Firstfives.org

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?

e

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?

e

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.

Anyone have a complete rear driver side assembly?

e

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?

I havent been around here much lately

Looks like I may be needing to do the same thing after the Ofest autocross and DE. I may pay to have it done as one local shop has a full set of shims

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.

So I decided to let someone else fix the bearing and that was so worth it I cant express!

I paid like $180 plus the bearing kit and I got it back with a working wheel. That was so worth the money!!!