Wingnut
Top Post Dawg
I thought I remember seeing one of these already done by a member. But when I went to search for it, I couldn't find it. I'm sure its still out there somewhere, but I thought I would go ahead and do my own writeup anyway since I had to do this job.
The process is really quite simple. It just requires a few tools that the average Joe may not have in their tool box, but can easily borrow from their local loan a tool autoparts place (Can Tire, Autozone, Pep Boys, etc.)
First thing to do is jack up the car, secure it with jack stands for safety & remove the rear wheel. While you still have the e-brake on, remove the small set screw with a large phillips head socket bit or screwdriver. If it is stuck, a good tap on the end of the bit with a hammer might shock it loose. Then, release the e-brake and remove the caliper. You need a 13mm socket (I found a 1/2 worked better though?) and a thin walled 15mm wrench (to fit in the tight space):
Then, pry the caliper back and hang it up out of the way with a bungee cord or wire. Then, you can remove the dust cap. Just use a hammer & a chisel to tap it off. Tap it a little on one side, then rotate and tap some more. Keep going around in a circular motion till it pops off:
Once the dust cap is off, use a breaker bar or impact gun & remove the axle nut with a 30mm 12 point socket:
With the axle nut removed, you can pull the hub off. It doesn't take a whole lot of force to remove it, so you don't need a really big puller. A 2 or 3 jaw puller will be fine. I used a 3 jaw for the hub and a 2 jaw for the inner race:
Once the hub is off, there will still be the inner race stuck on the axle shaft:
The inner race is a little harder to remove. There is not much of a lip to grab onto with the puller. In this case, a smaller puller works well. I used my dremel tool to grind 2 small spots on either side of the inner race so I had more area to grab with the 2 jaw puller:
That made grabbing it a whole lot easier:
Now that the old one is off, you can instal the new one. To get it started, place in on the axle & tap it with a rubber mallet. The axle is not long enough to allow the axle nut to grab any threads, so you have to drive it on with the mallet about an inch before you can press it the rest of the way with the axle nut:
Once you have a few threads sticking past the outer race, you can thread on the old axle nut and tighten it down. As you tighten it, it presses the bearing onto the shaft. Once it bottoms out, remove the old axle nut & reinstal a new one (as per Bently), and torque it down to 129 ft/lbs:
Then tap the dust cover back on, reinstal the caliper and then the wheels.
Congratulations, you just changed your rear axle bearing. With the right tools, it should not take more than an hour to do each side.
The tools I used were:
13mm socket
15mm wrench
30mm 12 point socket
Phillips head socket bit
hammers (rubber & ball peen)
chisel
3 jaw puller
2 jaw puller
breaker bar
Dremel tool
I hope this helps anyone who wishes to tackle the job themselves. But I must include my usual disclaimer: This writeup is for informational purposes only. I do not recommend anyone do this on their own. If you do, you do so at your own risk.
If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.
Thanks for looking.
The process is really quite simple. It just requires a few tools that the average Joe may not have in their tool box, but can easily borrow from their local loan a tool autoparts place (Can Tire, Autozone, Pep Boys, etc.)
First thing to do is jack up the car, secure it with jack stands for safety & remove the rear wheel. While you still have the e-brake on, remove the small set screw with a large phillips head socket bit or screwdriver. If it is stuck, a good tap on the end of the bit with a hammer might shock it loose. Then, release the e-brake and remove the caliper. You need a 13mm socket (I found a 1/2 worked better though?) and a thin walled 15mm wrench (to fit in the tight space):
Then, pry the caliper back and hang it up out of the way with a bungee cord or wire. Then, you can remove the dust cap. Just use a hammer & a chisel to tap it off. Tap it a little on one side, then rotate and tap some more. Keep going around in a circular motion till it pops off:
Once the dust cap is off, use a breaker bar or impact gun & remove the axle nut with a 30mm 12 point socket:
With the axle nut removed, you can pull the hub off. It doesn't take a whole lot of force to remove it, so you don't need a really big puller. A 2 or 3 jaw puller will be fine. I used a 3 jaw for the hub and a 2 jaw for the inner race:
Once the hub is off, there will still be the inner race stuck on the axle shaft:
The inner race is a little harder to remove. There is not much of a lip to grab onto with the puller. In this case, a smaller puller works well. I used my dremel tool to grind 2 small spots on either side of the inner race so I had more area to grab with the 2 jaw puller:
That made grabbing it a whole lot easier:
Now that the old one is off, you can instal the new one. To get it started, place in on the axle & tap it with a rubber mallet. The axle is not long enough to allow the axle nut to grab any threads, so you have to drive it on with the mallet about an inch before you can press it the rest of the way with the axle nut:
Once you have a few threads sticking past the outer race, you can thread on the old axle nut and tighten it down. As you tighten it, it presses the bearing onto the shaft. Once it bottoms out, remove the old axle nut & reinstal a new one (as per Bently), and torque it down to 129 ft/lbs:
Then tap the dust cover back on, reinstal the caliper and then the wheels.
Congratulations, you just changed your rear axle bearing. With the right tools, it should not take more than an hour to do each side.
The tools I used were:
13mm socket
15mm wrench
30mm 12 point socket
Phillips head socket bit
hammers (rubber & ball peen)
chisel
3 jaw puller
2 jaw puller
breaker bar
Dremel tool
I hope this helps anyone who wishes to tackle the job themselves. But I must include my usual disclaimer: This writeup is for informational purposes only. I do not recommend anyone do this on their own. If you do, you do so at your own risk.
If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.
Thanks for looking.
