Wheel bearing guide.

[987687]

I have recently acquired a '89 GL (from bratman, actually) Wonderful car But it needs rear wheel bearings replaced.

I searched, but couldn't find a guide. Is there a pictorial guide anywhere showing how to replace the rear wheel bearings with torques, etc? I like being able to see what I'm going to have to do before doing it.

 

Thanks

[ivantruckman]

i could take a pic of a dissasymbled one if thay would help , its not too bad of a project. is this car a 4 wheel drive, or a front wheel drive

[GeneralDisorder]

I don't know of a pictorial on the EA rear wheel bearings.... I'm assuming it's a 4WD?

 

It's not too hard - the biggest problems most folks run into is getting the ring nut off the back of the bearing pocket and properly installing the bearings without damaging them and shortening their life. Pressing bearings into pockets or onto shafts can be a tricky business and if you don't have the tools or the ability to make them it can get even harder. Not to say you can't get it to go together, but the application of force in the wrong way can mean the difference between 250,000 miles from the bearing and 10,000 (or less!) from it.

 

If you aren't skilled in the ways of bearings - remove the control arm and take it to someone with a press and some bearing knowledge.

 

GD

[987687]

It's a 4WD.

thanks for the responses. I have never dealt with wheel bearings before, which is why I was wondering if there was a guide on how to do it. What tools are needed, etc.

 

Removing the control arm is a good idea, and I'll consider that.

[Durania]

Bratman? Shannon from Virginia?

[bratman18]

Bratman? Shannon from Virginia?

 

Nope me.

[987687]

After I get all the sticker stuff done and I have some time, I'm just going to pull the hubs and bring them to a local machine shop (billings and cole) and they'll press the bearings out and in for me. They do pressing for a few local car shops, so they even have the right press thingy for the GL!

[987687]

So as far as I can tell, there's no way to get the spline out without taking off an axle. Some please tell me I'm wrong and that on the ea82 you can in fact get the spline out with all the axles on....

 

Otherwise... HOW THE EFF does one get an axle off?

[GeneralDisorder]

What are you refering to when you say "spline"?

 

You will have to remove the axle at least on the outer end in order to remove the trailing arm and take it to a shop. You knock out the roll pins with a pin punch (6mm or 3/16" works as well) and then the axle will slide off the splines on the stubs shafts. The axle will not slide far enough unless you either unbolt the strut from the trailing arm or unbolt the diff and push it sideways or drop it down.

 

Sometimes the splines inside the axle cups get rusted and stuck to the splines on the stub shafts - especially on the outer ends as those are closest to the ground and thus water, road salt, etc. Sometimes they are very, very stuck. Anthing from beating, to heating with a torch, to cutting them off with a die-grinder has been done depending on the severity of the rust and how stuck they are.

 

GD

[ruparts]

So as far as I can tell, there's no way to get the spline out without taking off an axle. Some please tell me I'm wrong and that on the ea82 you can in fact get the spline out with all the axles on....

 

Otherwise... HOW THE EFF does one get an axle off?

Hi,

if you are trying to remove the rear axle, use a punch and drive the rollpin out, both ends have one on the rear, then it slips off the stub axles. you need it off to remove the stub shaft on the rear swingarm. remove the big nut and brake rotor and the wheel flange can slip off. the stub axle then will drive out towards the inside side of the swingarm. the swingarm bearing then has a lockring to remove and then press out.

Sorry GD i was replying at the same time.

++1 for what GD said about the stuck splines, they can be terrible sometimes .

Edited April 19, 2010 by ruparts
add info

[987687]

What are you refering to when you say "spline"?

The shaft that goes through the bearing and has the axle nut on it. The haynes manual calls it the rear spline...

You will have to remove the axle at least on the outer end in order to remove the trailing arm and take it to a shop. You knock out the roll pins with a pin punch (6mm or 3/16" works as well) and then the axle will slide off the splines on the stubs shafts. The axle will not slide far enough unless you either unbolt the strut from the trailing arm or unbolt the diff and push it sideways or drop it down.

I have the diff completely unbolted, but there's absolutely no way to get the axle to slide out of the bearing without disconnecting an axle? darn...

 

Sometimes the splines inside the axle cups get rusted and stuck to the splines on the stub shafts - especially on the outer ends as those are closest to the ground and thus water, road salt, etc. Sometimes they are very, very stuck. Anthing from beating, to heating with a torch, to cutting them off with a die-grinder has been done depending on the severity of the rust and how stuck they are.

 

GD

 

This is what has happened on mine. Very, very stuck. Is there any special way you go about pounding on them to get them out? What's the most efficient way to bang on the thing?

Also, I wasn't sure if it was ok to use heat, I didn't want to mess anything up. But I'll give that a try tomorrow when I get back at it.

 

Thanks!

[GeneralDisorder]

I have the diff completely unbolted, but there's absolutely no way to get the axle to slide out of the bearing without disconnecting an axle? darn...

 

Well - it's possible to pound the stub shaft (the part the Haynes manual is calling the "spline" ) out of the bearings with it still attached to the axle - but at some point you are going to want to dissasemble the axle from the shaft - if for no other reason than to correct the rusted spline joint so it will come apart in the future in case an axle must be replaced, etc.

 

This is what has happened on mine. Very, very stuck. Is there any special way you go about pounding on them to get them out? What's the most efficient way to bang on the thing?

Also, I wasn't sure if it was ok to use heat, I didn't want to mess anything up. But I'll give that a try tomorrow when I get back at it.

 

Thanks!

 

There's a couple options. A brass drift punch and a small sledge are useful. The more weight you can put behind the punch the better. When you need to move metal or break rust you want the biggest hammer that's easily handled. I would say a 3 or 4 lb sledge would be effective enough.

 

The other options generally involve heat - a LOT of it. A small propane torch isn't going to cut it here. You need lots of heat and you need it quickly. An Oxy torch is the way to go. You might end up destroying the differential side seal and probably will cook the grease/boot on the axle as well.

 

The last and most extreme option is to dissasemble the axle joint itself. At the bottom of the cup you will find a thin steel grease plug that prevents grease from escaping through the machined hole where the splines are located. That can be removed with some chiseling and punching. Then you have access to the splined stub shaft - either it can be unbolted from the diff with a 1/4" drive E10 torx socket and then punched out the cup on the bench with a vice/heat/BFM/whatever, or it just allows you to get penetrating oil into the splines from another direction which itself can be helpful.

 

GD

[987687]

Thanks so much for the advise and tips! I hope to have this apart tomorrow and be on my way!!

[bratman18]

Thanks GD for the help. I've been trying over the phone, and might be going over to help him tomorrow. But thanks for the tips as usual GD!! I told him they can be a real biatch sometimes!!!!

[987687]

Much thanks to everybody, especially bratman. I wouldn't be able to do this without him (I wouldn't have the car either...).

Sometimes the process can be hard, but the end result is going to be awesome!

[987687]

So it is DONE! Many thanks to the invaluable help from bratman

 

I took a decent amount of pictures taking the second side apart, all the major steps and most minor steps. So I'm going to write up a wheel bearing guide in the next few days.