MK4 Wheel Bearing Replacement! ( From Amazing To Nightmare Lol )

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IG @Mk3Smith
Well. Passenger side went perfect. Literally perfect lol Drivers side was an issue at every single step. Rip just how it goes sometimes.
Wheel bearing tool kit
www.ebay.com/itm/264898796032...
Humble Mechanics Video @HumbleMechanic
• How To Replace a PRESS...

[@danielbrydon3869]

Bearing in freezer for a few hours, heat knuckle real good with a blowtorch , it'll go 🤙

[@thpxs0554]

Exactly right. Makes all the difference

[@itscraigyinni4844]

The play without the driveshaft in is normal even on a good bearing. The drive shaft is what holds it all together and when tight removes any play 👍

[@HardWhereHero]

Glad you made this comment. I was thinking that but not 100% sure

[@spoon8682]

When that 2 hour job turns into a 2 day fiasco. Been there many times. Godspeed! #mk4life

[@Mk3Smith]

I knew the first said went wayyyy to well 😂😂

[@he-who]

Totally displays the way working on cars is 😂 sometimes it’s easy sometimes it sucks

[@parker.gibbons]

Props to you. Wheel bearings aren't something I could bring myself to do preventatively. edit: just got to 4:40

[@Texvr6]

i know pain 30yrs in the game of vw world

[@CarMania2588]

i usually grease the inside of the knuckle and the outside of the bearing to eliminate any possibility of it not wanting to go in .. id reuse the bearing for sure and try it again .. good luck

[@RickGTI2019]

Murphy’s law ! If the old one gave you a problem, the new was going to be a problem too. Be careful with hitting your hands. When I did car work years ago I was always smashing my hands. Now at my age, arthritis is here. Have a beer and go to bed. Tomorrow is another day. Thanks, RickGTI….. 🌴

[@rcflyer2000]

Glad to see the passenger side went easily when replacing the front wheel bearing and the hub 👍🏻 Hopefully you can fix the driver's side soon and have this wagon back on the road. I am looking forward to seeing your update on this video.

[@mx986]

I've been there myself. The whole assembly in a big vice drove the bearing home

[@Guilhermepalmeida]

I can feel your pain Christian. The only thing that comes up to my mind is the possibility of something going wrong with your spindle. The hub not coming out is also a sign that something was tight as f...so i'd definitely go for a spindle replacement all the way. Fitting all back together on that new used spindle in order to solve the nightmare

[@markhanlon3562]

great vid, really helpful, clear and concise

[@DeViLsFaNo6]

The “let’s go” is so relatable lol 😂

[@ossiannyh]

Awesome video as usual dude! 😅 Great tutorial btw 😄👍

[@ronsimpson261]

Take the hub off, put it on the ground ,use the old bearing track on top of the new one with your biggest hammer turned sideways to make a bigger contact area and whack it , it will go in without damage ,done this many many times .

[@jefferysill5539]

The engineers that came up with press in bearings should be flogged

[@desmondmukasi2496]

What a great tool man!!

[@Thatreekybora]

Love the mk4

[@sayless9937]

front wheel bearings can be a pita... not something you do preventative. Even if they start making noise chances are they'll still get you home. those probably still had a lot of life in them.

[@romeomccatty8480]

I totally understand your pain this always happen to me one goes smoothly and the other side give me .....

[@GPP1.8T20v]

Amazing how the hub that holds the wheel comes out easy but bearing is a fight to get out with no hub or wheel on lol

[@garvysgarage]

Lmao my wagons at 218,000+ as of this weekend… definitely a rotating sound going on according to wheel speed. Front wheel bearings are definitely up next…. And the rears too because I think one doesn’t like to spin with as low friction as it should.

[@Aus-traveller]

Amazing explain. thanks lot

[@AE-cc4sd]

Last time I went to a tire shop they did not tighten correctly the nuts and wheel came off, now wheel keeps coming lose after few use and hear a noise, so I stop and retighten wheel nuts but keep happening, , what parts do you recommend should I replace, it's a VW GTI MK4

[@ricardorodriguez3300]

cheaper to do it this way, but way faster and convenient just to replace the whole knuckle that's loaded already 👌 but nice video to show how it's done!!!

[@Mk3Smith]

Would much rather do that honestly 😂 but I had these bearings and hubs already so I figured I’d give this a try lol wasn’t bad until I got to the drivers side

[@mrfizch]

there issnt any wheel bearings that are reliable like FAG bearings that come in pre loaded hubs. The moog hubs are popular but the bearings die so quickly it isnt even worth it. Waaaay more expensive for an entire assembly.

[@JoaoFerreira-mu4nq]

​@@Mk3Smith give it a try, take all of the hub out, find some place where you can use a Jack as a press, some bearings are really a nightmare, but with some thousands of pounds pressing, it goes in i garantee.

[@jrice283]

Just wondering does the shoulder on the 12 or 14 of the tool fit inside the inner of the bearing? I think you possibly might have had it round the wring way so it couldn't centre and then it hit the hub?

[@mattkunselman1336]

Ughhh. LOVE THE FITMENT bro. Sorry for the cap lock 😂 what r the specs?

[@barnabashorvath2230]

because if you had already taken it apart, you could have handled the rusty deflector plate and the stub 👀🤔

[@M1nius]

ah the front bearings :D, I ended up changing both sides with new knockles for my mk3

[@George-wv3hx]

Great video tks

[@hotshotfx3502]

But bearing into frezzer, it will contract and easier to slip in.. Big Ole spacers, bearings will go out faster...

[@Sleepy4life]

When your new one wont go into that good that is a sign of metal fatigue or irregular deforming. My best guess would be to replace that entire assembly. Some times the effort is not worth the end results.

[@Albert87nl]

yup another outstanding video from mr smith (y) gonne d this nightmare job my self too (yeay) lol

[@zunaidchavoos684]

damn man that wheel bearing tool makes life so easy to do that job better then taking you whole hub to the shop to get passed.😀👌

[@dj85rocco]

And that's why an actual press is useful

[@-bollox]

There are versions of that kit with roller bearings to make it easier to turn. Apart from that why not grease the washers and thread ?

[@TheBlankenman]

I can empathize. I just sawed my pass side tie rod at the knuckle and on the rod it’s self. Bolt still didn’t want to come out of the knuckle. Unreal. Still going with rumor these ALH motors, manual, mk4 are supposed to be 1 mill miles engines. Seems everything around motor goes to crap. Of course most of it is my fault from driving thru rough parts.

[@charleswhalen7290]

You need a bigger hammer and air tools! I’ve been using a cheap Chinese wheel bearing tool for about 10 years and it works great just need to lube the bolt before use.

[@alexstava]

15:10 little mistake there, should have put it the other way around, so you wouldn't risk to push in the actual bearing. That little metal shield isn't that strong. Also, should've used a washer also before the 32 hex nut

[@scubasteve2761]

🤣🤣 I literally watched the first half of your video and I thought I should do mine so went onto AUTODOC and put bearings and hubs in my basket ( and the removal kit on eBay)for later, then I watched the second half of your video and I thought oh maybe not then because usually when I do stuff it goes so wrong 🤷‍♂️ I do still plan to do it at some point, hopefully I get lucky like your passenger side but I highly doubt it . Ace video as usual 👍

[@waylandsmith3981]

I never knew you had a wheel bearing issue bro. If I knew I’d actually tell you about the wheel bearing tool … did mine within the first month of owning my car … apparently the wheel bearings go quicker the lower your car is and mine is basically on the ground fam 😂

[@hotshotfx3502]

Big Ole spacers there will be more bearing problems. Nature of the beast...

[@Mk3Smith]

I actually wasn’t having any bearing issues at all lol I had just bought new stuff back when I was doing the brake upgrade in Germany and just the overall refresh on the car. Pretty sure these are still the original ones so to last 130k miles isn’t bad. I was just trying to replace them before they became an issue 😅

[@hotshotfx3502]

@Christian Smith That's good!! But bigger spacers do push out the weight further on hub and speed up bearing wear. But those bearings in frezzer over night and those will push right in.. Interesting to see if your knuckle is messed up.. Goodluck, car looking 👍

[@waylandsmith3981]

@@Mk3Smith lol apologies that’s what I meant tho. And just generally speaking they will go quicker but not too quick. Thanks for the content boss 🫶🏽🔥

[@craigmachin1151]

Hi mate how come we don’t see anything of your wife in your video anymore and the R32 and the Golf GTI as well mate you need to update us with a video with them please

[@Buglife59]

Heat it

[@jdubsvr6]

Use the right tool for the job. A slide hammer would have had that hub out in under a minute.

[@HardWhereHero]

Whould it be easier for someone who didn't want to buy the puller to buy the entire bearing, hub and knuckle? I can get a kit for both sides with the bearing and knuckles for the same price as the bearing with the puller. Ill never end up using the tool more than once in my case either

[@sayless9937]

Make sure you get the tool to spread the knuckle cause that can be a complete pita to get off the strut without it. It's a small tool that wedges in the back and spread the knuckle. I got a cheapo one from CHINA!

[@jeremyphillips6388]

Just bring it my house next time christian lol. We will knock it out

[@Mk3Smith]

Lmao true

[@codysturgeon4503]

Ive owned my mk4 for an hour and i already wanna sell it because i cant get the race out

[@almiriljazi9401]

are the mk3s the same?

[@Mk3Smith]

Very similar yes 👍🏼

[@nmcrar]

They are very similar. My driver's side axle was rust welded into the hub after 270k original miles. The kit he has works extremely well with a hydraulic press. It took me less than 6 hours for both front wheel bearings on a 1996 GTI VR6. Don't be afraid to do your own work. The dealership wanted 1700$ with an alignment. I bought the tools and parts for less than 300$ including a hydraulic press. I used the money I saved for new tires and an alignment. I still had an extra 700$ in my account afterwards.

[@romeomccatty8480]

Link for the press tool

[@Mk3Smith]

Links in the description

Imagine doing whole air suspension and big brake kit before replacing your bearings and all those rusty parts on both sides. I think priorities? Stance life

[@Mk3Smith]

Lmaoooo. The bearings have given me zero issues I’m just changing them because I already had the parts. I just didn’t have enough time to swap them before the car left Germany. Also the surface rust on the knuckes and the dust shield isn’t hurting literally anything 😂 I bought this car and immediately pulled the engine and did all of the maintenance ( clutch, chains, gaskets, etc ) , new subframe, control arms, etc then did the rear wheal bearings and first brake upgrade. Just because other things were done before front wheel bearings that weren’t even an issue doesn’t mean the cars getting neglected. It’s not all that serious 😂

@@Mk3Smith I know the pain of working on them. Got B5 Passat with flares before this car. Maybe im more perfectionist. Taking whole thing out. CLeaning and restoring it. Putting it back together. And all at once. Like replacing or restoring dust shields before expensive breaks. etc. For example on mine C6 now i ordered whole suspension. Im waiting on my friend so we can replace every part with bearings and everything. Sand blast whats not going in new, put coilovers in and everything will be clean and shiny at once. Do not take this bad. Im watching your cars long time. Just a hint on this :D

[@yodasbff3395]

I have a 2002 MK4 wagon tdi with 445k miles on the original bearings, and no noise. You replaced wheel bearings that had a lot of life left in them.

[@AlDavis-mh5fy]

7:12

[@allovertraveler]

first 🥇