Rear Wheel Bearing Replace

jcasey007 · 07-20-2010, 07:58 AM

Saturday had me changing front and rear brake discs and pads, and thinking that I have used the handbrake twice since I have owned the EX (at both MOT tests

) I figured that the extra play was just an adjustment....

How wrong was I

Front brakes went like a dream (It takes longer to remove the road wheels than to change the discs and pads, but on taking the rear discs off I found that one of the brake shoes had come away from the backing. Simple !

The problem was anything but simple, looking at the bottom of the shoes I noticed that they were worn twice as much as the top, further inspection found there was play in the wheel bearing and an oil leak from one of the shaft seals......

So yesterday had me knocking on US automotive at 08:30, to get new shoes, 2 x new wheel bearings and seals. I also came away with somthing called an Axle saver, it was I good job I did as the pictures will show you....

There are some very good posts on the forum about changing the rear wheel bearings but non of them talk about what to do with a damaged half shaft.

On the explorer, the inner race of the wheel bearing actually uses the surface of the half shaft as the bearing face, if it gets worn or damaged, you usually need a new half shaft (not an easy prospect getting one in the UK)

so as the pictures below show, one shaft was undamaged (4 thou wear) and needed a shandard bearing and seal,

The second shaft (the one with the leaking seal) was badly pitted and had 15 thou wear, so this one had an Axle Saver fitted.

The Axle Saver is a complete bearing and seal (seal on both ends) that is designed to move the bearing along the shaft to a new, undamaged part. It looks a bit strange when you fit it but it works a treat.

What lessons did I learn?

1. the job took me about 6 hours end to end.
2. the worst part is pulling the bearings with a slide hammer, I found that the two leg puller worked better than the three leg version, allow at least an hour and half for each bearing once you have stripped the hubs.
3. A claw hammer is best for removing the old seals (3 mins on each)
4. you don't know what the state of the shaft is like before you get it out so get at least 1 avle saver.

That's it really, all the rear end noise I put down to tyre / road noise was in fact bad bearings, I'm just glad I did it before taking her on Holiday, as one of my options was to do the job on the road side.

cheers

Jim

07-20-2010, 07:58 AM	#1
jcasey007 Wannabe Elite Explorer Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire Jeep Commander 5.7L HEMI Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 524 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	Rear Wheel Bearing Replace Saturday had me changing front and rear brake discs and pads, and thinking that I have used the handbrake twice since I have owned the EX (at both MOT tests ) I figured that the extra play was just an adjustment.... How wrong was I Front brakes went like a dream (It takes longer to remove the road wheels than to change the discs and pads, but on taking the rear discs off I found that one of the brake shoes had come away from the backing. Simple ! The problem was anything but simple, looking at the bottom of the shoes I noticed that they were worn twice as much as the top, further inspection found there was play in the wheel bearing and an oil leak from one of the shaft seals...... So yesterday had me knocking on US automotive at 08:30, to get new shoes, 2 x new wheel bearings and seals. I also came away with somthing called an Axle saver, it was I good job I did as the pictures will show you.... There are some very good posts on the forum about changing the rear wheel bearings but non of them talk about what to do with a damaged half shaft. On the explorer, the inner race of the wheel bearing actually uses the surface of the half shaft as the bearing face, if it gets worn or damaged, you usually need a new half shaft (not an easy prospect getting one in the UK) so as the pictures below show, one shaft was undamaged (4 thou wear) and needed a shandard bearing and seal, The second shaft (the one with the leaking seal) was badly pitted and had 15 thou wear, so this one had an Axle Saver fitted. The Axle Saver is a complete bearing and seal (seal on both ends) that is designed to move the bearing along the shaft to a new, undamaged part. It looks a bit strange when you fit it but it works a treat. What lessons did I learn? 1. the job took me about 6 hours end to end. 2. the worst part is pulling the bearings with a slide hammer, I found that the two leg puller worked better than the three leg version, allow at least an hour and half for each bearing once you have stripped the hubs. 3. A claw hammer is best for removing the old seals (3 mins on each) 4. you don't know what the state of the shaft is like before you get it out so get at least 1 avle saver. That's it really, all the rear end noise I put down to tyre / road noise was in fact bad bearings, I'm just glad I did it before taking her on Holiday, as one of my options was to do the job on the road side. cheers Jim Attached Images