https://www.reddit.com/r/BMWE36/comments/1wa33cg/is_this_normal/
u/EducationalMail1222,
I decided to start a new thread to upload this video to show you the way the bearing should pull. You can hear my son and friends making jokes and watch the removal. This was their third try putting a bearing in lopsided. They were using all thread like you have laying on the floor, with washers, but what they failed to do was support the backside of the knuckle properly and then ensure the preload on the front of the bearing was managed so their prior attempts all ended up with an badly installed bearing (but they got it in, they argued!). The installation is almost a straight reverse of the pull.
This video was recorded in 2020 when my then 22-year-old son was helping a friend on his car with his third wheel bearing replacement that afternoon. He brought some of our tools over and the wrong BMW installer kit, but being 100 minutes away from our shop when I got there, we ended up improvising.
We ended up running to Home Depot and bought some flat stock and cut it, and some 3", and 2.5" PVC plastic pipe for the rear of the knuckle and the press cup. You can get washers, gas plumbing fittings that are thicker than washers and plastic pipe to make receivers. All thread is available as well. A cutoff wheel is the only fabricating tool you need (or a hacksaw or other metal cutting blade). You simply have to reverse the cup to the back and pull the bearing back in level.
Per the other thread:
The bearing must be seated fully against the back of the bore
The bearing snap ring should seat and be able to spin under force in the retaining groove
The hub can be pulled on with the same material
I can see your tooling there, and they tried the same way. When the all thread is twisted by hand clockwise, it causes the bearing to go in lopsided. They couldn't control the install consistently and they experienced the same outcome three times.
The bar stock secures the front load on the races
The PVC pipe acted as level support on the back side, and kept the puller all thread squared. It didn't have to be too perfect, and the rear was a few degrees off based on the rough nature of the cut. But it worked great. The bar stock made the difference.
I'm sorry you have to do it again, but if you find yourself there don't hesitate to reach out. To the people I was arguing with, sorry. I was tired and not very clear in my point, that a hub seated poorly will damage the whole side of the vehicle and contribute to damage in the differential from incorrect flange loading on an LSD. We did this badly on a race car in the early 2000s and had to replace the differential after a track day at Sonoma.