I'm replacing my front wheel bearings on my 1992 Accord LX. I've pulled the bearing carrier off of one hub, but the race next to the hub face did not come off with it, understandably looking at the design.

How do I get this race off?! :run: There doesn't seem to be anywhere to grip it, so I'm contemplating cutting/notching it.

 

I plan to do that later, so please let us know how it turns out.

I believe you have to use a split type bearing splitter. The clearance between the hub and one side of the inner race is so close that a regular puller won't fit.

The tool doesn't actually "split" a bearing, but wedges in between the inner race and another part, the hub in your case.

Here is an example of such tools:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93980

Was was the hub easy to pull out? How do you get the bearing out of the steering knuckle? Thanks.

 

Ah - that probably is the correct tool to use, but I don't have one and I don't care much for HF tools. I took my cutoff tool to the race and put two notches in it on either side and then used a two prong puller. Set the puller, tightened it down a bit, then hit the race with a mapp gas torch for about 2 seconds and it popped and pulled off the rest of the way without issue. Here is what I was dealing with specifically, after pulling off the bearing carrier and top race. Even if you did have the split puller I think you might still have to use it in two steps.

edit: see pic below

I didn't take any pics during the rest. As far as how everything goes, this is how I do it (I was doing brakes as well, and some steps can be done in different order)...


Unbolt (17mm) brake caliper from steering knuckle and hang with a wire from the upper suspension arm. You may want to unbolt (10mm) the first brake line holder so you're not twisting the line excessively.

Un-steak the axle spindle nut and take it off (36mm) using a good impact wrench.

Break free hub to rotor bolts (14mm) with impact since it's easy while still on car.

Remove the cotter pin from the lower ball joint castle nut and loosen castle nut (17mm) so that the top of the castle is about flush with the ball joint stud, leaving about 4mm of gap. Use a 2 prong puller to pull against the lower arm. My puller has a sharp point, so I get a washer that the point can sit in and set the castle nut off the ball joint stud as to keep from collapsing the cotter pin hole on the stud. I put some tension on it and then tap the arm with a hammer and it usually pops without issue. I find the nubs on the arm difficult to grab, so I usually set my puller up where the ball joint boot surface is, which is much more square. If you have your car up high enough you can probably avoid using a puller and simply hit the stud with a hammer - again, leave the nut flush or a little above the threads to avoid damaging the stud.

Lift the spindle up to get the ball joint stud out of the lower arm. Pull the spindle away from the car so that the CV shaft pulls through the hub. If it's stuck I use my puller again to easily push it out. You could probably also pry it from the back but the puller works great.

Pull the spindle out and back, swiveling on the upper ball joint and the outer tie rod joint. You'll now see the 4 10mm 12 point bolts holding the hub to the steering knuckle. Remove these with a 10mm 12 point socket. The hub w/rotor is now free, but might be tight in the knuckle. Getting it out is up to you at this point, I don't know a very good way to do it. Tapping on partially inserted 12 point bolts will easily maul them, so I'd suggest using a wooden dowel or small enough block to whack the hub from the knuckle.

Once you have the hub, bearing carrier, and rotor off the knuckle you can take the rotor bolts out and slide the rotor off the back of the hub, leaving you with just the hub and bearing carrier. Here's where you need a puller of some sort. I just use my 2 prong puller and grab the ears of the bearing carrier and a large, thick washer pressing against the hub shaft. A 1 1/4" socket looked like the appropriate size as well. The carrier will pull off along with the one race and then you're left with what you see in the picture above.



If you need any more info let me know. I bought new bearings from Carquest and got both sides for $110 with tax (I know a guy there so I got a slight discount). You can get cheaper ones for about $60 plus tax, total from Kragen/etc, but I went ahead and got the good OEM, made in Japan bearings (NSK/MOOG/Federal-Mogul). My ghetto bearing press consisted of a length of allthread, 3 nuts, and a couple washers of various size to press the new bearings on - worked fine.