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General Information => Troubleshooting => Topic started by: 1slowvw on February 21, 2007, 12:05:04 am
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Hey guys, have to replace my rear wheel barings because they are loud and have some play in them, just wondering if anybody out there knows of a link to a "how to" for a mk3 with pictures, or a very detailed how to without pictures.
1SlowVW
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I don't know if it matters but does it have rear discs?
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Sorry forgot to mention it has drum rear brakes. Thanks burn_your_money
1SlowVW
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1. Pop the dust cap off using some slip joint pliers.
2. Remove the cotter pin and discard.
3. Take the tin cover off the nut and set aside.
4. The nut should be fairly loose and should be able to be removed by hand.
5. Try and remove the thick washer that was under the nut.
6. Rock the wheel back and forth (with the drum still attached) until the drum comes off.
7. Remove the old wheel bearing from the drum and discard.
8. Clean everything up really well with varsol.
9. Put some wheel bearing grease in the palm of your hand.
10. Work the grease into the new bearing until the bearing is fully packed or for about 5 minutes.
11. Smear some grease on the stub axle.
12. Put the drum back on the wheel.
13. When it is fully seated put the bearing in and smear some more grease on the stub axle.
14. Put the thick washer on.
15. Put the nut back on. While spinning the wheel tighten the nut, until it is pretty tight. The wheel must be turning while you tighten! This seats the bearing.
16. Loosen the nut and retighten with your fingers. Finger tight only!
17. Place the tin cover back on top of the nut, and place a new cotter pin in the stub axle. Bend the leads one up the center, and one to the side and trim the excess off.
18. Put the dust cap back on.
You should really go out and at least buy a Haynes manual, if not a Bentley manual. They have lots of pictures and good explanations. A Haynes manual, while not very detailed for most stuff, handles common stuff like rear wheel bearings pretty well. It is $20, and I can't think of money better spent.
Peter
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Thanks a lot Wolfsburgnut, I do have a Hanes manual but i find it really doesn't give much detail, but your description is great, and I'm sure i will be able to work my way through it. Thanks again.
1SlowVW
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7. make sure you replace the outer races too, drive them back out with a long punch. There should be 2 notches behind the race where you can get the punch in, approaching from the opposite side of drum.
New ones drive back in with hammer and punch too.
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Dont forget the inner seal! And be careful when putting it back on, it's easy to nick. Also, at the end, I like to put the old cotter pin back on, drive the car around the block, pull it back in and re-check to see if there is any play in the wheel. Re-tighten if necessary, then put the new pin on and button it up. Just one extra step for safety. :)
Brendan
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As Lee says make sure that you replace the outer races or cups as some call them. You are wasting your effort to replace the inside cones and not do the outside cups. The old outside races will prematurely wear the new inner tapers.
One way that I have found to get the new cups into the casting is to take the OLD cone and wrap it in a rag then centering this in the new cup drive the whole works into the casting square. It prevents slipping with the punch which sometimes can damage the cup bearing surface. The rag protects the new bearing surface. It usually only takes a couple of wacks with a heavy hammer.
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I usually hold the race in place and then gently tap around the edge in a circle, it usually catches and starts going in on the 2nd or 3rd circle. Most hammer heads are alot softer than the race, so you dont have to worry much about deforming it with a few taps. To make sure its seated properly, a punch on the circumferance and a couple good waps. The noise it makes will change when it hits the botom of its hole.
When I say punch I may mean a flat ended one, not pointy.
Flat ended are properly called 'drifts' as I recall, but the terminology doesn't seem to be too universal.
This is an easy procedure, all you need is grease, hammer, large pliers and a punch/drift and maybe an hour.
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or take the drum off and go to a mechanic's shop and get him to press the races out/in. Probably cost you $15
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$15!
Where do you go to get prices like that?
I had a machine shop press-in the four new rubber
bushes in the front crosspiece (rad support).
They charged me $40 for about five minutes work.
I aked them, at the time, about pressing in the
bearing races...the guy said, "About the same".
I think they must have seen me coming. :(
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Makes you want to go invest in your own press! Doesn't it?
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burn_your_money
mechanic's shop
duffer machine shop
Maybe that is the difference. Sucks to pay someone skilled labour rates to crank the handle on a press. But, for rear wheel bearings, there is no reason to need a press, they are a very light press fit.
Bushings and front wheel bearings are another matter, but one that can often be done with some ingenuity.
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I have had good luck "pressing " in front wheel bearings using a large bench vise and various sockets to act on the bearing.
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I once asked Canadian Tire how much to press in motor mounts, the guy at the counter had no idea so he said the hourly rate, which is $60/h. Since it would take like 5 minutes...
I have a mecahnic that I always go to though, a small shop. My dad's gone there for years as well. If he's not busy he'll usually do easy stuff like that for free or just say "I dunno, $10 sound good"
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Thanks for all the pointers guys, I actualy work on the car in a shop owned by my family who are into the heavy equipment, thanks to them I have access to a press, and a lard assortment of punches, and just about any other tool I need, although somtimes 3 sizes too big.
So pressing the bearings in and out shouldent be a problem.
Thanks for all the tips and keep, you guys rock!
1SlowVW
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I don't think finger tight on the nut is enough.
I think the Bentley says to tighten it until the washer behind the nut can't be moved with a screwdriver prying on it.
I pound out the old races with a punch (there are 3 places for the punch to get behind the race) and use a brass punch to seat them.
I just did the driver's side drum the other day and tapped on the old race to drive the new race in. It went a little low and got stuck in the bore but not too deep, a couple sideways taps knocked it right back out. Using the old bearing wrapped in cloth sounded like a good idea.
When it comes time to tighten everything down, I overtighten the nut down good and turn the drum by hand, to make sure everything is seated. Then I back the nut off and tighten until the washer can't be moved with a prying screwdriver.