328 Front Wheel Bearing Removal | FerrariChat

328 Front Wheel Bearing Removal

Discussion in '308/328' started by andyww, Dec 14, 2011.

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  1. andyww

    andyww F1 Rookie

    Feb 7, 2011
    2,775
    London
    #1 andyww, Dec 14, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Thought I would share this although I suspect many people might know already. I didnt and it took me a few minutes to work it out! There is also a PDF on the web on this and it contains incorrect info.

    The part of the procedure which is documented elsewhere is the removal of the hub/bearing assembly from the hub carrier (which can remain on the car). The part which is not obvious is, once you have the hub and bearing on the bench, how do you press out the bearing?
    The answer is, use two rods inserted into the small holes in the front of the hub. The press can push on these by means of a plate placed across the top of the rods. The hub itself can be supported on the fixed part of the press.

    The picture shows the hub carrier removed from the car but it does not need to be. I already had the suspension dismantled. The two rods I used to press out the bearing can be seen still in the holes in the hub.
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  2. andyww

    andyww F1 Rookie

    Feb 7, 2011
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    #2 andyww, Dec 14, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Incidentally I part-dismantled the hub for another reason, to find out why the stone shield (the gold ring part in the picture above) was loose, but I was greeted with the nasty sight of burned bearing!

    The design seems to be suspect, although there is a seal on the front side of the bearing, the back side is open to the large void inside the hub. There was lots of virgin grease inside here but none of it on the bearing! The ABS sensor wheel was full of it and the backplate was covered in it, this is nowhere near the bearing and no grease iis needed here at all. I think it must have been incorrectly greased from new as its only done 24000 miles.

    Note burned dark blue balls (painful!)

    The picture shows the entire amount of grease in the inboard ball race of the bearing, I have not cleaned it off!

    I managed to find the SNR bearing from a bearing supplier here in the UK for a comparatively reasonable price. I will post details when I receive and check it.
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  3. andyww

    andyww F1 Rookie

    Feb 7, 2011
    2,775
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    #3 andyww, Dec 16, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Well the SNR bearing arrived, part number TGB10894 S03.
    problem is, it was not identical to the original and this caused all kinds of grief.
    The first problem was obvious, there was a lip sticking upwards from the rubber seal. This was not going to fit in the gap in front of the bearing inside the hub. So I had to carefully slice it off all the way around using a razor blade.
    This looked pretty much the same as the original now. So I assembled it but found the hub was jammed!
    Had to press the bearing back out again and check and measure everything.
    The problem was the diameter of the raised seal was larger than the original, and was catching on the inside of the stone shield.
    On the SNR bearing the seal is a rubber-covered item, on the original SKF it is metal with only the actual sealing blade made of rubber.

    This was solved by grinding 0.5mm off the rear edge of the stone shield, so it sat slightly farther back when pressed onto the hub, giving more space inside for the bearing seal. All went together OK.

    The picture shows the (mangled) seal on the left from the original bearing, and the new bearing on the right with its rubber lip protruding upwards, before I trimmed it off.

    But, other people have used these same SNR bearings, has no-one else run into these issues?
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  4. andyww

    andyww F1 Rookie

    Feb 7, 2011
    2,775
    London
    Just thought I would update this old thread as someone was asking about the issues I had with the SNR bearing.

    The upshot is:

    On a non-ABS car the SNR bearing is fine with no issues
    On an ABS car, the larger oil seal on the SNR bearing contacts the metal stone shield which sits on the hub, so a small modification is necessary as above to make the stone shield clear the oil seal.
     
    Herman Ronald likes this.

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