Wheel Bearing Change

[Cuzoe]

Question for anybody in here who has replaced their bearing, and therefore the axle bolt as well. What combination of brute strength and will are you guys using to get the 180 turn required after you torque the bolts and put the car on the ground?

I've got a 30" breaker bar and the pole from my floor jack and I only managed just over 90 degrees on it.

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[TechGuy32]

Yup it takes a long cheater pipe to get enough leverage. I have broken one breaker bar (Sears) and split a socket before I got 180 degrees. I found a little grease on the threads and face of the bolt helps a lot.

 

[Cuzoe]

Yup it takes a long cheater pipe to get enough leverage. I have broken one breaker bar (Sears) and split a socket before I got 180 degrees. I found a little grease on the threads and face of the bolt helps a lot.

Hmmm, I didn't do either of those. After I got the 90 degrees it started to feel like something was going to give. Couldn't really tell if it was going to be my breaker bar or the socket but it felt dangerous enough for me to stop trying. Something was definitely flexing but that bolt was not turning, haha.

Car still sitting as I want to do it right. I'll take the wife's car and pick up a better socket, maybe the black impact version. Probably grab a 5-foot steel pipe as well. If that doesn't work I suppose I should get a new bolt to try your methods with, since I've already stretched this one a little. Thanks for the tip.

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[TechGuy32]

An impact socket is a good choice if it fits properly as they are thicker wall and less brittle than a standard socket. Just be careful because this is seriously tight and if you slip you could injure yourself.

 

[russiankid]

A 1,000 lbs-ft tightening torque Milkwaukee impact will do the trick, or otherwise strong tools. A little grease will do the trick, but don't go too crazy on it as lubricants can throw torque specs off.

Or if you have access to big tools, a 3/4" breaker bar and socket will work.

 

[TechGuy32]

Even with 3/4" drive it's a lot of torque... but the breaker bar/socket are less likely to fracture.

 

[russiankid]

In all honesty, 200nM is plenty on its own. I've torque axles as much I could with a 24" breaker bar and never had one come loose, 180 seems a little extreme.

 

[TechGuy32]

It's also worth confirming that the bolt that you are using actually requires 180 deg. instead of 90 deg. VW has used several bolt suppliers over the years and IIRC the hex head bolts took 90 deg. and the 12 Pt. bolt took 180 deg. The hex head bolt was stronger and required less rotation to achieve the correct clamp force.

 

[Cuzoe]

Thanks for the responses. I have the erWin manuals (paid for access and saved the PDFs as soon as I bought the car). I have the 12pt so 180 degrees is right, I even called my local service center today to confirm... tech that I spoke to said he had only seen other techs do it with a "gigantic" breaker bar. He did confirm the 180 though... and I don't believe the bolt will come loose with the torque I already put on it but I'll sleep better knowing it's right.

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[jimlloyd40]

Hmmm, I didn't do either of those. After I got the 90 degrees it started to feel like something was going to give. Couldn't really tell if it was going to be my breaker bar or the socket but it felt dangerous enough for me to stop trying. Something was definitely flexing but that bolt was not turning, haha.

Car still sitting as I want to do it right. I'll take the wife's car and pick up a better socket, maybe the black impact version. Probably grab a 5-foot steel pipe as well. If that doesn't work I suppose I should get a new bolt to try your methods with, since I've already stretched this one a little. Thanks for the tip.

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That something that you thought was going to give was your shoulder.

 

[Cuzoe]

That something that you thought was going to give was your shoulder.

You might be right about that, haha. Not as young as I used to be... As if that's even possible, such a silly saying.

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[TechGuy32]

Not to worry, no one is getting any younger no matter what they claim.

 

[anotero]

You didn't have them fix it? I had a shop do it to my wife's Jetta, they paid for it to be repaired.

I noticed it too late. I didn't feel comfortable giving that specific shop shit because it could have been the dealership, for all I know. I know for sure it wasn't me.

 

[anotero]

In all honesty, 200nM is plenty on its own. I've torque axles as much I could with a 24" breaker bar and never had one come loose, 180 seems a little extreme.

I'm with you on this one. I will, however, do my best to give the 12-point in my car the full half turn. We'll see.

 

[Britishav8tor1]

This is probably too late but the torque on the wheel axle bolt is different depending on if its a 6 point bolt or a 12 point one.
If (and I say if because I can't find it published anywhere) but If the torque is the same as the MK5 and 6 then if you have a 12 point bolt its 52 ft lbs + 90 degrees. If you have a 6 point its 147ft lbs plus 180 degrees.

The part I can't find is what the torque specs are for the three bolts that hold the bearing to the spindle. On the A1 video listed below they said 52 lbs but considering they they did a few things completely wrong in that video and the 52lbs sounds a lot like the axle bolt torque spec Im not willing to trust them.