Time for an overhaul of my 1.9 '98 BMW Z3 Individual

Kenhayes247 · Sunday at 7:27 AM

Matt Barnes said:
ok, so it's Saturday, and another day on the car....firstly.... "new" shocks turned up on Tuesday courtesy of eBay. well.... better than the ones I took off !.... they'll get rubbed down and sprayed gloss black....

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Then I attacked that lower control arm with the pickle fork and OH MY GAAAAAAAAAD.... both came off in about 10 minutes !! ..used it as well to separate the lower ball joint from the knuckle... so as @Althulas suggested, these are DEFINITELY the way to go if you're not planning on putting those ball joints back on.

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so for posterity when I look back, this is the state of the hubs...

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and i had a little chuckle to myself when I saw the brake pad wear sensor was tucked into the clip

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"While I'm here" I thought.. I'll get the bearings out.....

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knocked the tabs back ......... DUG OUT THE NUGGAAA !!!!....

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The nut didn't round off on me like it did with the driveshaft nut a couple of years ago, so I think I've finally overcome my fear of Impact Wrenches.

used the old trick of dropping an extension bar down the hole...

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Then failed to take a photo of my hub puller setup.....

hang on let me recreate for educational purposes..........................................................right... I'm back....

there you go....

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both Hubs came off really easily and did I get away with it ??

...... no

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Tried getting the hub puller on the bearing shell that was left over and... no dice chicago....

So I tried the angle grinder approach, but getting in there with the back plate on was tricky, so thought I'd cut it off as I have new shiny ones !!

what is this race doing ?... marked with the yellow arrow... it's not part of the bearing and I don't want to destroy it, but it's stopping me getting the backplate off and hence the bearing shell

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so that should be the last of the big parts off..... definitely onto the front end rebuild !!!

Hi Matt - I believe the part indicated by the yellow arrow is a dust cover for the wheel bearing.

Matt Barnes · Sunday at 7:31 AM

Kenhayes247 said:
Hi Matt - I believe the part indicated by the yellow arrow is a dust cover for the wheel bearing.

thanks Ken...yeah I ended up googling it, as I knew it wasn't part of the bearing but you have to get it off to get the dust shield off. saw a video of one guy heating it up and prying it off. Shockingly they're about £20 each!..one of them is rusted so I'll have to get at least one new one...

Matt Barnes · Sunday at 1:51 PM

so... day two on the front hub........decided as I need to buy a new rear dust seal anyway i might as well sacrifice it to make way for an attempt at getting my hub puller onto the back of the race..did the same the other side but my pulller just won't fit

I tried grinding down the "hook" but to no avail... I did try the cutting slots method but bottled it as I don't want to damage the shaft.

What I did learn is that apparently, SKF bearings have a groove round the top of that shell, onto which you could clamp a puller whereas "aftermarket" shells are smooth...... who knew !

anyway... I'll park that for now, and I've ordered one of these.... from Tesco online of all places !!

so with that on it's way I decided to make a pig's ear out of a silk purse =))

... and tidy up the front discs

then moved on to the carbide wheel as I felt it was friendlier to the metal

Then I took a chunk out of my finger which meant I retired hurt and resorted to whiskey =))

Mazza · Sunday at 3:08 PM

You’ll be amazed how many times on my rebuilds I’ve retired hurt and needed alcohol ……….and sometimes I wasn’t even hurt …. :whistle:

Matt Barnes · Sunday at 3:11 PM

Mazza said:
You’ll be amazed how many times on my rebuilds I’ve retired hurt and needed alcohol ……….and sometimes I wasn’t even hurt ….

indeed mate.... I've been attacked several times now by my angle grinder. Sod's law I'd just taken my glove off to search for something on my phone, carried on grinding and "ouch" got nicked on the knuckle by the carbide wheel which took a chunk out...

Althulas · Sunday at 7:12 PM

Surprised you’re having to use a puller to get the hubs off. Mine just looked as crusty but came off easily or maybe angry with a lump hammer

Mint · Sunday at 8:45 PM

Those discs have come up a treat Matt :thumbsup:

, hope you checked they were 'true' before you spent time on them

I've also retired hurt on more than one occassion over the years

Matt Barnes · Sunday at 8:49 PM

Althulas said:
Surprised you’re having to use a puller to get the hubs off. Mine just looked as crusty but came off easily or maybe angry with a lump hammer

they're still not off mate...parked it for now...whiskey won in the end

Kenhayes247 · Monday at 7:33 AM

Matt - if you cut a vertical line down the entire length of the bearing shell as opposed to across. Use your dremel and a suitable cutting disc to do this. Cut as deep as you can without going through. Then using a cold chisel and hammer knock down through the channel you have cut and it should separate.

Matt Barnes · Monday at 8:09 AM

Kenhayes247 said:
Matt - if you cut a vertical line down the entire length of the bearing shell as opposed to across. Use your dremel and a suitable cutting disc to do this. Cut as deep as you can without going through. Then using a cold chisel and hammer knock down through the channel you have cut and it should separate.

thanks Ken....I did think of something like that and will probably take your advice when I get back to it next weekend. I just got a bit paranoid as if I nick the shaft it'll knacker it. But yes if I tread carefully it'll probably do it. .

Matt Barnes · Monday at 8:56 AM

Morning all ..... I just hope I haven't been scammed, but I've been in touch with the seller and they confirmed it's the right sill for the car... as you know these are like rocking horse doo doo.......

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/257050344867.. i'll let you know what happens !

Matt Barnes · Monday at 9:05 AM

Althulas said:
Surprised you’re having to use a puller to get the hubs off. Mine just looked as crusty but came off easily or maybe angry with a lump hammer

the actual hubs came off really easily and on the offside I pulled it off with my hands... it's the inner race that's separated and jammed on, which is being "uncooperative" :whistle:

Matt Barnes · 2025-09-02T17:12:30+0100

well my Tesco tool arrived and took the bearing off in seconds, well worth16 quid!

downside...all my cutting at the weekend has knackered the shaft....so I need another knuckle...or do I?.. as this damage is the inside and not where the ball bearings are

Matt Barnes · 2025-09-03T17:24:55+0100

managed to bag a brand new BMW OEM offside outer sill off Ebay...should I get a lottery ticket now?

Time for an overhaul of my 1.9 '98 BMW Z3 Individual

Kenhayes247

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