Front Bearing Removal Help

i took the knuckle off and put it in the vise , tap the old bearing out , i put the new one in the same way but used some silicone to make it go in easier , you could put the bearing in the freezer over night to shrink it a little ,then put eveything back together,took about 1 1/2 hours the first time i did it. good luck

I was hoping not to have to remove the knuckle assembly....how easy or hard is it to do ????

You will find it easier to remove the knuckle assembly. I had to do it a couple of times on my 98 450S. Seems like the left front is the drive side on the foreman. Just disconnect the brakes and loosen the castle nuts. If you have axcess to a fork the ball joints will come right off. If not spray them will some rust penetrator and tap the castle nut to dislodge the joint while holding pressure on the A-arm. Make sure the threads are still covered by the nut so you don't ruin them. They will pop right out. The bearing presses in and out from the back of the spindle. Take it to an auto shop to do it if possible. If not you can put it in a vise and try to drive it out with a pipe or bushing near the same size. Use the old bearing housing to drive in the new one. You can make a make shift press using a hydraulic jack also. Good luck

I just replaced my right front bearing on my 99 450S. It's pretty easy after you take the knuckle assembly off. After you've removed the seals, you just need to remove the snap ring that holds the bearing in place. Once this is removed you should be able to drive the old bearing out, replace it with the new one, and re-install the ring and seals.

if there like my bearings in my foreman 500 i just pulled the seals out and the bearings came out in my hand. i was thinkin thats not a good thing lol..

mine came out in pieces as well. its a fairly straight forward job, always made easier with a shop manual. one snafu I had was not noticing a small shoulder on the inside of the steering knuckle which the bearing rests against. mine was pretty gunked up and looked like it was one piece. I tried to drive it out and had to go back and touch it up with a dremel tool after getting the bearing out. inner dust seal went in fine and so far is none the worse for wear. And yes its much easier if the knuckle is removed, just be careful of your tie rod dust boot.

I've decided to order the knuckle assembly for $58 since it comes with the bearing and new dust boots. It should arrive in a few days and I'll give it a try. We'll let you know how it goes......

well none the less this is a good thread. there should be a sticky page up top for links to threads like these. i had the bearings changed by the dealer not to along when it was in for work, not doing that again ahah
good tips by fununmud, and everyone else who contributed.