Well that bearing was definitely bad [Front wheel bearing replacement]

[Mobius]

About a year ago I noticed a small squeak in long, sweeping corners. Just barely noticeable.

That barely noticeable squeak developed into a full-on 'wirrrrrrrrr' at highway speeds, and then just in the last couple days, a serious metallic growl.

A call to BMA and $89 later - I've got a brand new wheel hub and bearing.

$30 ($19 for the socket and $6 for a 1/2"-3/4" adaptor) later at Sears I have a 1 13/16" socket to take off that massive nut.

$20 later I have a 250lb torque wrench from the rental place down the street.

This is what I took off:
PRETTY! (not really)

http://home.comcast.net/~rjchristie2...ring/bear2.jpg

Inner race:
http://home.comcast.net/~rjchristie2...ring/bear3.jpg

Outer race:
http://home.comcast.net/~rjchristie2...ring/bear4.jpg

Well so much for that problem.

One thing I don't understand is why all the writeups I've read (on bmwe34.net and other places) say to mount the wheel and lower the car when torquing the hub nut. -The spindle is completely solid. You don't need the wheel on the ground to provide turning resistance - or am I missing something here?

Also, 214 ft-lb is a lot less torque than I thought. I didn't need a breaker bar or a pipe extension to remove or tighten the nut. I thought I'd have to jump on a 6' extension to do this. I guess this is good because I didn't have a pipe anyways.


Hey - why can't we post more than one [img]? Huh?

1. You have included too many images in your signature or in your previous post.

[pundit]

...One thing I don't understand is why all the writeups I've read (on bmwe34.net and other places) say to mount the wheel and lower the car when torquing the hub nut. -The spindle is completely solid. You don't need the wheel on the ground to provide turning resistance - or am I missing something here?...

Just that the car should be more stable lowered with the wheels on the ground. And besides it's easier to jump on the end of the bar when tightening the nut... just kidding!