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Anyone know of a good DIY page, with pictures preferably, on how to disassemble and repack the front wheel bearings of an E36?
This page has a great one for the rears on the final post. It used to have a bunch of great pics for the fronts but they are no longer there.
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...h-grease/page3
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https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...7#post29205987
The second link has pictures where you can see the plastic cages to understand how they lock into the inner race. It's not bad once you figure out where and how to pry to release the plastic cage off the inner race. Just be gentle! I'd suggest practicing on one of your old bearings first if you can. I need to do it again and have someone take pictures for me to make a nice DIY.
Last edited by hoki06; 03-11-2017 at 09:00 AM.
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Thanks for posting this... something I should do... and always learning something new.
Lime Rock Park... the most fun you can have in a mile and a half.
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Thank you man, much appreciated. Won't be able to take the old ones off until day of the job but perhaps I can find one or two someone is just going to throw out. Any tips on getting the seal out? Seems to be a bit trickier thank the rears.
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The seal is definitely harder than the rears. Use a very thin flat head screwdriver and gently pry at the outer edge to lift it up. You have to do this and constantly rotate the bearing so you don't destroy the rubber that lines the seal. So basically its "pry, rotate 10°, pry, rotate 10°..." until you get it out. Hopefully this makes sense.
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That is helpful, thanks.
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What kind of issues were you guys having that dictates new grease? I haven't had trouble using F.A.G bearing/hubs for several seasons
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Higher performance grease = extended life especially when you get into race conditionsOriginally Posted by TXBDan
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Just an idea I had from cycling. Camapgnolo hubs have a small hole in the center axle shaft and the side bearing caps that you can inject grease into. I never used the holes for that on road or track wheels but used them a lot for cyclocross. I also built cross wheels with cheaper hubs and drilled my own hole. Campy hubs have a spring clip that covers the hole but it's not necessary IMO. I wonder if drilling a hole in the bearing seal could work the same way.
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Prettt much what he said. Several of my track friends have mentioned how, while for street use it's not nessecary, for track use, the amount and quality of the grease that comes in the bearings is subpar.
that's interesting and could be very cool. Not willing to try it on my car but could be a fun experiment in a lemons car.
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The amount of factory grease in the FAG bearings is surprisingly low. I definitely felt better about cleaning out that stuff and adding higher temp, better performing grease. When you think about brake temps on track vs street it makes sense to need a higher temp grease for extended life.
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BMW E36 M3 Expert
I don't recall who it was, but back in the day there was someone who used to sell upgraded E36 wheel bearings. They were opened up, solvent washed and then repacked with Redline high temperature grease before reassembly. I sure haven't done this, but it's definitely doable.
Don't make the mistake of adding more grease than necessary. Churning that excess grease will increase bearing friction and generate internal heat. A rolling element bearing should have the minimum grease fill to assure proper life, and no more. This would be determined by the manufacturer's life testing, so if I were repacking a wheel bearing I'd aim to duplicate the original fill amount, except with a premium high temperature grease. This would most easily be assured by weighing the original as delivered and then dry, then repacking accordingly.
Neil
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Forget his name on here but RRT is the shop that used to do it. Unfortunately they no longer do.
And thanks for the idea! Next step was trying to determine how much grease to actually put in and that's a great method.
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Agree. In the day before sealed bearings, used to pack them full by hand and then wipe off as much from the depressions as possible for this reason.
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Not a clue how you guys got the fronts apart. I spent a good hour trying to get that rubber seal off and got no where. I tried from the outside first and it was not possible to get anything between the hub and the seal. I then tried to get inbetween the inner race and the seal with success however I couldnt get the seal to release. Put a good amount of force from differnt angles, even pulling straight up and got no where. At a loss now. Any suggestions?
The rears on the other than where damn easy. Hour for the first one and 30 min for the second.
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