Back in 2010 I would always use a pry bar to pop out wheel bearings. | Auto Mechanics - Freelance Forum - The Community for Independent Professionals

Pat Hill · 2026-04-04T00:15:03.854287+00:00

Then a tech in my old Milwaukee shop showed me a slide hammer with a bearing adapter, and it changed the whole job. I haven't cracked a rotor since I switched over about five years ago. What's a tool or method you changed that saved you a ton of headache?

the_spencer5mo ago

Guess you were the reason we had a rotor graveyard out back, huh?

7

viola_garcia565mo ago

Pry bars are a good way to ruin a rotor and send metal shards flying. That slide hammer method is the right way to do it, no question. You get a clean pull without the hammering force. My shop made the switch years back and it cut our replacement rotor costs in half. It's one of those tools that pays for itself after a few jobs.

5

rosepark5mo ago

Totally get what @viola_garcia56 means about the clean pull. Honestly, the real win is not having to fight a seized bearing for half an hour.

4