Changing the rear wheel bearing seems difficult and I suspect the way I kept running on a very bad bearing I have messed up other parts so does it make more sense to buy a complete (used) rear trailing arm assembly and just replace it as a whole working unit, or is the bearing replacement more simple than I fear?
I've done the job before. It wasn't simple, but possible at home with a little creativity. I used a homemade contraption relying on threaded rod and a lot of giant washers to make a press tool. Peter Florance shows similar techniques in the FAQs for the idler arm and rear trailing arm bushings.
You've also got to cope with the 30 mm nut on the rear stub axle. At 289 ft-lbs, I think it's the second tightest on the car after the crankshaft nut.
Was the bearing making some noise or complaining before it blew?
ericindenver wrote:Seriously, chuncks of metal and all!
Changing the rear wheel bearing seems difficult and I suspect the way I kept running on a very bad bearing I have messed up other parts so does it make more sense to buy a complete (used) rear trailing arm assembly and just replace it as a whole working unit, or is the bearing replacement more simple than I fear?
sorry, website didnt email me that anyone replied.. oops.
Yes, it made a lot of noise for several thousand miles. I pretty much only drove it less than 50 miles from home (and have AAA) because I knew the day would come. The sound it made before I put up on jack stands was like the bearing would spin every mile or so. Full on nasty ass sound of metal on metal brakes, but way worse!
I'd really like to get it running again but I dont really want to go through all the time it will take to make my own tools, then end up buying a new rear trailing arm anyway.
Yea Robert Bondi, I got that far, bent a few tools, and tried an impact gun, then turned my back on the job and here it has sat!
I stuck a basketball hoop nobody uses in front of it so.... well, to blend it but I think it looks like I stuck it there to look like I was hiding a jacked up car.
subscribed myself with old login info instead of new account I set up because I didn't recall my old account info. Whats worse is there is one from 2006 I cant seem find?
Bearings rarely go and it looks like a lot of work to me. If you can find a arm in a yard inexpensively and easily, I'd go for it, rear wheel bearings rarely fail. Run it thru Realoem, but I think they're all the same on US cars.
Mike W.
02 525ita. Wife's, aka grocery getter
02 530i. New to the fleet, 3 pedals.
03 QX4, AKA the Datsun. Finally got the 4WD vacationmoble to stop smoking.
07 Xterra. Still on the DL, a purchase from hell.
I have messed up other parts so does it make more sense to buy a complete (used) rear trailing arm assembly and just replace it as a whole working unit, or is the bearing replacement more simple than I fear? 
