Hi, Got an advisory on our offside rear wheel bearing last MOT so finally got around to replacing both rears. It was really pretty straightforward and managed to finish doing both sides in about half an hour. Thought i would post up a guide and some pics to help anyone else out. First off, you will need: 2 rear wheel bearing kits (each have 1 inner brg, 1 outer brg, grease pouch, split pin) trolley jack or ramp Wheel nut socket and ratchet Pry bar or screwdriver pliers / snips 19mm deep socket hammer punch / drifts degreaser and rags heat source torque wrench First - loosen the wheel nuts a little and jack up the car. pry off the dust cap undo the castle nut using the 19mm deep socket and remove the hub. Remember to release the handbrake first! Watch out for brake dust falling out. Take the hub and put it on a couple of wooden blocks to allow space underneath for the bearing to fall out. Use a punch to knock out the large inner bearing. Just work it around best you can knocking it out in stages. This is the only time you can hit a bearing on the inner race - it will destroy the bearing so only do it when you are replacing it anyway. When the bearing falls out, the spacer will fall out too. Its tapered so careful you put it back in the correct way around later. Turn the hub over and knock out the outer bearing, then clean and degrease the whole hub. I use brake cleaner. Be careful and not damage the speed sensor ring (the perforated ring around the hub boss) as its quite fragile. Ideally, have your bearings kept in the freezer the night before. Now you can also use a heat source to warm the hub. I use a hot air gun. Blow torch would work too. Target it around the bearing housing. Lightly grease the new inner bearing and using a suitable drift, gently knock the bearing home. You will hear the noise of the knocking change when it seats. Turn the hub over and insert the spacer (thicker end to the inside of hub). Cut a tiny corner off the grease pouch and this way you can direct and squeeze the grease in around the spacer. Finally grease up the outer bearing and drift into place same as the inner. Thats you done. Now just fit the hub back onto the car. Refit the washer and the castle nut lined up so you can access the hole for the split pin. I couldn't find a torque figure for this nut so checked them before i removed them and they were about 70lb? Fit a NEW split pin. Bend up the outer leg against the spindle end and push back the inner leg. Trim both to suit. Clean and regrease the dust cap and refit. Dont hit it hard or it will deform. Finally refit the wheel. A smear of copper grease around the studs on the wheel mating surface will ensure it comes off again easily next time. Hand tighten the wheel nuts. Lower the car off the jack and torque the wheel nuts up. Job done. Repeat for the other side. I think it took longer to do this write up than do the job! Hope this may help someone.
Nice tutorial it's good to know it's an easy job. There was a time when every car I owned had wheel bearing problems which required replacement. I've always found sockets good for drifting bearings in with you can usually find one the right size to fit the outer race of the bearing. Biggest problem on a front wheel drive car is usually undoing the front hub nut. They are tightened to a massive torque and are best undone with the car wheel on the ground.
I was in the same situation with the MOT advisory, at my garage the mechanic tried to push both bearings through to the back with a machine pressing on the outer bearing. The result... the whole hub broke. Next time either I'll do this or let them know that each bearing has to come out in a different direction. Very instructive tutorial. Thank you very much.
Why should you? Both bearings seem to be in the drum, not the backing plate that houses the brake cylinder and pads
