I've been replacing the rear wheel bearings and rebuilding the axles. I was on hour 12 yesterday, almost midnight, when I pressed in the second wheel bearing (packed with cv2) and noticed to my horror when i removed the bearing install tool, that I had installed the bearing with the black side out. I've read: it doesn't matter, it does matter, the wheel sensor reads the axle, the wheel sensor does not read the axle, etc. I didn't wanna take any chances so I removed it and there goes a $40 mistake (autohausAZ has them on sale right now). Damn.
Lessons learned:
1. pay attention to wheel bearing orientation (though it might not matter even if you mess up).
2. the axle is hollow so i just poured mineral spirits down the inner side and sloshed around a few times by manipulating the outer end and shaking it. You can pour out the gunk much easier through the axle into a bucket. Then I cut the boot off the outer side and sprayed brake cleaner inside a few more times.
3. I broke the wheel bearings loose while the car was on the ground by popping the center caps. My breaker bar wasn't enough so I busted out the 5' length of pipe I've got. 'Give me a lever big enough and I can move the world,' someone once said...
4. it took most of the day doing one side just figuring things out. The other side was done in a couple of hours. The job is very doable.
5. WD-40's new rust release penetrant is replacing PB Blaster on my shelf. I've never used Kroil but WD-40's new formula is great.
6. you'll need to go to NAPA to get a properly fitting CV boot clamp. It sucks that the kit I bought (autohausAZ) comes with poorly fitting clamps. OahuMPower already has a thread about this complete with part number. I had to buy the smaller clamp too which is only one number off the other clamps part number: 686-5833.
7. I removed the axles with a 3 jaw puller I borrowed from Autozone. I tightened it so much at first that the screw started to bend. I backed it off till it was straight and banged that sh!t with a couple of taps and voila: I heard the heard the rusty snap of success.
8. the youtube video by 'edz garage' about removing the bearings with harbor freights tools saved a lot of time and aggravation. The other giants whose shoulders I stood upon was OahuMPower's thread on CV boot remove/replace and ///NNM's thread about removing the bearing.
Reading old threads about the procedure always made the task seem super daunting to me. Especially with my luck: things are always rusted shut beyond the laws of physics, breaking stuff, forgetting stuff, etc. But it's almost over now (just waiting for the bearing to come in) and the rear end will be completely rebuilt (except the diff but that's a 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it because you can't afford it' type thing) Good luck to anyone attempting this. It really isn't that bad.
Lessons learned:
1. pay attention to wheel bearing orientation (though it might not matter even if you mess up).
2. the axle is hollow so i just poured mineral spirits down the inner side and sloshed around a few times by manipulating the outer end and shaking it. You can pour out the gunk much easier through the axle into a bucket. Then I cut the boot off the outer side and sprayed brake cleaner inside a few more times.
3. I broke the wheel bearings loose while the car was on the ground by popping the center caps. My breaker bar wasn't enough so I busted out the 5' length of pipe I've got. 'Give me a lever big enough and I can move the world,' someone once said...
4. it took most of the day doing one side just figuring things out. The other side was done in a couple of hours. The job is very doable.
5. WD-40's new rust release penetrant is replacing PB Blaster on my shelf. I've never used Kroil but WD-40's new formula is great.
6. you'll need to go to NAPA to get a properly fitting CV boot clamp. It sucks that the kit I bought (autohausAZ) comes with poorly fitting clamps. OahuMPower already has a thread about this complete with part number. I had to buy the smaller clamp too which is only one number off the other clamps part number: 686-5833.
7. I removed the axles with a 3 jaw puller I borrowed from Autozone. I tightened it so much at first that the screw started to bend. I backed it off till it was straight and banged that sh!t with a couple of taps and voila: I heard the heard the rusty snap of success.
8. the youtube video by 'edz garage' about removing the bearings with harbor freights tools saved a lot of time and aggravation. The other giants whose shoulders I stood upon was OahuMPower's thread on CV boot remove/replace and ///NNM's thread about removing the bearing.
Reading old threads about the procedure always made the task seem super daunting to me. Especially with my luck: things are always rusted shut beyond the laws of physics, breaking stuff, forgetting stuff, etc. But it's almost over now (just waiting for the bearing to come in) and the rear end will be completely rebuilt (except the diff but that's a 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it because you can't afford it' type thing) Good luck to anyone attempting this. It really isn't that bad.
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