Originally Posted by Billman250

When working with a bearing, you have:

-Knuckle: part that holds the bearing itself, and the suspension attaching points. "spindle" if you will is also used
-BEARING: composed of outer one-piece race shell, two rows of ball bearings with nylon spacing cages, and two inner races
-HUB: this is the part that has the 5 studs pressed into it. It's what the rotor sits directly against

So..

When the HUB is pressed out of the BEARING, one of the inner races is pulled from the BEARING and remains on the HUB.

SOME will say the act of pressing puts too much strain on the bearing, and this is what destroys it. This is not so. The forces are much greater when cornering the car, hence why the axle nut re-torque is needed. The cornering of the car is pulling the race off the hub.

They SAY it destroyes the bearing, but if someone is careful and competent with a press, and understands the forces put on the bearing during RE-INSTALL, one could support the assembly in a way to not put any undue stress on the bearing. With this, you dont need a new bearing.

I do this all the time, and dont replace the bearing. I have custom made supports, and micro thin plastic shoehorns that walk the ball bearings outward, so when the hub/race is pressed back in, it doesn't "spot" the bearings. The act of pressing together (not seperating) is what spots the balls and race and causes a rumble, destroying the bearing. NOT pressing it apart. Find an old school tech and explain this to him. If he "gets it", you won't need a bearing.

Originally Posted by Billman250

I totally believe in preventative maintenance, and it is a very good idea to replace the bearing. Some of the cars I work on are low mileage cars that are leisure and are not driven hard. At this point the bearings have 90 percent of their life remaining. And when a guy comes in for extended studs, 300 bucks worth of bearings and labor he does not need is a huge savings I can pass on to him.