Taking the liberty to put the pictures inline with his text:

If you’ve arrived here, you either want to change a wheel bearing, or have an itch to find out what this thread is all about. This thread is the first part of a two part post in which I will detail how to change a wheel bearing on a Volvo 240. The Volvo in the pictures is a 1977 264 GL, however the basic concept and design is similar for all Volvo 240’s. I hope you enjoy, and have fun!!!


1. The first step is to remove the wheel. When performing this operation, be sure that the car is properly supported with jackstands. Large blocks are not appropriate and can topple causing injury or damage to the vehicle. Once you remove the wheel, it should look something like this.




2. The next step is to remove the brake caliper mounting screws. There are two mounting screws which hold attach it to the strut tube. In my photo, I have replaced the hex head screws with Allen head screws which I prefer. The hex size is 17mm and for Allen screws, 10MM. It is always a sound idea to replace the brake caliper mounting bolts whenever they are removed. The size is M12x30mm.




3. Remove the brake caliper from the hub. The brake caliper will likely not slide off the rotor easily. This is because the brake pads have worn a ridge into the rotor and this restricts the caliper from sliding off. To slide the caliper away from the rotor, you must depress the pistons in the brake caliper to allow clearance between the pads and the rotor. For this I like to use larger Channellock slip joint pliers. You can find these at Home Depot and they really are a good investment. Grab the edge of the pad and squeeze the piston into the caliper.




4. Carefully remove the caliper from the hub taking care not to damage the copper brake lines.




5. Remove the rotor retaining bolt. There is one, sometimes two pins or screws that hold the rotor onto the hub. Remove these with a 10mm wrench or socket.




6. Remove the brake rotor. The rotor should now be free from the hub, Although there is nothing retaining the brake rotor, corrosion forms between the hub and the rotor making removal difficult. Use a large dead-blow mallet to remove the rotor.


7. Remove the hubcap. Pry the cap away from the hub with a screwdriver. It helps to turn the hub and pry from opposite ends. Be sure not to damage the cap when you are removing it, It is made of soft steel.


8. Remove the castle nut retaining cotter pin. Using pliers, remove the cotter pin, It should be bent at the bottom to prevent the nut from loosening. Straighten the pin and pull it out the top.


9. Remove the castle nut. The size of the nut is 24mm or 15/16". I had a offset box wrench handy from my strut cartridge replacement that fit perfect. The nut should NOT be tight!!! Let me repeat that again, THE NUT SHOULD NOT BE TIGHT. The nut should be only installed enough to eliminate free play in the hub assembly. If the nut were tightened beyond that, the bearings would be quickly obliterated.


10, Lift off the hub assembly. I like to keep old metal pans around, they help keep things from being lost. Notice how I didn’t put the hubcap in the pan. That was a mistake, and now it could be lost.




11. Clean the grease out of the hub. I sprayed mine out in the alley with the hose. Then I wiped it out with rags. Solvent causes brain damage.




12. Using a punch, drift the outer race out of the hub. Work the race out of the hub using even force. Don’t cock the race in the hub.




13. To remove the inner race requires supporting the casting in a fixture or vise. The outer race must have clearance to exit the rear of the hub.




Maybe if you found this helpful, you’d give a thumbs up?


Goatman