If a rear wheel bearing siezes...

[CarlosA]

What all do I have to replace?

Out of all the rabbits ive driven i`ve never worked on the rear wheel bearings (or brakes for that matter).

Right rear was kinda grabbing on the freeway on the way home, when I turned onto my street it was actually locking up a bit. Will this ruin just the bearing/race? Since I park in the street I want to order all the parts before I take it apart - what does everyone recommend? Both sides, brakes, etc? Is this also a good chance to adjust the rear brakes so the parking brake will actually start to work for the first time?

Maybe this has been contributing to my lack of power problem lately...

1981 Rabbit btw.

[TylerDurden]

Could be something other than the bearing... if it was not making a growl days before the grabbing, it is just as likely some parts of the brake are interfering with each other.

[CarlosA]

Yeah I suspected the brakes before ... but never did really look at them. After this happened I can see little flakes of metal around the crown nut where they were flung out.

[ORCoaster]

I would be pulling it apart and ordering parts based on what I see ground down or up.  You may be in need of all of it.  Axle, both bearings and a drum.  Then brakes might also be in order but maybe not. 

I had a bearing go out on the drivers side and like a fool I only fixed that side.  Look at both sides now and save yourself being stranded on the side of the the road at 2 AM in the dark with tools but not the right ones.  Just as I thought my luck was gone a guy with a bigger hammer and chisel showed up and with a couple of hits I was in business.  I had fortunately saved the outer bearing of the drivers side for some reason and that was went out on me then.  The guy loaning the tools was amazed I had a spare bearing.  So maybe my luck was just delayed?

Check it all over good, both sides and save shipping perhaps by ordering it all now.  Just my advice, don't mess around on this one.

[Dakotakid]

ALL that the above person said.....ALONG with the seal and always a new wheel cylinder.....always. The wheel cylinder rubbers are short-lived these days.

Quite frankly, not servicing the pathetic bearings they put in these rears was pretty much criminal (on your part). If you do much driving at all, the outers should be greased twice a year....I certainly do.  Yes, I am sure there will be a few of these guys who will say they haven't touched them since the Lincoln administration.................

You would probably benefit from new dust caps as well.

[ORCoaster]

Some places actually sell a kit that has bearings, cotterpin, lock washer and cap along with rubber seal.  Bearings come with new race and seat.  You drive out the old seat from inside out of the drum.  Usually three indents inside and a long flat punch is what I use, a tapered one.  Give a good solid hit and turn, hit and turn.  It will walk out easy.  Use the old seat to drive the new one in.

Need more help just ask. 

[fatmobile]

 More likely to be brakes rubbing.
 You will probably have a hard time getting the drum off until you release the brake adjuster.
Remove the front lug bolt 3:00 on the passenger side, 9:00 on the driver's side.
 Reach in with a small screwdriver and find the vertical spring. At the top of the spring you will feel the adjuster,.. pop it upwards to release shoe tension against the drum.

[air-cooled or diesel]

my 2cents are swap everything; get good bearings like what is it sks, or fag, or similar. the main thing is the spring and lever positioning. getting the springs and the levers in the right spots. on the drums, rear, getting a few of the springs, both apart, and back together can be difficult. to say the least. even that adjuster fat mentions goes 1 way.
its a wonder if its been so long since your rear or other parts havent been kept up; a good rear wheel, the outter bearing on these cars need service about every 6mo.

[Rattlebox]

Old thread, but posting to help lurkers that may be interested.
When doing brakes, I would get a new brake hardware kit and maybe look up proper installation in the Bentley manual. I would guess something is not installed right and a spring is either busted or missing. Also check your parking brake mechanism. It could get stuck and keep your parking brake engaged.
As to bearings- They are easy to do. When removing the drum, the outer bearing is loose and just falls out. The rear is just held in by the axle seal. Thread the axle nut back on , then set the inner bearing over it and yank the drum towards you. That should pull the seal off and bearing out in one go. Or just use a putty knife to pry the seal off the drum and viola. I would recommend a bearing packer to grease the new bearings. It can be done by hand, but it is time consuming, painful and does not ensure a complete packing.
I live off a dirt road and have to repack the bearings about every 4-6mos.
Always replace the cotter pin. Make sure the inner bearing race is seated all the way. One way to ensure proper seating is to tighten the bearing down hard with the axle nut, loosed to where you can turn the drum, turn and redo that a few times.
there is no Ft/lb spec for the wheel bearings. The manual just says to tighten until you can barely move the washer under the nut by prying with a screw driver. My measurement of the net result of that is about 30 ft/lbs which is a bit tight in my eyes.

[ORCoaster]

I love that move the washer idea that they came up with.  I have had a little bit of a edge on a washer before and trying to get it to move was not working.  I had the nut pretty loose and I could feel the slop in the wheel against the bearing.  Oh that won't do I said to myself.  Then took the washer all the way off to see the edge that was catching and keeping it from moving when I used the screwdriver. 

Bentley, so practical at being impractical.

[air-cooled or diesel]

Always replace the cotter pin. Make sure the inner bearing race is seated all the way. One way to ensure proper seating is to tighten the bearing down hard with the axle nut, loosed to where you can turn the drum, turn and redo that a few times.
there is no Ft/lb spec for the wheel bearings. The manual just says to tighten until you can barely move the washer under the nut by prying with a screw driver. My measurement of the net result of that is about 30 ft/lbs which is a bit tight in my eyes.

i dont think your upper statement is a good idea, make sure race(s) are properly seated before continuing on, a metal hammer and a good punch work.
and you lower statement, 30in/lbs would be closer, something like 6ftlbs?? what you do while turning drum, forward, i take my wheel bearing nut tool (universal,metric) snug outer wheel bearing/ nut, so there is no, not much resistance in drum turning snug nut good. new cotter key.
mk1/mk2/mk3 all have the same rear wheel bearing set-up, this outer we have is one of the weakest spots of these cars, the inner is usually fine, grease properly, new seal, they just sit there for a few years, the outer needs attention every 6months or so, clean up area, i use a grease bonnet, and grease bearing, get grease around, assemble, and re-snug. before i reassemble bearing i clean brake surfaces, the -shoes & front -pads -i dont spray cleaner on directly. but get them clean before assembly, esp when new.