Rear axle and bearing change instructions
 

Hello, I'm pretty sure I need to change the axle bearing on my car. I have never worked on the rear end. Can someone post some instructions? I'll look in my Hayne's, but that never includes potential hang ups or good tricks. I've read that the axle will probably be damaged by the bad bearing. Is this something I can verify by just removing the diff cover? Thanks.

Re: Rear axle and bearing change instructions
 

The axle bearing is on the end of the axle tube. Behind the brake assembly. It can be a total pain in the arse. You have to have a special puller, which is actually a slide hammer, to get it out. Sometimes the race breaks, and then you get to play hell getting it out. I suggest giving that headache to a quallified shop and let them deal with it. It's worth it to not have to deal with it.

Re: Rear axle and bearing change instructions
 

Sometimes a little heat will let that bearing race out. Stinks like a mofo but works. Or if you break the bearing and leave the outside race still in the axle housing, you can weld a bead on the inside of the bearing race. It'll come out then.

You can't check this by just pulling the diff cover. How do you know the axle bearing is the problem?

Re: Rear axle and bearing change instructions
 

If you go ahead with the bearings removal, either you or have a shop do it for you, and you find out the axles are damaged due to wear on the area the bearing runs on.....you don't have to replace the axles. There's an alternative using an offset bearing/seal setup so you can "extend" their useful life and unless an upgraded set of axles is on the works. The part# is VLRP5707 or RP5707 under the Timken brand. JIC.

Re: Rear axle and bearing change instructions
 

I think the bearing is bad because I can hear a wah wah wah sound coming from the side of the rear end. Speed changes the frequency of the sound. Higher speeds (over 60) can be felt as shaking develops throughout the entire car, almost like out of balance tires. It does it whether or not I'm in gear, with or without the engine on. When the rear of the car is jacked up, the passenger side wheel spins by hand easily, where the driver's side has a noticable resistance throughout about 2/3 of its motion range. The resistance is there even when the drum is pulled off, so I know its not a rubbing brake problem. Do you think I'm diagnosing this correctly? An axle upgrade is not in order - I appreciate the heads up.

Re: Rear axle and bearing change instructions
 

Sounds about right to me.

Re: Rear axle and bearing change instructions
 

Yeah, however, I have a few issues with the whole thing. That just sounds dangerous to me. (Never done that personally :rolleyes: )

Re: Rear axle and bearing change instructions
 

Probably no more dangerous than driving around with a bad bearing :)

Re: Rear axle and bearing change instructions
 

Your driving around with a bad bearing is just about going to guarantee axle damage. How long have you been driving with the bearing noise?

If you want to fix the problem, but can't do an axle upgrade, why not just buy a stock replacement axle from a junkyard or parts store?

Re: Rear axle and bearing change instructions
 

As Joel 5.0 said, there is a offset bearing to fix a bad axle. Ive run them in 8.8 and 9 inch rear ends with no problems.

Re: Rear axle and bearing change instructions
 

When I got my 8inch out of the junkyard, I had to replace one of the bearings. A pain in the ass, but not too bad I didnt think. When I went to remove the axle Im too poor for the right tools, so I used a chain hooked to the axle and a C-clamp attached to the chain for a handle. Alot of hard pulls later it poped out. I got the bearing pressed on by a shop though.