Rear Wheel Bearing Replacement

Mike8675309

Registered User
I recently had to replace a rear wheel bearing and though it would be a good job to video and share with others. So I did.

Replacing the rear wheel bearing is really quite simple, especially if you need to have someone else do the press work. If you don't have a 20ton press, you will need to have someone else do the press work.

Most shops with a good press will do the work for a nominal cost. For me it was $85 to press out the hub, press out the bearing, and press in a replacement hub, and the new bearing.

My hub had bearing surface damage so it needed to be replaced, and while aftermarket parts were over $100, my mechanic found one in a salvage yard that kept my total cost at $85 (pressing and replacement hub)

So along with George's article here:
http://www.sccoa.com/articles/rearwheelbearing.php

and my video here:
http://youtu.be/DuyJ_JvDaks

and your tools, replacing the rear wheel bearing can be pretty easy.

I have some more things to do on my car this summer like convert to standard vac assist brakes and change the steering rack so I'll probably video that as well.
 
Thanks for the video. I will be replacing a couple of these in the next couple of weeks. I have a 12 ton press so I hope it's strong enough to do the pressing.
 
Thanks for the video. I will be replacing a couple of these in the next couple of weeks. I have a 12 ton press so I hope it's strong enough to do the pressing.

I had a buddy with an 8 ton press and it was no go. It started to flex the support shelf when we decided to stop. I took it to a shop that had a 20ton press. The hub we were able to knock out with a drift and sledge.

The challenge with doing it yourself is having sufficient scrap steel to support the knuckle square to the press. The old bearing can then be used to help press in the new bearing, and support the bearing when pressing the hub into it. There is a specific rotunda part to help support the knuckle when pressing the bearing out. It's visible in this old post from rich thompson in 2004 http://www.sccoa.com/forums/showpost.php?p=294463&postcount=16
 
I have used both 20 and 12 ton presses on these. The best way I found was to heat the whole hub with the bearing in it to about 200 degrees(I used my oven). You still need the press but it slides right out. I usually leave the new bearing in the freezer for a couple hours and install it while the hub is still hot. I tried this method after ruining one hub myself and then having a shop ruin my replacement.
 
The best way I found was to heat the whole hub with the bearing in it to about 200 degrees(I used my oven). You still need the press but it slides right out. I usually leave the new bearing in the freezer for a couple hours and install it while the hub is still hot.

+1 :)

If physics can hold it together, physics can take it apart. The use of heat/cold as tools is as common as it is recommended. Anyone can brute force any job...best to avoid being that guy.
 
heat the whole hub with the bearing in it to about 200 degrees(I used my oven).

Somehow I think my wife would not approve of me cooking bearing grease in her oven. But the idea has merit only because the bearing is going in the dump, and there are no other parts on the hub that might become damaged from the heat. Some cars have their ABS stuff on the hub, and probably shouldn't be heated, though often those hubs are bolted in, not pressed in.
 
Well, I'm off the hook on this one. It's not the bearing. It's the upper knuckle bushing. The metal tube the bolt goes thru inside the bushing is loose. With the tire off I can see the knuckle move back and forth as I lift up and down on the hub. I wrapped some aluminum sheet around the metal tube until I can get a replacement. Rockauto has Moog's for $32.
 
I had the guys at work press it out and they even complained with our 20+ton press. Though going in wasn't a problem.
 
Well, I'm off the hook on this one. It's not the bearing. It's the upper knuckle bushing. The metal tube the bolt goes thru inside the bushing is loose. With the tire off I can see the knuckle move back and forth as I lift up and down on the hub. I wrapped some aluminum sheet around the metal tube until I can get a replacement. Rockauto has Moog's for $32.

For not a lot more ($45 plus shipping), you can pick up a complete set of poly bushings for both sides, upper AND lower.

RwP
 
Those look nice. They look like they're a lot easier to install. I'd like to not have to pull the axle to press them in. I may give them a try.
 
Those look nice. They look like they're a lot easier to install. I'd like to not have to pull the axle to press them in. I may give them a try.

The axle is very easy to pull if you get the knuckle off, and that itself is very easy.

Keep in mind that the inner mounts for the upper and lower control arms have eccentric bushings as they are responsible for alignment. You can try and mark relative positions before you loosen up those bolts, but you may find you need an alignment once it's all back together. Changing the bearing out doesn't require re-alignment, but if you had the car aligned with the bad bearing, you could benefit from re-alignment.

Make sure you load your suspension to ride height when tightening all the bolts down so that the bushings don't bind when you're all done.
 
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