Rear wheel bearing removal
 

Doing rear wheels and bearings today.
Read this thread:
http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread...l+bearing+tool
Follow Taira's method. Win.

One variation, a personal touch... I used a cutting torch to slice the inside of the hubs (parallel to the splines) to loosen them up. They came out with two taps after that, using a socket and a 2 lb sledge hammer. Obviously I am replacing the hubs.

For the bearing removal from knuckle, I used an old trailer hitch ball to bust them loose, then pressed them the rest of the way out. The press would not move the bearings until I broke them loose and moved them about 1/8" or so. It takes a few serious hits with the ball hitch and a 2 lb sledge to break them loose. Then the press, a small Harbor Freight 12-ton, pushed them right out. Using a hitch ball is genius since it is self-aligning.

If this works on my rusty old 1994 knuckles and hubs, it should work on most vehicles. I did not even use any penetrant.

Nest step is reassembly. The bearings and hubs are in the freezer, and the knuckles are in the oven (low temp, 175F). I saved one of the old outer races and ground a few thousandths off of the outer diameter so that it slides easily into the knuckle bore. I'll use it to press in the old bearing. An old inner race will be used to support the new inner race when I press in the hub.

FYI for those who do not know... DO NOT PRESS FIT A NEW BEARING ASSEMBLY THROUGH THE BEARINGS. ONLY PRESS ON THE RACE YOU ARE INSTALLING. You will most likely damage the bearings if you violate this rule. Most roller/ball bearings are not meant to take huge static axial loads.

Freakin' a. Reassembled and on the car. The bearings and the hubs were not difficult to press in at all. The main thing as one would expect is to make sure that they are straight while they are pressed in, especially at the beginning.