing up the hub.

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The puller is used to push the axle out of the hub (if needed, often it's not) only, then use the slide hammer to pull the hub out of the bearing.

P2B said:

The puller is used to push the axle out of the hub (if needed, often it's not) only, then use the slide hammer to pull the pub out of the bearing.

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Right! I remember now. Thank you! I must have selectively forgotten that part. I remember it taking a very long time with the slide hammer.

Just wanted to swing back and recommend a new method for getting the hub off. The 5 lb slide hammers just don't seem to have the oomph for getting these off, especially if there is corrosion. A video I watched recommended a steel wedge like the type used for splitting firewood-Hit that with a 5 lb sledge-Much more effective.

I have heard wheel bearings so loud I could not stand to drive the car. There is no way to count miles until failure as there are different causes for the noise and once the balls break apart there is nothing left for support. I have seen cracked races, destroyed ball spacers, no grease, rust spots, metal fatigue, and improper installations. At work I have seen a noisy pump bearing run for years but there is no load on the bearing like a wheel bearing. Any noise is not worth the risk as catastrophic failure is more than something happening in the wrong place at the wrong time but it can destroy good parts along with the bad and even yourself in an accident when the wheel locks up going 80.
Also, I have changed many of these wheel bearings with only a gear puller to push out the hub, a hammer, punch to drive our the old bearing and a propane torch to warm up the parts so they come apart or expand and slip it all back together. Put the part sliding into the outer part on ice and gently warm the outer part to about 200f. This will be a nice hot quick touch of the finger that will not give you a burn but something you don't want to hang on very long and the oil should not be just a slight start of smoke. Do not get stuff so hot it turns blue or the seals are burned and the bearing steel is ruined. When you warm it all right it just slips together where it should and then you let it cool before the final tightening on the car.
The other way I have done these jobs is to pull the hub assembly off the car and take the whole part into someone with a press and tools and pay them to do it right. Probably the best way for those without a lot of the proper tools.

Recent video from @HumbleMechanic on doing Mk4 front wheel bearings, for the visual learners in the crowd.

I guess getting the hub off is a lot easier if you let the bearing get *really* bad

He shows hub removal using a BFH - but on a rear hub. Not even possible on the front, tone ring is in the way.

When putting the LCA/ball joint back, install the bolts and the nut plate, pull it to its stops, tighten it up and *THEN get the alignment. Next time, just pull to the stops and tighten it all up.

Douglas

PakProtector said:

When putting the LCA/ball joint back, install the bolts and the nut plate, pull it to its stops, tighten it up and *THEN get the alignment. Next time, just pull to the stops and tighten it all up.

Douglas

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I spray paint the bolt heads before disassembly and put them back where they were - no alignment needed.

Just wanted to say thanks to Scurvy and everyone who contributed to this thread. Just finished a front right replacement and all is quiet and good again.

Glad y'all still find it useful. I've since had to replace the driver's side again and it appears time to do control arms as well... Chicago roads are taking their tolls.

Because of this threads information I’ve changed at least 7 front wheel bearings in the family fleet.
I’ve gotten pretty good at changing them , thank you Scurvy !

Resurrecting this thread again. The left front wheel bearing that I replaced in 2011 with 185,000 miles on it, is now worn out and loose at 433,000.
I guess if it lasted nearly 250,000 miles, I got my money's worth from it. Interestingly the original right front wheel bearing is still fine after 433,000 miles!!
Hope the replacement goes as smooth as it did 12 years ago!!

Yep, good write up and thanks. All fixed, our 2005 tdi wagon with 87,000 miles purrs along.

I did forget the circlip too, so now I have one wasted bearing and one spare new spindle with an inner race stuck on. I will try a puller first, then cutting. BTW, bearing races can explode when your cutting into them--35 years ago I had one fire a chunk of bearing race into my thumb and it went deep enough that you could not see it.

Mike_in_PA said:

Yep, good write up and thanks. All fixed, our 2005 tdi wagon with 87,000 miles purrs along.

I did forget the circlip too, so now I have one wasted bearing and one spare new spindle with an inner race stuck on. I will try a puller first, then cutting. BTW, bearing races can explode when your cutting into them--35 years ago I had one fire a chunk of bearing race into my thumb and it went deep enough that you could not see it.

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OUCH!!
That had to hurt.
I was using a dremel to cut a wheel bearing off and a piece broke off and scratched my face shield.
Proper safety equipment is important including ear protection.

wonneber said:

Proper safety equipment is important including ear protection.

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What? WHAT?

Last year I couldn't find my bearing press tool, and since I was determined to get the job done anyway, I improvised, and discovered how easy it actually is to remove an old bearing from the knuckle.

Simply rest the knuckle with the hub facing down onto something that can absorb big shocks. I used a rolled up carpet. Next, center something like a big socket onto the other side of the hub, and with a sledgehammer, hammer straight down, and it should come right out after a few big blows. Remove the circlip, and repeat the process with the bearing. For this I used an old inner race that I had laying around. For pressing the new bearing in, I think I used an old outer race and some wood with the help of a big vise, but can't remember exactly.



It's good to save old bearings. Here's a perfect fitting old bearing used to press in a new control arm bushing: