Front wheel bearing replacement?

[kevingross]

Anyone done the job of replacing a front bearing on their Cayenne? I am looking for any areas of difficulty before I dive into the job. The only hassle I foresee so far is that the ball joint studs (lower control arm, steering tie rod) are too long for my ball join separator, am going to try the special tool that VW has for this.

With the axle nut removed, can I press the axle end out of the bearing by using a regular ol' puller across the end? Can I get the wheel hub out of the bearing with a bearing splitter and my hydraulic press?

(For the curious, I am actually replacing the steering knuckle, which Porsche calls the "pivot bearing", and not the wheel bearing per se. The truck came to me used, and when I did the front rotors a couple days ago, I discovered that the threads in the steering knuckle for one of the brake caliper bolts are stripped. No doubt some fool used an impact tool the last time the job was done, blasted them out. Lovely. So a new steering knuckle plus a new wheel bearing.)

Cheers,

[Casey at Pelican Parts]

If there is corrosion on the axle shaft it could present a bit of a struggle. There is a special tool I used to use for pushing the axle shaft out on stubborn cars. The tool bolted to the wheel hub lug bolt threads, and had a threaded plate which pushed a threaded rod up against the axle shaft. I am guessing that you could probably use a big puller which would accomplish the same thing. If you've got access to a press you can just unbolt the axle flange at the front diff, then take the whole assembly to the press and press it out too...

[kevingross]

Casey, makes good sense. Thanks for the info, much appreciated.