Stuck... - Front Wheel Bearing Replacment - 2007 Volvo XC70

[cmayo1]

Hello, all.

Happy holidays! I hope everyone is enjoying themselves this holiday season.

I've been waiting for the right time to replace my front wheel bearing. I finally got an impact gun, and the weather is tolerable (36 degrees F) between today and tomorrow. All was going smooth. Brakes, caliper and rotor off. I then did my light research and found that people will take the CV axle out for this. I got the CV axle nudged out, and went to lower my control arm. When I attempted to do so, the control arm bolt that is connected to the ball joint is frozen.

Here's a better explanation: The nut that sits around the threads that connect the control arm to the ball joint spins freely. To get this off, you need to put a T40 bit into the bolt to keep it from spinning to get the nut off. Unfortunately, when I put any sort of resistance on that nut, it does not budge.

My next thought was to undo the strut. 18mm on the bolt, 21mm torque bar on the nut and... those are frozen as well. Sprayed them with the magic PB juice and they're sitting overnight. I don't expect those to budge, but who knows.

I also tried to remove the ball joint from the knuckle. I didn't have a press, so it was really just a crowbar, a will, and a prayer, but still no dice.

At this point, the actual problem I'm having is that the CV axle is in the way of me getting to the wheel bearing bolts. I'm unable to push it back into the bearing with my macho man muscles, so i need to get it out of the way. (Unfortunately, I found out later I could undo the bolts with a bent 18mm wrench... too late :/ )

I'm running out of ideas, but I have a few.

1. Remove the control arm bolt that is connected to the frame, to get the control arm out of the way.

2. Get a ball joint press (or a sledgehammer) and try to knock the ball joint loose.

3. Use the almighty strength of Thor himself to remove the strut bolts.

4. Undo the carrier bearing to potentially freely move the CV axle out.[/i]

The fourth option is what I think I should do, but I don't know if I want to dig a deeper hole by getting the drive shaft involved. Getting the ball joint out will have similar effect. The control arm bolt that's on the frame will probably come out easier than the strut, but, man, is my body tired.

Any thoughts on the best approach to this? I'm about 8 hours deep, and the weather is only going to get colder and yuckier. I appreciate any suggestions!

Thanks
Christopher

[cn90]

- I'd undo the strut bolts/nuts.
- Heat the nut side for a good 1 min (propane torch is about $10-$15 at hardware store). I will come loose.
- Get a iron pipe about 2 feet long (used for natural gas piping) + breaker bar, it will come out. It is 18 mm and 21 mm as you mentioned.

[br0dy519]

Regarding the axle. What you need to do is hit penetrant around the axle splines/wheel bearing mating area. Loosen but do not remove the axle bolt. Use a 3/8" extension or any other means to strike the bolt head with a small hammer. This will break it free and allow it to move back. It is really unnecessary to remove the entire axle for this job and will cause more complications.

As cn90 said, remove the knuckle/strut bolts, I always have more luck with those opposed to the lower ball joint. Again penetrant and perseverance pays off here. Use a massive extension as he noted, and instead of applying constant, even pressure as any sane person would do, you need to shock it free. Hit the extension with a mallet or sledge to get the rotation started loosening on the nut, not the bolt. Make sure you have your rotation correct and are not attempting to tighten the nut. Once the strut/knuckle bolts are free, it is easy to swing the entire knuckle assembly away from the axle and gives you plenty of room to work. I have definitely let slip some animal noises/battle cries doing that job.

I have replaced the wheel bearing on the rear of the car with the axle in place. Just using a jack to free up enough space to get a socket on the wheel bearing bolts.

[jonesg]

The big nut on the balljoint should loosen with the impact wrench, its a tapered stud so put some force on the joint to jam the stud from spinning. The counterhold in the stud isn't much use except when installing new. Try a small jack under the control arm near the balljoint nut to jam the balljoint stud. A wire brush in a drill will clean the threads, then apply grease, that spray isn't gonna do diddly.

The 2 bolts that hold the balljoint to the knuckle? last time I did that job I broke a bolt flush with the knuckle, I welded a nut to the broken stud to extract it, had to pull the whole knuckle off the car for access.

Honestly, this time of year, in NH ? I'd put everything back together and ride it out, if the bearing is noisy turn the radio up.

[cmayo1]

Thanks, everyone. After the strut bolts soaked overnight, I was able to get them off. My jacks handle is hollow, so I was able to slide a breaker bar handle into it to get extra leverage. Once I got those off, I was able to line everything back up and get the CV axle and the new wheel bearing in.

The experiencing of doing this was well worth it. It's my first front end job, and after seeing everything inside, it makes me feel a lot more confident with future jobs. Next time, I'll just use an 18mm wrench on those wheel bearings to save myself the trouble lol.

[jonesg]

a set of offset box end wrenches is a must, the control arm, uses a 17mm, offset is the only way to get in there.
i use anti seize , rarely have a problem in the future.