Wheel bearing help!

[Leonard 0]

Vince @ Stealth said that if your car eats through rear wheel bearings, it can be a sign that the stub axle(s) are shot.. might be worth looking into?

 

Hey Jim

 

What do you mean by shot? What happens to em :confused4: Its not just rear tho its front as well :lol:

[Jim 2]

Not entirely sure - he didn't elaborate! :(

[KipVR 1]

If you do do the tighten them up and loosen them back technique to put your bearings on, go easy on them, too many people really crank them up, then loosen them off having just put a flat spot on the bearing, meaning they don't last at all, I personally do the nut up till it feels tightish then drive it a few miles, then check it again, sometimes it needs to be nipped up again- there should be a very small amount of play and no lumpiness.

 

If I were you I'd replace your own wheel bearings, it's easy to do and only takes half an hour or so- when you take it all apart it's all very logical. You'll take more care than someone in a garage, especially a VW garage. You don't need any special tools, you can tap the outer race into the rear disc carefully using a hammer, a large screwdriver and the old one. You should get about 70k out of the rears. :D

 

If the stub axles are bent you'll eat through tyres as well as bearings, bent wheels (side to side) cause bearings to fail quickly too.

[Leonard 0]

If you do do the tighten them up and loosen them back technique to put your bearings on, go easy on them, too many people really crank them up, then loosen them off having just put a flat spot on the bearing, meaning they don't last at all, I personally do the nut up till it feels tightish then drive it a few miles, then check it again, sometimes it needs to be nipped up again- there should be a very small amount of play and no lumpiness.

 

If I were you I'd replace your own wheel bearings, it's easy to do and only takes half an hour or so- when you take it all apart it's all very logical. You'll take more care than someone in a garage, especially a VW garage. You don't need any special tools, you can tap the outer race into the rear disc carefully using a hammer, a large screwdriver and the old one. You should get about 70k out of the rears. :D

 

If the stub axles are bent you'll eat through tyres as well as bearings, bent wheels (side to side) cause bearings to fail quickly too.

 

Defo no bent wheels or weird wearing tyres.

 

I always thought that you could fit your own wheel bearing as they required a special fitting tool/press or some such :confused4:

[markrtw 0]

The bearing race should be pushed in using something like the Sealey VS703 (that is what I have anyway): http://www.uktools.com/product_info.php ... 095944fdc3 (I have to admit the price listed here is very good). I personally would not use a screwdriver or chisle to push them in as it may flatspot or deform the bearing race. The pusher transmits the force evenly across the whole thing and is softer metal than the bearing race so should not mark or damage it. Its one of those tools that you dont use often, but once you have will last forever.

[Leonard 0]

The bearing race should be pushed in using something like the Sealey VS703 (that is what I have anyway): http://www.uktools.com/product_info.php ... 095944fdc3 (I have to admit the price listed here is very good). I personally would not use a screwdriver or chisle to push them in as it may flatspot or deform the bearing race. The pusher transmits the force evenly across the whole thing and is softer metal than the bearing race so should not mark or damage it. Its one of those tools that you dont use often, but once you have will last forever.

 

Hey cool that is worth considering.

 

Thanks

 

Matt

[davidwort 0]

when I said tighten them up a bit and then back off I didn't mean swing on a breaker bar :) , sorry should have made it clear that I just nip them up a little beyond the point they should be set at (i.e. just past the point the washer can be moved with gentle leverage.)

 

when pushing the new ones in you can simply use the old races as a drift (as said above really) you dont use a screwdriver or punch to drive them in, just a big hammer tapping the top of the old race to push the new race firmly home. the punch is used for drifting the old ones out (if you're not changing the disc) and popping the old race out when you use it as a drift for the new one - BTW put the old race in shoulder first when using to push the new one in or you'll have nothing to get the punch on to drift it out again :)

 

I totally agree about the care you can give assembling them that a garage doesn't, if you think about pushing in the new races, the smallest bit of dirt could lead to the race not being pushed home quite right, doing it yourself and taking your time you can clean everything down spotlessly or certainly better than a mechanic who I'd imagine will tend to just whack the new bits in.

[KipVR 1]

I personally would not use a screwdriver or chisle to push them in as it may flatspot or deform the bearing race.

 

I wasn't suggesting you did that, instead you put the new race in first then the old one on top of it and tap that, you only use the screwdriver to help get the old one out. :D Hence

.....a large screwdriver and the old one.

the old one being the old race. Sorry I wasn't very clear. 8)

 

Just read your post David, we are both singing from the same hymn sheet I think!!

[Leonard 0]

Just read your post David, we are both singing from the same hymn sheet I think!!

 

You are both homosexuals! :shock:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry I have been drinking and am on mucho cough mixture :drinking: :grin:

[KipVR 1]

:lol: :lol:

[fla 9]

what are teh part numbers for the SKF bearings for the fronts as we have a good bearings supplier nearby? Thanks