Rear Wheel Bearings : Anybody R & R them at home ?

jsteele22 · 01:05 PM

Yesterday I set to work trying to replace the howling rear wheel bearings of my 1976 2.0L. Things went pretty smoothly up to the point of pressing out the wheel hub. Note that I did not remove the trailing arm from the car - this would require re-alignment - but instead tried to drive out the hub from the trailing arm from under the car. I used an iron bar maybe 1 - 1.5" square (pressing on wheel hub, not the bearing itself) and a five pound sledge, and wailed on it pretty hard. Absolutely no sign of it slipping. Is the bearing normally this difficult to replace, or has mine been thermally fused from too many miles of driving on a bad bearing ? I borrowed a hub puller from AutoZone, but couldn't find any configuration that would work for this case.

Basically, I'm thinking of taking it in to a shop, but if anyone has any special tips or tricks, I might be tempted to try it again.

YIKES ! Just called a shop and they quoted labor at around $650 ! Plan now is to remove trailing arm and use a hydraulic press at work.

Thx,
Jeff

p.s., I found a nice 12-point tool from Checker (PowerBuilt brand) for removing drive shafts; set of 4 pieces for $16.

tat2dphreak · tat2dphreak's Garage

freeze 'em... put the new ones in the freezer overnight, knock out the old one from the trailing arm, the new one will slide right in... like it was made to do

do yourself a favor on the bolts, go get Allen head bolts that match the factory star-shaped head... that way you won't have to search for that stupid tool everytime...

jimz73 · 08-22-2005, 06:17 PM

I did mine at home several years ago. Pelican Parts has a good tech article on this. I believe I also had an article I pulled from an old Excellence magazine. They both basically used the same procedure. You may have to use a large hammer on beat with all your strength. If you have to, buying a set of hubs is cheaper than the shop charge. By using the tech article, this should be a relatively easy procedure. At least it was for me. Good luck. If you are in fear of destroying the rear alignment by hammering on the hub to remove it, brace the trailing arm to an immovable item with a piece of 2x4 lumber. This should hold it in place without damaging the trailing arm or altering the alignment.

Bleyseng · Bleyseng's Garage

spray some PB Blaster all over the hub and then beat it out with a larger mallet. Then the same thing to remove the bearing.

Clean it all up and freeze the bearing over nite before installing using the PP Tech article.

One of mine came out easy the other was 1 of beating on it like yours. Got my arms were sore........

be careful putting the new ones in as you can destroy them with improper installation.

Geoff

jsteele22 · 08-23-2005, 08:22 AM

Well, it's encouraging to know that it can be done. I think I'm gonna try the other side (the one that *isn't* howling) first, just to get some progress under my belt.

On the bothersome side (passenger), it turns out I pinched the hard brake line and sprayed brake fluid onto the trailing arm. When I wiped it off, I got clean shiny metal. So I do think I'll pull that trailing arm and bring it in to the hydrailic press at work, and give it a little paint. Man I Hate brake fluid !

Joe Ricard · Joe Ricard's Garage

Shoot if you got a press at work just do both sides that way. Probably less work and you get nice clean spiffy trailing arms. i figure getting all the dirt and grime off is worth a pound of unsrung wieght.

jsteele22 · 08-23-2005, 03:34 PM

Well, I found some more weight to get rid of (not counting the driver, of course) : under the rocker panels. I pulled one off and got a huge pile of rich, black compost - suprised no worms were living in there !

tat2dphreak · tat2dphreak's Garage

common actually... it's an area everyone chould clean out every time the car is washed... that is why the jack posts tend to rust...

jsteele22 · 08-24-2005, 08:50 AM

SUCCESS. Unable to wait for the weekend, last night I jacked the car up in my driveway, and pulled the trailing arm (after making a few marks that hopefully will will alllow me to put it on in the same alignment.) I brought it in to the shop at work hoping to use the press, but had a bit of a hard time finding a way to support it, keep the bearing axis perfectly vertical, provide clearance for the wheel hub, etc. So I put it on a solid bench, supported it w/ a anvil-like block of iron, found a solid bar and then followed the advice of a friend : "Stop eatin' so much quiche, and hit it like a MAN !" Jeez, it took some major blows, but eventually came out. The races had a caramel & blackish burnt color - this thing had cooked. Anyway, nice to have it out. Then I cleaned up the trailing arm, making it look brand new. Except, of course, for the fact that a bunch of the black paint came off due to the brake fluid leak. Tonight I'm gonna take care of that, and pop in a frosty cold wheel bearing. I've got bushings on the way, so I guess I don't get to drive for a while. Look forward to hearing my engine sing "a capella", though.

t2p : That's a good point about washing behind the rocker panels. I've only had the car a week or so, so I hadn't realized it was such a HUGE trap for dirt. Man, I really had enough for a potted plant in there. Maybe we can have a betting pool on how much comes out of the other side....

jsteele22 · 08-24-2005, 08:57 AM

One Other Thing :

The Haynes manual (which I realy don't like) suggests that it is possible to remove the trailing arm by removing one nut from the "axle" that the arm pivots on; i.e., without disturbing the alignment by loosening the three-bolt braket. On my car (1976, 2.0L) this just doesn't appear to be true. The axle cannot slide outwards without hitting the body sheet metal (not just the removable outer rocker panel, but the panel above that.) And it can't be removed in the inward direction without hitting the motor. (Step 1 : remove engine/transmission, ...) In any case that axle doesn't just slide out - it's a really tight binding fit to the bushings. Am I on crack, or does Haynes just make **** up ?

Man, when I had an older Saab, the Bentley manual was heaven...

toyvo75 · 08-28-2005, 04:52 AM

A new twist on an old problem. Go to your local welding supply and ask about a new product. I dont remember the name of it but it is an areosal that will freeze things on contact. It works great on broken off spark plugs, bolts, and stubbern bearing races. Good luck.

jsteele22 · 08-28-2005, 11:42 AM

SUMMARY :

Job complete, wheels spin smooth as silk. I learned damn near everthing that can be removed from the rear end, short of the engine/tranny !

On the passenger side, I got away w/o removing the heat exchangers. On the drivers side, I got the axle off w/ heat exchanger in place (removed shock bolt), but couldn't get it back on, so I pulled the heat exchanger and the shift linkage. Gave me good chance to clean off some muck.

Putting bearings in was pretty easy. I used a flat pice of iron over the bearing and pounded it into the trailing arm. For inserting the hub, I found a 2" disk of aluminum and drilled a 3/4" hole in it. I used this in combination w/ a hub puller checked out from AutoZone, but a threaded rod would work just as well.

I followed the tip about keeping the bearings in the freezer prior to install; they did indeed go in easily. For the hubs, though, this is the exact opposite of what you want -- I put the hubs in the freezer and let the bearings warm up some. In one case the hub was very cold and the bearing room temp; this one slid right in as I tightened the hub puller. On the other the hub was less cold and the bearing colder, and it was a little harder : while the whole business was under tension, I tapped on the hub w/ a hammer to help it a long. I think the cooling really does help some, but I'm sure the whole job could be done at room temperature as well