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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ Rear wheel bearing....

Posted by: Gilbert914 Sep 15 2005, 01:45 AM

Hi All,

for those of you who helped and read my impeller woes, I fitted the woodruff key, installed the hub etc etc, got the engine back in and it's running well and has been for over half a tank of fuel (mileage unknown odometer not working). Thanks again for all the help & advice.

Now...... my rear wheel bearing is squeeking, first i thought the caliper venting clearance may have been out or a siezed caliper, but on jacking up the car releasing the caliper, removing the disc and running the car the squeek still came from the wheel bearing, it's almost like it sounds 'dry'

I've seen a few threads on rear bearing replacement, it looks like a real pita to do, i'm tempted to get a shop to do it for me, but welcome any encouraging stories/tips for DIY replacement

cheers guys

Posted by: SpecialK Sep 15 2005, 03:08 AM

Yep, it's a PITA! And unfortunately, removing the entire swing arm is about the easiest way to r&r the bearing.

PM Eric Shea, he does tons of them!

-Kevin

Posted by: redshift Sep 15 2005, 03:12 AM

HEH! WAY TO GO KEVIN! Stop scaring the children!

Darren, don't listen to him, just buy the heavy duty jackstands, and take the whole thing apart.

People with torches, and freezers don't complain too much.

M

Posted by: 9146986 Sep 15 2005, 12:38 PM

If you can rent a cup style bearing puller, with the correct backup plates, it's a piece of cake, and you don't have to remove the trailing arm.

First thing to do is take the cotter pin out of the castellated nut on the end of the stub axle, and then loosen the nut. So you take the wheel off, pull the cotter pin, put the wheel back on (with the center cap removed), and then loosen the nut with a socket through the center of the wheel. I use a 1" drive breaker bar with a 10 foot piece of steel pipe for a cheater bar. Do this on both sides, jack the car up, remove the wheels and then you can remove the half shaft assemblies. DO NOT TRY TO LOOSEN THE AXLE NUTS WITH THE CAR ON JACKSTANDS!!!

Remove the CV's at the transmission first, I don't do anything to the outboard CV's untill I pull the complete halfshaft assembly. Be sure to use a copper or brass hammer or drift to drive the halfshafts inward, out of the hubs. If you damage the threads on the stub axle, you've done a major kludge job and you'll need new stub axles.

I always polish the outer race on the hubs and put a light coat of anti-sieze on the bearings and the hubs, this makes them go in like a breeze, and when your son has to replace the rear bearings twenty years from now, he'll thank you instead of cuss you!

Don't forget to put the bearing retainers on before you install the hubs.

If this is out of your skill set and available tools, pay someone to do it for you.

Posted by: Cap'n Krusty Sep 15 2005, 01:00 PM

I have top tell you that a squeek is atypical of a wheel bearing problem. Look elsewhere. Bearings "howl", or "rumble", they don't squeek. The noise appears under load, changes during changes in direction, and increases with speed. You would hardly hear it with wheel off the ground unless it were REALLY bad. The Cap'n

Posted by: scrz914 Sep 15 2005, 01:14 PM

Bearings "howl", or "rumble"

That's what I thought too. You may want to look into the brakes further. What kind of pads do you have? Are they glazed? How bout the rotor, does it have a ridge on the edge that may contacting? I'm only saying this because I'm going thru it too on my 911 and this is what the Porsche mechanic has inferred.

Posted by: Gilbert914 Sep 15 2005, 03:18 PM

Thanks guys, yeah I know a bearing problem would usually be a rumble or howl, which is why i thought it would be brake related first .

i guess to describe the noise a bit better I'd say it was more like a high pitched whining rather than a squeek, I checked the pads/venting clearances AND as I said before, I actually removed the caliper and rotor (sorry my bad, we call them discs over here) and ran the car again off the ground, the noise was definately coming from the centre of the hub, which I can only put down to the wheel bearing, and after asking around some people over here they agree.

I got the new bearings today and will give this a shot tomorrow hopefully, I'll let you know the outcome

Posted by: 914GT Sep 15 2005, 03:39 PM

What can squeak or make a high-pitched squeal, besides the brakes, is one or both of the bearing grease seals when they get old and dry out. Unfortunately there's no way to repack the bearings and lube the seals with them installed. Maybe some penetrating oil sprayed from the inside would help but I doubt it.

Posted by: Gilbert914 Sep 15 2005, 03:45 PM

QUOTE (914GT @ Sep 15 2005, 01:39 PM)
What can squeak or make a high-pitched squeal, besides the brakes, is one or both of the bearing grease seals when they get old and dry out. Unfortunately there's no way to repack the bearings and lube the seals with them installed. Maybe some penetrating oil sprayed from the inside would help but I doubt it.

Thanks, yep that makes perfect sense, it does sound like it's 'dry', best off replacing the bearing for the long run then i guess

Posted by: 914GT Sep 15 2005, 04:01 PM

QUOTE (Gilbert914 @ Sep 15 2005, 02:45 PM)

QUOTE (914GT @ Sep 15 2005, 01:39 PM)
What can squeak or make a high-pitched squeal, besides the brakes, is one or both of the bearing grease seals when they get old and dry out. Unfortunately there's no way to repack the bearings and lube the seals with them installed. Maybe some penetrating oil sprayed from the inside would help but I doubt it.

Thanks, yep that makes perfect sense, it does sound like it's 'dry', best off replacing the bearing for the long run then i guess

Yes, unless you are willing to attempt removing the stub axle and pry out the inside grease seal somehow without damaging it. And then finding a way to force some grease back into the ball bearings. You're better off just installing new ones.

Posted by: Eric_Shea Sep 15 2005, 04:40 PM

I use air tools... if you've got them, it makes an on-car removal much easier.

Let me know if you need help.

E.

Posted by: jsteele22 Sep 15 2005, 05:37 PM

QUOTE (Gilbert914 @ Sep 15 2005, 12:45 AM)

I've seen a few threads on rear bearing replacement, it looks like a real pita to do, i'm tempted to get a shop to do it for me, but welcome any encouraging stories/tips for DIY replacement

Maybe the best encouragement to DIY the bearings is to do what I did : call a decent shop and ask for a quote on labor. For me, it was like $650+.

The job isn't super-hard, but you have to be ready for two things. 1) Getting the bearings out of the control arm takes a huge amount of pounding; you WILL destroy the old bearings in the process. 2) You've gotta have (borrow, rent and/or make) special tools; the basic home mechanic assortment won't do. 3) There are a lot of basically easy but annoying things that must be removed and put back into place : drive shafts, exhaust, calipers, rotors, ... You'll really learn a lot about your car. 4) Oops, did I say 2 things ?

I chickened out on the pounding on my RH bearing (it was howling something fierce when I drove on it; must have been heat-fused into the control arm). I ended up removing the control arm and bringing it into a shop where I put it on an anvil, and could pound really hard. Once it budged a little it was easy. Removing the control arm, however, will screw up your alignment.

As for the tools, mostly you need little hunks of metal and/or pipe of various diameters. (And be sure to get the 12-point bit for the transaxle; don't try Torx or hex.) Pelican Parts has a nice tech note where the author uses large sockets for this. Also, they had a clever idea of using threaded rod ("all-thread") to pull the hub into the new bearing. You CAN NOT pound hub in ! It must be pulled/pressed in gently. I got a piece of aluminum of the correct diameter, drilled a hole in it, and rigged it up w/ a hub puller checked out from the local parts store. I think all-thread would have been easier. Also, the memo talks about freezing the bearings to make them ever so slightly smaller. This is fine for pounding the brearing into the control arm. When it comes time to press the hub into the bearing, you want the hub cold and the bearing warm.

Good luck

Posted by: Gint Sep 15 2005, 06:13 PM

Hey look who's posting! Hey Jeff.