I need to change the wheel bearings on my NA. The N/S was an advisory on the MOT plus it is audible when driving, so think it would be prudent to change both.
I know when I last “attempted” to remove a rear hub I found the hub was welded to the driveshaft and no amount of persuasion would separate the two.
I ended buying a second hand hub and driveshaft and fitting that.
Second that, just done exactly the same thing, spent 3-4 hours trying to ‘persuade’ it to let go then discovered AutoLink sell them for a few quid!
It often happens with age, it cold-welds.
I had a rear wheel bearing fail on my old Mk2 Zephyr in Nice in 1969. I changed it myself in the street, with the help of a nearby machine shop. The lad in the shop tried three presses of increasing weight to pop out the old one from the hub, ending up with the 35tonne hydraulic set on max, and was considering applying heat to help when it went like a gunshot. We eased the replacement into the hub with a simple hand operated flypress.
On my old Corsair the bearing was captive on the half shaft and I took it and the shrunk-on retaining ring off with a combination of angle grinder, cold chisel and sledgehammer, while taking care not to damage the running surface for the oil seal. It was entertaining heating up the retainer ring to orange and then hoping it would drop all the way down the half shaft to the bearing without shrinking too soon and grabbing partway down (another new ring would be required).
These days I would pay someone to do it.
“On my old Corsair the bearing was captive on the half shaft and I took it and the shrunk-on retaining ring off with a combination of angle grinder, cold chisel and sledgehammer, while taking care not to damage the running surface for the oil seal. It was entertaining heating up the retainer ring to orange and then hoping it would drop all the way down the half shaft to the bearing without shrinking too soon and grabbing partway down (another new ring would be required).”
When you’re really having a bad day you get everything back on then realise you forgot to put the brake plate on the half-shaft before the shrunk on retaining ring… and the ring you bought earlier was the last one the main dealer had in stock.
Have you changed the bearing yet. I need to do my nearside rear this week too - a seized caliper seems to have knackered the bearing. There are a number of guides on you tube but I am not entirely happy with them as there is too much “club hammer” action going on to get the bearings in and out. From what I have gleaned from some research:
The hub nuts need to be torqued up correctly using a big torque wrench to the right tightness or apparently the bearings fail again - I have one of these.
Putting the bearing in the fridge may help fitting.
Part of the bearing gets left on the hub - these appear to be removed with a dremel and varying degrees of brutality with a chisel. Dremel and chisel check.
The 6 tonne bottle jack press utilised in one video appears to struggle.
If you’ve finished how did you get on with it?
I would change most suspension bits in pairs but not bearings - either they work or are knackered and to the best of my knowledge there is nothing to be gained doing both sides if one is okay.