Got a 05 silverado with a bad left front wheel hub bearing. All three bolts on the rear of the unit are removed. Used my slide hammer to pull the entire assembly out. After spending 10-15 minutes of whacking away with the slide hammer, The entire wheel bearing assembly has not budged.

My slide hammer is a off shore brand. I just wonder if perhaps the hammer piece is not heavy enough to exert enough force on the hub to make it slide out OR do I need to heat up the rear bearing with map or oxyacetylene kit to get it to come out.

Thanks much!

pic of new assembly
http://www.piranamotorsports.com/ser...y-Chevy/Detail

 

Is it 4x4; aka axle going through the center of the bearing?

I've used something like this before to remove the bearing:

 

I just bashed the crap out on mine with a hammer for 30 minutes to get it off.

 

IT was hard very hard. Double hammer was the only way to get it off. Pickle fork destroyed the lower control arm ball joint. It was not what I expected but not surprised because it is corrosion related. I just wonder if I had waled on the bottom piece of the knuckle assembly long enough, that there would have been no need for a pickle fork. I could not locate a puller with a three inch spread on it. So I used the double sludge hammer technique. By placing one hammer against the control arm, and then whacking it with the other hammer, I FINALLY broke it loose and knuckle dropped to ground.

 

The tool that nullhead gave a site for is actually used to push the axle out of the hub assembly it will not work for pulling hub out unless your axle shaft is seized up and will not move inward at all. The best tool for getting these hubs out is a Big *** hammer and a good baseball bat swing formation. I have seriously changed at leat 500 hubs in my time at the dealership I work at and this is the best method. At times the hub can be so corroded in that you have to remove the steering knuckle assembly and use a press to press out the hub. I have also used one of the old bolts and screwed it in a few threads and used a air hammer on the head of the bolt to get it loose then rotate to the next hold and so on. Only do this if your new hub assembly came with new bolts.

 

Higuy, your comments really are now a eye opener!! It kind of discusust me some of these other guys just used a screwdriver or or simple chisle to get there off. Come to BC to find what it is really like to work on a rusted truck or car!

BTW, I now need to replace the lower control arm ball joint?.

I think the Fastest way is burn a hole down the center of the ball joint rivet with oxy, then knock off the top and bottom stud tops with the oxyacetylene?

I WISH now I had one. Will still resort to drilling / angle grinding the chiseling off the top of the studs.

 

Some like to use torches to get them out but I am a strong believer that it is not a good idea to heat up and suspension components. When you heat and cool an already treated metal it weakens it. My method of removal is to drill out the center of the rivet starting with a pilot and working up sizes. Once the rivet is drilled out close enough I just use my air hammer to knock off the head then a pointed bit to air hammer the rivet out. If the air hammer is not available then a regular cold chisel and hammer will work with a punch to hammer the rivet out. (always wear safety goggles) I have learned the hard way and have had to many metal pieces removed from my eyes over the years.

 

I to have learned not to heat up the part. One rivet head was ground flush. but not thinking, I did not drill a center hole. Now being a moron, Cannot figure where to drill with no drilled center hole as a reference point.

The two other holes further back need to be drilled. I will have to disconnect the sway bar to push down the control arm to get my drill center on. BTW, what high quality hss or boron drill bits do you buy?

I will be adding a electric angle drill to my cache soon. RPM adjustment is important. HSS bits work best at 300 rpm's from what a machinist tells me.

 

Actually I just buy the cheaper drill bits from Canadian tire now and use my drill doctor on them when they get dull. I have a $300 set of snap-on drill bits at work that burn out faster than my cheap HSS bits from Canadian tire. Drill doctors are a very good and fairly cheap investment if you do a lot of drilling with hard metals. Speed is a big factor but so is lubrication. My drills are mostly air drills so I just have a regulator to regulate the air flow.

As for the rivet with the flush head. If you can't get enough room to drill it out from underneath then your best bet is to either grind it down flush with the control arm just enough that you can see the body size of the rivet. Then start your pilot hole and work your way up in sizes.

 

Just changed mine out last week, same truck, same side. "12 pound sledge hammer" did the job. Just watch to not hit the rotor back sheet metal plate. Had the job reassembled within an hour. I had the honor of doing front hubs bearings on an 03 Dodge with aluminum knuckles. not a jod I'd wish to do again.