Driving home I felt what I think is a wheel bearing going out on my passenger front, instead of letting the wheel fall off like I did with my last car i decided to get towed home. I have the wheel off and it looks pretty straight forward. So here is where I pick your brains. How do you get a really stuck bearing dust cover off, and can I pick up a set of vw bearings quickly instead of ordering a 914 set. Is there a difference? Its up on jack stands now and Im driving the gas hog till its fixed so the sooner the better.
Thanks

Its a 411 spindle. well, the taper is the same and so is the bearing.
Any decent bearing shop has them...look up bearing shops instead of car parts places.
Dust cover just pry it out gently with a screw driver.

Rich

Ok dust cover is off and little bearing bits came falling out with it, the rotor is loose but what does it take to get the bearing out and off the spindle I have been using a rubber mallet to smack the back of rotor but it doesnt seem to give much.

Click to view attachmentClick to view attachmentWhats wrong with this picture? I wonder if these were the problem.

Nice carnage!

Ummm... The nut is missing?

Actually thats exactly what I did with the avalanche, made it a whole 3 miles before the wheel fell off, live and learn.

Borrow, rent or go to harbor freight and get a 3 jaw puller (big un) http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=40970
and pull the disc off. Its possible the inside land for the race in the disc or the land for the spindle race is screwed up if the bearing seized and spun. It may take a combination of pulling and whacking to get it off. If'n your spindle is wrecked I bet a member has a used strut to sell you, I know I've got a few laying around.

Holy cow.... that's not a pretty sight.

A puller should do ya' if you cant "shake" it lose. sometimes the bearings will wear a groove into the spindle and then they become the cause of keeping it from releasing from the spindle. have you tried the two-handed shake shake shake method? ;-)
I'm sure you have... but I have to ask anyways.

Good luck.


Roger

Impressive! I just replaced both of my fronts a little over a month ago.......but mine weren't that bad. Damn!

Ok rotor is off, harbor frieght pry tool to the rescue, I dont know of any good bearing places around my area, So does a VW ghia have the same front bearing setup as a 914, I guess there is always Auto Atlanta, any other alternatives?

repack it and RUN IT!!!!


That's a dooosie! Is the spindle ok?

Same bearings as later VW T1 and T3 front, Rabbit rear. VERY common.

The Cap'n

Got the bearings, thanks cap'n, its been about ten years since I have had to swap out bearings, when I am packing the grease how much is enough? Do I just fill it till its full or is that too much. Also when I am tightening the spindle nut, do i just tighten until the rotor stops spining and then back it off a bit? Lastly, while Im in there I would like to wire wheel the a-arms and repaint, whats some stuff you all have used for that, I was thinking a can of black rustoleum. Thanks

take a picture of the cleaned up and bare spindle for us all.
I hope its not damaged...

there is a chance it is

Before installation, make sure you put a little grease on each individual bearing and rotate the assembly a few times to make sure there's grease already inside the races. Also slab some grease on the spindle before installing the bearing/hub assembly. This will aid in making sure the first few turns of the wheel aren't dry when spinning.

As for how much, I don't know the exact amount, but approximately 1-2 ounces should be plenty. Anybody want to confirm/readvise this?

And on tightening, it's been my experience that you want to tighten the nut until it's SNUG against the hub. The wheel should be turning but it should be a hard turn, and then back it off about 1/4 turn. Double check it by grabbing the rotor top and bottom and trying to wiggle it back and forth. If there's play, tighten the nut ever so slightly until there's no play but the wheel spins freely.

Are the nuts not castellated? I'd think tighten til snug, then back off one castellation and pin it. ????

Also, there's really nothing wrong with the bearing in that picture. You notice that some of the needle type bearings are rotated out like 90 degrees? What's that's for, and you typically only see this on high end cars, is for when you push the automatic parking button. Rather than trying to parallel park, the bearings allow things to just roll directly sideways until the car is snugged up to the curb.

Wow this car was really ahead of its time, maybe that is one of the functions of the mysterious heater/fresh air controls that I cant figure out.