new bearing and cv axle

Had the bearing roar and a sloppy outer right cv joint on my Beetle. Followed Scurvy's write up but had some troubles. The wheel bearing had been replaced before and it was all bound up. Took the knuckle off easier than trying to remove the bearing out in the car (tried 1 1/2 hrs). Removed the axle nut and axle, scribed the ball joint, removed the bolt that held the strut and spread the mount and removed the strut, removed the tie rod (trick-remove the nut and hit the side of the knuckle at the tie rod mount. It fell out on the second hit, instead of hitting the bottom threaded area). Did all of this with a impact wrench in less than 10 minutes. Took the knuckle to the bench with a couple wood blocks, socket that matched the hub diameter and a 5# sledge. 5 hits later it was apart. Used the Harbor Freight bearing removal tool that Scurvy mentioned and was able to remove the bearing with it after removing the c clip. Had the bearing out with the tool but there was some damage from previous replacement. Cleaned it up, warmed the steering knuckle with a torch and took the bearing out of the freezer that had been in there for 2 hours. Taped in to start and used the HF tool to seat it quickly. Took a right angle grinder to cut off the bearing race and clean up previous damage and used the HF tool to install the hub. 30 minutes later it was back together and going for a test drive. I could do it again in 1 1/2hours or less. Need to get it aligned sometime this week if it will stop raining. Thx Scurvy for your write up. It gave me the confidence to do it myself and save some money.

Just did this too on my 01 bug last weekend. Not bad if you have the right tools.

If I remove the spindle, I separate the ball joint from the spindle, not the control arm. No alignment needed.

I will do that the next time if I have to do the other side. With the new bearing and CV joint I am at 400 miles on this tank and still have1/2 a tank to go. I am vented and will run it at least till the light comes on then then some. I'm hoping for my first 600++ tank. I guess the bearing was causing a lot of problems as I watched my mileage drop from 40 to the last tank before the repair 36 mpg. I had a few 602 to 615 tanks just after my TB replacement last year at Christmas and driving very easy (which I usually don't do) with the best being 47 mpg after a long highway trip (70 mph) with no in town driving. I didn't realize these little cars were so crazy when it comes to wheel bearings. I'm used to the old style of wheel bearing that you can remove, clean and reinstall. Learn something new every day.

Have one mark on fuel gauge left before the light comes on with in town and hwy. driving and am at 591 miles and still have tomorrow to put another 50 or so miles. If I had known that new bearings could cause this increase in mileage, I would have done all four.

joep1234 said:

Have one mark on fuel gauge left before the light comes on with in town and hwy. driving and am at 591 miles and still have tomorrow to put another 50 or so miles. If I had known that new bearings could cause this increase in mileage, I would have done all four.

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Bearings / low tire pressure / alignment... Depends on the car though. My old Nissan Frontier V6 had all three messed up (along with a dragging e-brake) and still got 17MPG before and after they were addressed.

First full tank after repair and mileage went from 36.5 mpg's to 41.1 mpg's on this tank(hand calculated). It still needs to be aligned but hope to get that done this weekend.