HELP stuck front wheel bearing circlip!!

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HELP stuck front wheel bearing circlip!!

Post by ecohouse1 »

On my xantia td. I should have known better than to even try as I have been stopped in my tracks doing this on bus and pugs. Anyway now have the hub on the bench and a mutilated circlip stuck solid in the hub carrier. So far used heat plus gas and an air chisel to no avail. Bits just break off!! Even tried braking it into bits using a chisel and angle grinder. Still stuck in th groove.

Anyone have any suggestion? Thinking now about taking it to local garage or blacksmiths. Bet they get a laugh from the butchery!!

Thanks alan
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Re: HELP stuck front wheel bearing circlip!!

Post by CitroJim »

Just done a wheel bearing in my Activa :twisted: That circlip was hard enough. I normally attack them with a punch and cold chisel after a Plus Gas soak and I've always been OK even if the end result is a very mangled circlip and often is several pieces.

The punch is used to get an end moving and then I drive a cold chisel in under and drive it round under the circlip until it's all free and out.

If the circlip is that bad it'll very likely take a serious amount of pressure to get the old bearing moving. Mine today took 11 tons and that was in a fairly clean and rust-free hub.

Unless you have a 20 ton press I would get a local garage to do the job. My 10 ton press struggles now and is rather bent and distorted as a result of it regularly being used beyond 10 tons on wheel bearings!
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Re: HELP stuck front wheel bearing circlip!!

Post by qprdude »

Ecohouse. You might try taking it to Mulco Engineering on St Machar road (Just off St Machar Drive, second gate on your right). Ask for George or Pete. The have hydraulic and electric presses up to 100 ton (maybe 50) . They should be able to destroy the circlip for you as well. Might take a wee while as they will have to find a suitable bit of bar and pipe for the press.
Can't guarantee they will be able to do it right away though, as they are usually up to the eyes with work. They might be a bit wary of the job if you have damaged things too much.
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Re: HELP stuck front wheel bearing circlip!!

Post by c.morewood »

I hear Brian has a press in Kemnay.. he's the new owner of the garage.. But he'll charge £30 plus vat to get the bearing out and in again.
Good luck Alan
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Re: HELP stuck front wheel bearing circlip!!

Post by citronut »

i use the pointed end tang of a large old file to pries one end of the circlip out, then get a thin screw driver blade in between it and the hub carrier,

this gets most of these circlips with no eyes out
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Re: HELP stuck front wheel bearing circlip!!

Post by ecohouse1 »

Thanks folks. After hours of swearing I finally resorted to using a well worn grinder disc and by making the guard off the grinder was able to literally run the disc inside the circumference of the circlip and the heat and removal of large bits it finally allowed it to come out in pieces. It's not pretty but the new circlip pinged in ok. Used the weld bead trick inside the outer race and then took a hammer and cold chisel to it. It literally broke I to pieces and tinkled out. Carefully drifted the new bearing in. One thing I do t understand is that the new hub seems to sit slightly further out than thesdt one using the "nub" that sticks out the hub carrier as a guide against the disc. I even took the carrier off again to drift it further on but it's right up against the carrier at the front. Odd. It's slight better now the driveshaft nut had been torqued up.

Anyway road tested and the droning seems to have stopped. Think the N/S will be going to a garage/ shop so thanks for the suggestions.

I would rather pay more for a bolt on bearing assembly than swearing chiseling!

Cheers
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Re: HELP stuck front wheel bearing circlip!!

Post by CitroJim »

Well done for doing that :-D How did you drift the new bearing in?

Odd about the hub carrier but if all is OK and all is working well then no worries....
Jim

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Re: HELP stuck front wheel bearing circlip!!

Post by ecohouse1 »

Thanks Jim. I had bought 2 Bearings with the intention of doing the N/S had the O/S gone swimmingly!.

My usual technique is to lay a flat sided lump hammer on the bearing then use another hammer to knowck it in flush with the housing. Then I carefully lined up the other bearing and used it as a drift to push it home.

I drove 20 miles last night and the ABS on that wheel is kicking in under moderate braking..hmmmmm

I am wondering if I need to back off the piston, as the disc is now a couple of mm further out than before and I am wondering if this is making the brakes tighter??
I would have thought they would "self centre" as they are on a sliding pin?

The other thing that caught me out & I wondered if it was connected was the heatshield that sits on the top of the hub carried. It is bolted on the ABS sensor bolt.

I couldnt recall if it went under or over the ABS sensor mount? I placed it under and so lifting the sensor a mm further from the toothed ring.It didn't look right on the top of the sensor mount. Half expected the ABS light to start up but it didn't.

Anyone have any idea's?

Cheers

Alan
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Re: HELP stuck front wheel bearing circlip!!

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

IIRC the shield is over the sensor. If the sensor is too far away from the reluctor ring it won't properly 'see' the rings' rotation speed.
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Re: HELP stuck front wheel bearing circlip!!

Post by CitroJim »

Hell Razor5543 wrote:IIRC the shield is over the sensor. If the sensor is too far away from the reluctor ring it won't properly 'see' the rings' rotation speed.
James, absolutely correct :-D I know from doing the same job this weekend and yes, if the sensor tip is too far from the reluctor it will cause exactly the problem you're seeing.

The tip of the sensor, as we know James, can be offset from the teeth but the gap between the ring and tip is absolutly critical...

Eco, that's a way I've never tried replacing a bearing but as long as the pressure is appliued to the outer race then it should be fine.

Are you going to do the otehr side now?
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Re: HELP stuck front wheel bearing circlip!!

Post by ecohouse1 »

I was half expecting after all the grief on Saturday that the droning sound would still be there as it was the n/s that was the problem!! Luckily enough replacing the O/S bearing seems to have cured that, although I am sure that the N/S wont be far behind.

Plan is to leave it for now then tackle once it becomes vocal! :-D Toying with the idea of buying some bearing circlip removal pliers? Seen some around £30. Anyone had success with these? I seriously doubt that they would have made inroads on the one I had to remove though so might be a waste of cash? :? May even just remove the hub and ask a workshop to remove the circlip and press out the old and fit the new bearing, just to save grief. I can pootle around in the 2CV for a few days while its being done.

Interesting about the heat shield being over the ABS Sensor. I didn't notice it above when I undid the bolt, but I must admit the ABS sensor does look slightly further from the reluctor ring than I remember it with the shield underneath. I presume that there is a weaker signal to the sensor, enough to cause wierd effects but not enough to trigger the warning light?

Last week in a cack handed attempt to identify the noisy bearing I sprayed spray grease in through the back of the driveshaft into the bearing! What a plonker as the bearing is sealed anyway and I coated the sensor (s) with gunk. Immediately on driving the warning light came on. I cleaned it all up and the light went out. Live and learn! Will remove the sensor bolt and relocate the heatshield to the top.

Thanks chaps - this forum is veritable mine of information and help!

Cheers
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Re: HELP stuck front wheel bearing circlip!!

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

We try to help, and normally succeed (although, on occasions, I have given wrong advise and been pulled up on it by people who do know better).
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Re: HELP stuck front wheel bearing circlip!!

Post by RichardW »

Kind of puts me off tackling the noisy WB in my 307..... but then again it's an excuse to buy more tools :twisted: I suspect that if the ring is rusted in, then 'agressive' methods are required to remove it, and pliers would be worthless anyway. I wonder how garages deal with them?
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Re: HELP stuck front wheel bearing circlip!!

Post by CitroJim »

RichardW wrote:I wonder how garages deal with them?
Like me I expect :twisted: Much profanity, big hammers, punches (not of the Karate variety), cold chisels and angel grinders... :P
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Re: HELP stuck front wheel bearing circlip!!

Post by RichardW »

CitroJim wrote: Like me I expect :twisted: Much profanity, big hammers, punches (not of the Karate variety), cold chisels and angel grinders... :P
Just like most other jobs on PSA cars then :lol: =D>
Richard W
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