Front wheel bearing Snap ring ???

[Montana250]

I am in the middle of replacing my axle u-joints and the axle outer dust seals but I cannot get the snap ring off to allow me to slide the wheel bearing, off. I have just a normal set of snap ring pliers and those are not hackin' it, they don't seem to open up enough.... Does anybody have any tips or tricks for getting this off? or is there a super hardcore set of snap ring pliers out there I should pick up?... Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Montana250]

bump... still can't get that mo fo off...

[wingnut]

yup, go get the good pliers...dunno if autozone carries em though.

[ABoyAndHisToys]

I've ripped mine apart several times. AZ has the set of pliers for 10bucks with the different sizes.

[Montana250]

Thanks guys, I just got it off... I feel I'm now in a position to give a review of dang near every brand of snap ring pliers out there:

Lisle "snap ring pliers": Broke in about 30 seconds. Has the small replaceable tips for different type rings... I returned it, luckily they have a warranty

Ultra steel snap ring pliers: Bent in about 45 seconds. These are about as cheap as you can go, but my options were limited. They didn't even open the ring enough to get it off the axle shaft.

Channel-lock brand snap ring pliers: I was really excited about these but they didn't work because they are too bulky to fit between the axle shaft and the hub housing... so they wouldn't work either

Irwin: I didn't even take this out of the package, I could tell once i got it home that it was also too bulky to fit between the shaft and the housing... strike 4 it looks like

Lisle "lock ring pliers": these worked as advertised and have been very durable, but weren't able to open the snap ring enough to get it over the axle shaft... strike 5

Snap On "lock ring pliers": JACKPOT!! the tips are small enough to actually fit inside the snap ring holes, they are VERY strong and don't flex at all... got the ring off in about 45 seconds... THANK YOU SNAP ON DUDE!!

I hope this can be helpful to somebody, save your money, go right for the snap on brand (they were about $42) I spent over $100 on all the other brands, so take my advice... bite the bullet, get snap on.

Thanks for the advice guys

[arriero4x4]

i have this pliers with interchangable tips. First one broke just when I tried to get the ring. The second tip didnt broke, but I cost me a lot of time and I had to be very carefull not to brake it. I finally was able to change my wheel bearing, but im buying a good new set of pliers. I´ll check for this Snap on pliers.
Thanks
arriero