Rear Wheel Bearing Removal

[Wavey]

Agreed! I recently used John's post to replace my rear bearings. I found some more off-the-shelf parts that make it even easier - you don't have to fabricate anything.

The 2" conduit coupler fits perfectly against the inside edge of the bearing when you're pulling it, with the 1/2" floor flange pressing against the coupler.

I torqued everything into place and applied heat to the housing until the bearing "popped" (didn't take much), then it pulled out easily.

With the couplers removed, the 1" floor flange will press the new bearing right down to the hub.

[rcecale]

Originally posted by randywebb
I don't think it hurts to bump this thread up once a year - might help folks who are new to the Board.

+1

What a fantastic thread! I think I'll be doing this shortly as I believe I've got a wayward bearing that prolly needs to be replaced.

Once again, this BBS proves to be the most informative source of P-Car info anywhere! You certainly won't find these more cost effective methods in any high-dollar manual!

Randy

[Cloakster]

Great post but one question...Where do you find a torque wrench and socket to to torque the axel nut???

[scottbooth]

I did this job twice (both sides) about 2 years apart. I replaced the left side bearing because it was noisy and needed replacing. I did the right side because the "new" bearing had been in the freezer for 2 years by then (except for the days while we were moving ) and my wife started giving me attitude about it. (I just wanted to be sure it was really cold.)

Actually I had just bought an air-powered impact wrench, and liked using it, so I pulled the right side bearing for no better reason than that. In hindsight, probably a stupid idea. But it got the bearing out of the freezer.

My first generation made-up puller was loosely based on a large puller kit that I bought at a chain auto parts store, not sure what it was for except that it was American and not wheel bearings. Not even close to the elegance of the hardware-store puller described earlier in the thread. But it got the old bearing out, and the new one in. (I later had a machinist friend make me a couple of properly sized discs out of 1/2" thick aluminum to improve the puller for round 2. Then last month I used those discs to pull the rusted-on rear brake rotors off of my wife's Mercedes. But I digress.)

The first time, I retorqued the axle nut using a 30mm socket (I think that is right, for my car anyway) on a long ratchet (breaker bar would be more durable, probably). I put the 2 pieces of pipe that make up my jack handle together, and slid the big end (not the one that goes into the jack) over the ratchet handle. I divided the torque rating (converted to foot-pounds) by my body weight (less than it is now) to figure out the appropriate distance, then measured from the center and put a piece of tape on the jack handle, and stood on the tape and jumped a little until the nut stopped moving. I figured that I would break the ratchet, but it held, and that bearing has been perfect for 7 years.

The next time around I figured my (allegedly) 500 ft-lb impact wrench would get it tight enough, but the wrench is kind of a POS so I don't think it got the job done. That one has always been a little loose. I think I will have to go old school on that side too. Of course by now I may have toasted the new bearing by driving around with it "a little loose" for all this time.

I know that this sounds pretty barbaric, but during a Porsche engine rebuild school I attended years ago, I was told a possibly mythical story that real Porsche race team mechanics once used similar methods to get these nuts tight. The point being that there is not much risk of over-tightening and breaking something, because all of this stuff is hard to break.

YMMV. But it sure did work well the first time. And I also used the same technique on my old VW Golf, which was retired years later for other reasons. So I guess it worked well twice.

Scott

[Wavey]

Originally posted by Cloakster
Great post but one question...Where do you find a torque wrench and socket to to torque the axel nut???

You need one of these - Harbor Freight special.

[89911]

200lb person standing at the end of a 2 foot breaker bar equals 400ft/lbs. Close enough for me.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by 89911
200lb person standing at the end of a 2 foot breaker bar equals 400ft/lbs. Close enough for me.

And, lightly jumping, even more so. The danger in running an axle nut not properly torqued isn't in ruining the bearing. As long as it's snug, the beaing is happy. You just don't want the nut to come loose with all the heat cycles it endures. Of course, the cotter pin is there as a safety. Nevertheless, proper torque will keep the nut on. All it does is cinch agaist the shoulder of the bearing. The bearing is free to run within the tolerances of the machined dimentions of the total axle assembly.

[89911]

My 89 doesn't have a cotter pin. I had one come loose and need replaced a few years ago. The symptons I had were some unusual handling and the brake pedal going soft. The rear rotor was wobbling and pushing the brake pistons back when it was being driven.

[sagacis]

I am replacing my rear wheel bearings and read this thread carefully. When I removed the parking brake assembly and the drive shaft, the wheel hub popped right out, along with a bunch of bearing balls!

I printed out the picture at the top of page 2 to use as a shopping list. I found, however, that the local home stores don't care 3" anything in metal. The widest diameter available is 2".

So, I'm just whining that I'm going to have to get up to visit other hardware stores at 6:00 am.

[barndoor]

I just made and used this tool.Thanks North Coast Cab and Wavey !!!I found all the "parts" around town total cost $35.

[piledriver]

I have a 914, keep that in mind reading this. It probably still applies.
***************

I gave the latter parts assembleage a shot, but I had to come up with another method to pull the hub and bearing, as I didn't have all week to hunt for parts.

(Car sounded like a twin engined Cessna with bad sync at 70 MPH , and I couldn't find ANY threaded conduit couplers anywhere "normal" people shop, like Home Depot etc...)

You also may need some 3/4" washers, as my 1/2" ones pulled right though the 1" ones.

Trick if you CAN find the 2" conduit but not the 3"---
Long 8mm bolts (Bus CV joint bolts) support the 1" floor flange for pulling the bearing just fine.

THAT excersize pissed me off enough to rethink it, and look in my shed. (72 Bus)


I had another bearing to do...

How to take it all apart in < 2 minutes.
(Hub pissed me off more than the bearings last time I did it)

The trick?
Plumbers slide hammer.

3/4" pipe (ends threaded), ~5 feet long (longer is heavier) Galvanized or black pipe (I used black, as I had it)

(I actually used 2x 3" lengths with another union. Any combination will work, longer is heavier)

It's way softer than the hub, so it won't dork up the splines.

Stick it thru the hub after pulling the axle.

Reach under, screw on a pipe coupler union over by the heat exchanger...

(Union==just threads inside a short casting, not a multi-piece union that comes apart, too big) coupler is smaller than the bearing ID...

Very hand tight is OK. 10 good whacks and hub was out.
(I was pissed, YMMV)

To pull bearing, unscrew union, slide on 1" washer, screw coupler back on... I used some stray PVC pipe as a bushing to make sure I didn't bugger the trailing arm. Take a bearing with you to the plumbing store and find a PVC coupler that's a press fit...?

Took a little longer, maybe a minute.

You still need the floor flanges and the all-thread/nuts/washers to pull the new bearing back in.

I'll use 3/4" all thread etc next time.

[Wavey]

Just for the record, I found all those pieces at Lowes.

[WERK I]

Originally posted by milt

Way to go. I wish there was some sort of bookmark for these kinds of posts.

All you have to do is go to the link that is posted on the 911 Technical forum. Right click on the link as illustrated below.


Then select "Bookmark this link...." and a new dialog box will appear with the following info. You can rename the link to whatever you want......



Is the internet great or WHAT?!!!!!!!!

[84toy]

Great thread. I use another aproach for bearing removal. It has served me well for over 30 years. It's quick and easy.

Remove the guts of the bearing including the balls. It's very easy and usually can be disassembled in a minute with a drift and hammer.

Once you are down to the outer race that is pressed in the arm, use a MIG welder and make several passes inside the race in the same location that the balls were running. Let it cool. The bearing will shrink from the welding process and will now almost fall out. At the minimum, a drift and hammer tapping on the welds will slide it right out. If it doesn't, make another pass.

This works even easier on the front bearings. One pass with the welder and the races will fall out once cool. And no, it doesn't overheat the base metal, the heat absorbs quickly into the base mass.

I don't have a picture of the rear but attached is this method on the front hubs.

[piledriver]

Originally posted by Wavey
Just for the record, I found all those pieces at Lowes.

I tried Home Depot, Lowes, and a couple of decent hardware stores.

Availability of the threaded conduit couplers seems to vary on location, no place around here short of a commercial electrical supply carries them, and one I called said they would have to order the 3"...
(Possibly just out of stock)

They aren't required using the 3/4" pipe slide hammer puller trick.
(And any hardware store carries 3/4" pipe. You might even have some)

[sagacis]

The 3" availability may be code related, too. Some places may have electrical codes that prohibit that much wiring in one conduit, I don't know.

Just to update everybody, I bought a plumbing piece as a local contractor store ($20!!). I heated the trailing arm with a torch and the bearing cranked right out.

[barndoor]

I got my 3" conduit coupler at a Electrical Specialty Store,mainly for contractor's.$18,the most expensive part of the $35 tool,and well worth it.

[daddygo]

I'm posting a couple of pictures on this thread at the request of another pelicanite.
I used the pipe coupler tool set suggested in this thread but found that one stubborn bearing caused me to upgrade the threaded rod to 3/4 in and add a couple of foundation washers (square metal with a hole drilled through the center... available at Lowe's in the foundation bolt area). I flipped the pipestand pieces with the nipple facing inside the coupler to provide a larger area for the foundation washer to rest on.

I also had to get the 3" coupler ($9) at an electrical contractor supply shop... everything else was available at Lowe's.

[azasadny]

Great thread! Thanks!!

[mhunter]

Thanks for the thread guys. I made the tool and it worked. For bay are guys Home Depot and Orchard Supply Hardware has all the parts. I used a 3" PVC conduit though. It held up fine, the 1/2 washers bent though so I think I need to beef those up, with the square 1/2 which i know won't bend.