Hi there,

 

My left rear axle (4WD) on my '88 wagon makes a grinding noise that I initially thought to be brake related but it seems that the axle is loose where it travels through the suspension. That is, the wheel and drum are loose and easily moveable and when I got the drum off, the axle moves slightly in all directions.

 

It seems that the next step is to remove the brakeline/pistons and then pull the whole assembly off, but I want to be sure that this is so before I start messing with the brakes.

 

Any hints or tips as to what to look for would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Wheel bearing. The "axle" that you grabbed is not - it's the stub shaft, and it's a solid moving part. The axle is splined to this on the back of the trailing arm.

 

Here's the rub - when you removed the hub, you removed the wheel bearing outer support. The hub/drum sits against the back of the outer bearing and by removing it, the bearing will just flop around and slide off the end of the stub shaft. So actually, the stub shaft haveing lots of play like you describe is perfectly normal when dissasembled to that level.

 

That said, your grinding is probably the wheel bearing - when they fail, they usually make quite a racket. Grinding with a lot of heat and smoke is common.

 

GD

GD,

 

To replace the wheel bearing, do I need to also disassemble the brakes or are the bearings accessible from the inner area (where the stub and the axle mesh)?

How big a job are the rear bearings for a 4wd 5spd wagon? Anything that i should do while I've got it apart to this degree? The brake shoes look to be in okay shape.

Thanks

How big of a job is rear wheel bearing replacement on a 4wd 5spd? My Haynes manual lists only how to replace them on a 2wd, which does me no good.

 

What else should be done, while I've got the hub apart? The shoes look in okay shape.

Thanks

The bearing is a press-fit into the trailing arm. You have to unscrew the big ring nut on the back of the trailing arm, and pound the old bearing and race out. It can be a difficult job - especially if the bearing has overheated, and maybe had some contaminates in it - rust, etc. Getting the new one in can be just as much of a challenge as you have to drift them in carefully with a brass punch to avoid causing any damage. It's a tight fit, and easiest to do it with a press, and the proper adaptors. That's not to say that it can't be done without - I've done it many times. I just don't like doing them. Set aside at least a good two hours for the job - maybe longer.

 

You should replace at a minimum the bearing, and it's inner and outer seal. And make sure to grease them very well. You don't want to have to do the job again anytime soon.

 

Alternatively, you could find a whole trailing arm at the junk yard, and be done in just an hour perhaps - probably cost less too. The bearing is about $50 even from the cheapest supplier, and I know I can get trailing arms (control arms) for about $11 here. Still want to give it a good grease job, and install new seals. Try to find a low mileage one. Anything around 100k is good - I've seen these bearings last well past 200k easily.

 

GD

it is a difficult job. it technically requries a special tool to unscrew the retaining nut, it's an odd thing. but it can be done without the tool of course, start it with a punch.

 

personally i'd recommend a used unit like GD said. install it as is with some new grease or rebuild it it with new bearings. this way you can take your time and the car isn't needlessly down for a long time. at 200,000 i rebuilt my front hubs as preventative maintenance. rebuilt a spare set and swapped them in, quick and easy.