Greetings,
In addition to my ongoing air conditioning problems, I have purchased 2 wheel bearing kits as the noise is really getting worse. I disassembled all inclding ball joint and control arm, this morning couldnot get shaft to "withdraw" from whl bearing, tried hammer, tried liq. wrench, tried heavy gear puller no good. is their a "puller " i can get or something, (when i replaced on honda it came right out.)had to put all back together again.when looking at spline it appears rust colored. ANY IDEAS??
any feedback appreciated, i may "withdraw" from this task
frank d
south fl
jambrf@aol.com

greetings all,
well had to bring to local ind mechanic,to remove wheel bearing, yes it was bad,yes it was s o b to remove . mech. first tried penetrating lubr. ng (i tried too) spent over an hour removing was rusted had to wire brush spindle etc. ultimately had to use torch took 20 minutes to withdraw. this was drivers side. passenger side came out quickly. no more whining and groaning noise, now need rotors and fix a/c until next problem comes along. labor about $250.00 what i expected approx 2 hours each,
frankd
south fl

Sounds like you've taken a few too many things apart now. The way I do it is by first removing the 36mm nut, then re-threading that nut enough to protect the shaft end and threads and use the 36mm socket to pound the shaft through the bearing hub. It can take ALOT of force with a large hammer to get that shaft to move. Once it starts moving, I unbolt the 2 bolts where the lower control arm attaches to the subframe. That's the only thing you need to have loose and the shaft will then come through the hub completely.
Some might suggest removing the two lower strut bolts but if not re-installed to the same position, your camber will be off and you might then also need an alignment.

After asking for advice on the same procedure last week, I found that the only way to get the axle out of the wheel hub was to remove the strut clamp thru-bolts and lean the top of the wheel outwards. Make sure to disconnect the ABS line and the bolt holding the brake line/ABS wire clamp to the wheelwell. Also be careful of the stress on the brakeline as you lean the wheel out. While slowly tilting the wheel, I hit the end of the axle with a rubber mallet. Progress may be slow, but it will come out. Mine also had a rust-colored dust on it, but it didn't seem to be rust. As a warning, I had to give up on the removal when it came time to remove the inboard end from the transmission. If you manage that part, let me know how you did it.

Frank,

I am almost sure that I've read the same problem sometime last year. I guess then the topic title was "axle stuck in. please help". Try searching the archives with the above keywords. I remember there was a 22mm nut or something similar that was a bit hidden somewhere.
Good luck, I hope this helps.
ihsan

I live in Southern California, and over here our local Kragen Auto Parts rents out a special tool designed specifically to free the axle from the hub. It pops it right out without any major force on any components of the car. Check into it. Hopefully you can rent such a tool in your area.