Wheel bearing

[garbage-overlord]

Well, what a jolly afternoon I had today - tackling a failed wheel bearing. How hard can it be? Er um...

Well actually, not that bad. Now which side at the rear is it likely to be? Well the offside seems ok when jacked up, but the n/s had 1/2 inch of free play! Gasp. Guess I'll start with that one then...

Now, I'm motoring on a budget, so if you are of a nervous disposition you may wish to look away now...a new bearing is only about £20, but since I don't happen to have a 10 press lying around, and having watched an excellent YouTube video showing "how easy it was" to remove the hub (I skipped the "take it to the machine shop" part - I can't imagine today's spotty yoofs would have a clue what to do with it...), I decided to purchase a second hand complete hub from a Jaguar breaker on eBay, with what I was assured was a good bearing. It duly arrived, and said bearing seemed good with no play. 

Since it's a while since I've tackled major work like this, I decided to purchase a additional tools - on a budget mind, so no Snap-on gear unfortunately. After watching lots of YouTube reviews and scouring the internet, here's what I purchased to over the course if the last month when I came across any bargains on my wish list, hopefully ensuring a successful outcome.

3 foot breaker bar for the hub nut battle £12.99

Halfords spanner set ( I didn't have the 19mm or 8mm  spanners for the upper wishbone nut) £12.50

Hilka 2 ton  "low profile" trolley jack from a shop called The Range -  £39.99 delivered.

36mm impact socket £6.99 eBay

Clarke 12v impact driver £35 delivered.

Hub puller £12.99 eBay

So what happened? Well it all went pretty smoothly really. Unlike other jobs where you need to apply heat on bolts etc, everything came apart well, and nothing rounded or snapped. And the floor didn't seem rotten, taking the jack with no problems on the "triangle" plates either side. Woo.

The star of the show was the 12v impact driver, which I'll post details for if anyone is interested.  You connect it to the battery with crocodile clips. It easily loosened every bolt I could get it in to (having pre wire brushed and lubricated all threads), but it's star turn was the way it loosened the 36 mm drive shaft hub nut, saving no end of heaving on a long extension bar. I'm really impressed with it, and highly recommend it. Also, the hub puller easily and smoothly pulled the old hub off the drive shaft splines.

The Hilka trolley jack was excellent also, stable,  and effortlessly lifting the car, and low enough to easily fit under the low sill.

Reassembly was, as they say, a reversal of the earlier procedure. 

The road test gratifyingly showed much improvement, although it means I can now hear another rumbling at bit - a front one I think, although it's ok for the present. The second hand hub assembly was £30, so excluding the extra tools purchased, an economical repair for the present. 

Now I need to lie down and recover ; I'm not as supple as I once was...😁

 

 

 

[JOE-DOT-COM]

HI

Hardest part usually is getting the hub off the driveshaft

The bearing can usually just be knocked out of the hub on wooden blocks with a big hammer,

I did mine with my vice, just pressed it out, with a large socket as a spacer and pressed in just as easy

cheers

Joe

[garbage-overlord]

7 hours ago, JOE-DOT-COM said:

HI

Hardest part usually is getting the hub off the driveshaft

The bearing can usually just be knocked out of the hub on wooden blocks with a big hammer,

I did mine with my vice, just pressed it out, with a large socket as a spacer and pressed in just as easy

cheers

Joe

I'll look into that at some point, don't have access to a vice I'm afraid.

The hub puller made getting the hub off the drive shaft a breeze, great tool.

Removing a front one may not be quite as easy when I come to it, but we'll see. I've seen some in YouTube who virtually destroy the carrier chiseling the old hub out, then have to re-cut the bolt holes for the new bearing. Er, I don't think I'll be doing that!