# Wheel Hub Assembly *HELP* - 97 Jetta



## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

crank, ANY wobble is too much wobble. With the car jacked up, grab the wheel by the sides and push straight in, then pull straight out. If there's any movement at all the bearings and hub need to be replaced. Best thing to do is buy the parts, remove the knuckle and take it all to a shop with a press. It can be done DIY with some blocks of wood, a punch, a couple big impact sockets, and a sledge, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Sorry I didn't see your posts about this car sooner, haven't been around here much lately. I restored a Cabrio for my daughter a while back, same A3 platform as your Jetta. If you'll let me know which problems you haven't resolved yet, I might be able to help with some of it.

The best money you can spend on this thing is about $65 for a Bentley service manual. Haynes, etc., are almost worthless on these cars except for some routine maintenance. If you watch Amazon, sometimes you can find good used Bentleys for about half price.

Also, there are several good VW salvage yards on Ebay with good used parts at very reasonable prices. Just stick with the ones that clearly identify the donor car and offer a warranty.:thumbsup:


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## crankbait09 (Mar 26, 2011)

hmmmmm, then the mechanic wasn't lying to me, cause it does wobble. Although not a lot, wobble there is.

as for the manual, I haven't ever seen a Bentley manual. I do have the Haynes and the details or lack there of, don't help a whole lot in this. Why is the Bentley manual better? Can they be found at libraries??

Well I will be continuing this process over the next few days and if I run in to any problems, I will definitely post them here

thanks for your help!!


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## ukrkoz (Dec 31, 2010)

well, actually, rocking tire on the car with hands on 3 and 9 is not wheel hub test. it is tie rod ends test, along with tie rods and some other STEERING components. for true test, both wheels must be up in the air. this is simple test ANY alignment shop does, or should, perform, before attempting alignment.
rough hub bearing test is rocking tire with hands on 6 and 12. RBF is right here - most cars do not tolerate any play there, as hub bearing is SUSPENSION AND STEERING component, and play in resultsin, usually: knocking noise in extreme turns; car "snaking" on the road at higher speeds, or moving like a snake by itself; "death wobble", or severe front end shake, if a bump is hit on a road, at high speeds, with steering slightly turned off to the bad bearing. All this is due to high centrifugal forces developed by wheel/tire assembly. 
Normally, takes about 30 minutes rookie job to replace one DIY. Biggest hindrence is breaking center bolt loose. Knowing Germans though, they might have complicated it beyond any reason easily. 

Sure thing:
*removal & installation*



*1990-94 Cabriolet, 1990-93 Fox, 1990-92 Golf and Jetta*
*Without Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS)*

NOTE
*The hub and bearing are pressed into the knuckle and the bearing cannot be reused once the hub has been removed.* 


You have to remove steering knuckle, press bearing out(any tire shop) and press new one back in (same).

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/re...epairGuideContent.jsp?pageId=0900c15280267edf


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## Marty1Mc (Mar 19, 2011)

FWD hub bearings aren't a 30 minute job even for a pro. I can do one in about an 1.5 hrs, but I have a tool to press out the bearing without removing the hub. It's called "Hub Tamer" and works well. It still takes a bit of time even with it.


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## crankbait09 (Mar 26, 2011)

I ran in to an additional problem while trying to get my hub off. I have all bolts removed except *ONE*.
Here is a link to the bolt that still needs to be removed.

The other two bolts in the area came right out, but this nut/bolt just spins. I have tried to use vice grips to hold it, but nothing. It looks as if this nut is supposed to be part of the metal piece but some how came apart. There is no hex head to it at all, but rather one complete circled head.

How do I get this bolt out?


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## Marty1Mc (Mar 19, 2011)

I can't tell which bolt you are talking about. Can you point to where it is or describe what's around it?


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## crankbait09 (Mar 26, 2011)

my bad, I thought I circled it in RED.....let me check on it


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## crankbait09 (Mar 26, 2011)

try it now........

http://i804.photobucket.com/albums/yy321/crankbait09/Brokennut.jpg


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## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

crankbait09 said:


> I ran in to an additional problem while trying to get my hub off. I have all bolts removed except *ONE*.
> Here is a link to the bolt that still needs to be removed.
> 
> The other two bolts in the area came right out, but this nut/bolt just spins. I have tried to use vice grips to hold it, but nothing. It looks as if this nut is supposed to be part of the metal piece but some how came apart. There is no hex head to it at all, but rather one complete circled head.
> ...


Yep, the nut was originally welded to the retaining plate. One of many design flaws on these cars, IMO. You're taking the right approach holding the nut with vice grips and turning the bolt from below. You might try heating it first, but if it still won't come apart you'll have to use a nut splitter or cut the bolt. It would be best to get a new retaining plate, but you could get away with just replacing that nut and bolt with hex as long as the other two are still good. Be sure to mark the position of the ball joint to the control arm before removing it so you can reinstall it in the same position.


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## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

ukrkoz said:


> well, actually, rocking tire on the car with hands on 3 and 9 is not wheel hub test. it is tie rod ends test, along with tie rods and some other STEERING components. for true test, both wheels must be up in the air. this is simple test ANY alignment shop does, or should, perform, before attempting alignment.
> rough hub bearing test is rocking tire with hands on 6 and 12. RBF is right here - most cars do not tolerate any play there, as hub bearing is SUSPENSION AND STEERING component, and play in resultsin, usually: knocking noise in extreme turns; car "snaking" on the road at higher speeds, or moving like a snake by itself; "death wobble", or severe front end shake, if a bump is hit on a road, at high speeds, with steering slightly turned off to the bad bearing. All this is due to high centrifugal forces developed by wheel/tire assembly.
> Normally, takes about 30 minutes rookie job to replace one DIY. Biggest hindrence is breaking center bolt loose. Knowing Germans though, they might have complicated it beyond any reason easily.
> 
> ...



Reread my post, didn't say anything about "rocking at 3 and 9".

The reason I suggest the "push/pull" method is because I've found on these cars you can sometimes detect endplay before there's any significant wobble. Obviously, this particular car is beyond that point.

Agree on the Germans over complicating things. They should have stuck with the old air cooled. And on this generation of VW I think a lot got lost in translation between them and the people in Puebla who built the cars. Que?:huh:


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## crankbait09 (Mar 26, 2011)

ratherbefishin' said:


> Be sure to mark the position of the ball joint to the control arm before removing it so you can reinstall it in the same position.


I am not completely car savvy but what exactly am I supposed to be marking and how?

Can you see it on the photo I am referring you too?


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## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

crankbait09 said:


> as for the manual, I haven't ever seen a Bentley manual. I do have the Haynes and the details or lack there of, don't help a whole lot in this. Why is the Bentley manual better? Can they be found at libraries??












You might be able to find one in a library. There's a used one at Amazon right now for $35. If you plan to keep this car, I highly recommend it.
Why is it better? Well, it's about five times thicker than a Haynes, so if you finally get frustated and give up, you can get a lot more wipes out of it.:laughing:

Seriously, though, it's a pro quality complete service manual.


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## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

crankbait09 said:


> I am not completely car savvy but what exactly am I supposed to be marking and how?
> 
> Can you see it on the photo I am referring you too?


Just mark the position of the retaining plate to the control arm. I'd scribe it since you have all that penetrating oil on it already.


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## Marty1Mc (Mar 19, 2011)

Take a dremel and grind opposite surfaces flat, that will give the vice grips something to grab.


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## crankbait09 (Mar 26, 2011)

ratherbefishin - thank you, I will do that!! I saw that one on amazon to for $35.........I will definitely look in to it!
marty1mc - good idea, didn't think of that one 

Thank you for the help!


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

crankbait09 said:


> I have posted this on a VW Vortex website as well, but figured I would get it out to the another forum in case I can get help here as well.
> 
> Recently, I went to my local auto shop and had them do an inspection on a Jetta, that I recently purchased. I was having them check the suspension and they came up with that I need to have the Wheel Hub Assembly replaced along with the bearings. Now he did say that my passenger side front hub is barely hanging on and he doesn't know how it's still on. I can only take the mechanics word for it.
> 
> ...


First of all, I can't open the picture. Sorry...

I had a '97 Golf for many years, and about 350,000 miles.

First of all, if your front wheel bearings are going bad you WILL know it! They'll whine and howl like nobody's business. The hub assembly will NOT, however, "be just hanging on" unless the axle nut has come loose and/or fallen off.

So... Is your car "howling" when you drive down the road? If not, it's not your front wheel bearings.


That said, if you've got wobble in your front tires, and it's not the wheel bearings, it's either your ball joints and/or your tie rod ends.


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## Marty1Mc (Mar 19, 2011)

DrHicks said:


> First of all, I can't open the picture. Sorry...
> 
> I had a '97 Golf for many years, and about 350,000 miles.
> 
> ...


Wheel bearings on FWD cars are all pretty much the same. The first stages, when the bearings are wearing on the races, the wheel will have play. Once the bearings really start to grind, there is usually a low rumble at speeds around 25mph and up. This can be verified by turning the wheel back and forth and listening. When the bearing is loaded, it will quite down. When it's being unloaded, turn in the opposite direction of the bad bearing wheel, the noise will return. After that stage, it begins to wear down quickly and will howl. At that point, the wheel is extremely loose. 

I agree that a quiet bearing is not very likely to just fall out of the assembly. But, if it isn't howling, it doesn't mean it's not bad. I check my suspension on all my cars regularly. Before a long trip, I noticed my son's car 's drivers side wheel was loose. It was the bearing doing it. I changed both fronts to be sure he didn't have an issue on a 15k mile drive.


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## D-rock (May 23, 2011)

I have been working with cars for over ten years, some front wheel drive bearings make noise when bad but are tight and some will be loose and not make noise. Best thing to do is support front end off the ground and feel for any thing loose like others have already said.


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## ukrkoz (Dec 31, 2010)

Marty1Mc said:


> FWD hub bearings aren't a 30 minute job even for a pro. I can do one in about an 1.5 hrs, but I have a tool to press out the bearing without removing the hub. It's called "Hub Tamer" and works well. It still takes a bit of time even with it.


really? how about 20 minutes 2000 Silverado 4WD? not all bearings are pressed in.


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## Marty1Mc (Mar 19, 2011)

ukrkoz said:


> really? how about 20 minutes 2000 Silverado 4WD? not all bearings are pressed in.


It's not a FWD. Silverado is RWD primary.


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## Mort (Nov 26, 2008)

ukrkoz said:


> really? how about 20 minutes 2000 Silverado 4WD? not all bearings are pressed in.


That's a hub/bearing assembly. It bolts onto the steering knuckle on 4WD Chevy/GMCs. On *most* front wheel drives the bearing presses into the steering knuckle. Completely different design. 

I firmly believe that it is so easy to replace on those Silverado/Sierras is because it has to be done regularly.


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