How do I beef up a cheap Chinese hub puller tool?

[2ndGearRubber]

Crikey, do you park that out on the beach or something?

That's not really that rusty. I bet it has solid floors.

Assuming you're leaving the knuckle in the car, reconnect the ball joint and tie rod to deal with the snap ring. This will help keep things from flopping around. Unless you're very lucky, the snap ring will be stuck. Beat the ears with a round punch, trying to compress the ring as though you were compressing it. This will jar it free, then use the snap ring pliers to collapse it slightly and put a flat head screwdriver behind it to help push the ring outwards.

If you want to remove the knuckle/strut assembly, be aware some VWs have upper mounts where the nuts are only held in place the a thing piece of metal and the rubber of the mount. If they're frozen, heat will destroy the mount, and the nut will spin in the mount before the bolts break free. Just be aware.

EDIT- guess that's not needed. Smart idea buying the tool to make pressing it in easier. Sometimes it's easier and cheaper to just buy a hub.

 

[s45]

Good effort getting that off! Interesting it has a circlip on the front, does it have one on the back, or do those bearings go in from the front? Some vw uprights have two circlips so you can push the bearing through them, but I thought that was only the mk1 platform

Thanks! These bearings go in from the front and the back has like a shoulder they sit on. At first I was confused and thought they needed to be pressed out from the back but it didn't make sense since the snap ring is on the front. And It only has that one circlip or snap ring. Honestly I don't know much about VWs this is the first time I've ever worked on a VW, owned a few in the past but I never messed with one until now.

Crikey, do you park that out on the beach or something?

No I just bought this thing, sadly the previous owner passed away and I think it probably sat for at least a year or 2 before I got it.

Good job. Working on rusty stuff *****. Working on cars can already be a frustrating experience. Working on rusty cars can push you to borderline insanity.

Thanks, yah it definitely *****. The worst thing is working on a rusty car when it's cold outside lol. I'm lucky the weather was so hot today I think that helped me a lot.

 

[InjectorService]

It's not great, but I've used a nut with a bolt and a wrench on the nut, impact on the bolt in a pinch. The nice thing is you can put as much force on it as you want, if you wreck it, get a new bolt.

 

[Jagmandave]

Just FYI, I use gear oil (like 75/90) on the threads on my pullers, works way better than grease and is less messy.

 

[wrenchr]

Crikey, do you park that out on the beach or something?

You would stroke out if you seen the underside of my 2001 Silverado. In Michigan its entire life.

 

[jabberwoki]

The term polish a turd comes to mind.

 

[F-22]

No expert on VWs, but I heard the "series 3" from the 90's was much worse than the "series 4" Golf that came in the 2000's. Series 3 was a big step down from the simplicity and reliability of the series 1 and 2. But 4 was so good it was manufactured in some countries until very recently.

 

[tak1313]

That's some really fugly parts...you know it took awhile when the sequential pics show daylight, dark, then daylight again...

 

[cgrutt]

OP I just ordered a set of these to replace those tractor supply bolts I mentioned above may work for you too.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JBI7EDW/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Just wanted to update I received the Astro Pneumatic bolts last night they are much smaller than what I was expecting and won't work to replace the front end bearing puller bolts I was referring to. With that said they are pretty cool I'll definitely keep them and find some use for them in the future. The bolts have a ball bearing at end and includes a cup for uneven surfaces. Supposedly impact rated. Set includes two each of M14-2.00 and M12x1 75 bolts and nuts along with two of the cups/feet. They're about 5" in overall length.

 

[PhantomEB]

I don’t. I borrow the stuff from work lol

 

[tak1313]

I don't think a hub tamer would work on this car as there's nothing for the forcing bolt or screw to push against after the axle has been removed. And yah I hope the axle doesn't put up that much of a fight but we'll see. Currently waiting on Amazon to deliver the hub puller, it's supposed to arrive today. I wish I had a garage so I could buy a press and air hammer.

FYI (for the other bearing) - that's the specific type that the Hub Tamer/Grappler (and Astro copy of the Grappler) was made for.

Once you push the CV out (you may also need to undo a ball joint to swing the knuckle out of the way, but don't have to remove the knuckle completely), the forcing screw goes THROUGH the hub hole (where the axle was), then the small plate, along with the giant nut, goes in the back the head of the screw pushes against the jaw mechanism. The jaw mechanism braces on whatever section of the knuckle.

As you wind the forcing screw, the nut/plate pushes against the rear side of the hub and pushes the hub out. Same process/theory for the bearing itself. The process is reversed for pushing back in, but the jaw mechanism is only needed in the hub removal part of the process. Everything else is just using the screw, nut and various plates and cups.

In this pic, you can see the other end of the forcing screw at the back side of the hub with the giant nut.

 

[s45]

FYI (for the other bearing) - that's the specific type that the Hub Tamer/Grappler (and Astro copy of the Grappler) was made for.

Once you push the CV out (you may also need to undo a ball joint to swing the knuckle out of the way, but don't have to remove the knuckle completely), the forcing screw goes THROUGH the hub hole (where the axle was), then the small plate, along with the giant nut, goes in the back the head of the screw pushes against the jaw mechanism. The jaw mechanism braces on whatever section of the knuckle.

As you wind the forcing screw, the nut/plate pushes against the rear side of the hub and pushes the hub out. Same process/theory for the bearing itself. The process is reversed for pushing back in, but the jaw mechanism is only needed in the hub removal part of the process. Everything else is just using the screw, nut and various plates and cups.

In this pic, you can see the other end of the forcing screw at the back side of the hub with the giant nut.

I see, didn't know how that tool worked but I didn't need it anyways. The main thing I was worried about was the axle being seized and I got that loose. I attached the old rotor backwards on the hub and beat on it with a 3 lb sledge and it came out pretty smoothly.

 

[s45]

Just wanted to update I received the Astro Pneumatic bolts last night they are much smaller than what I was expecting and won't work to replace the front end bearing puller bolts I was referring to. With that said they are pretty cool I'll definitely keep them and find some use for them in the future. The bolts have a ball bearing at end and includes a cup for uneven surfaces. Supposedly impact rated. Set includes two each of M14-2.00 and M12x1 75 bolts and nuts along with two of the cups/feet. They're about 5" in overall length.

Yah man you need a forcing screw with the same specs as the bearing puller screw. Do you know the thread pitch and diameter of that thing? Get one the same length as well. I'm guessing a replacement screw is going to be expensive. Make sure you always lube the threads before use cause even a good quality bolt will eventually wear out without lube.

 

[s45]

That's some really fugly parts...you know it took awhile when the sequential pics show daylight, dark, then daylight again...

Are you from a warm climate? This is what cars look like in the rust belt after a few years. Still haven't installed the new bearing because the spring is broken and I'm going to change that as well. I do a little more digging and then find I need another tool and then have to order and wait. Had to order one of those Chinese gear race puller things from Amazon and now I need a spring compressor too.

 

[tak1313]

Are you from a warm climate? This is what cars look like in the rust belt after a few years. Still haven't installed the new bearing because the spring is broken and I'm going to change that as well. I do a little more digging and then find I need another tool and then have to order and wait. Had to order one of those Chinese gear race puller things from Amazon and now I need a spring compressor too.

No - New Hampshire, but fugly is fugly. I've had similar too - but it's still fugly.