Richard's GBS Zero: Wheel bearings

The drivers side rear wheel had a bit of play, detected at MOT. So before replacing the tyres I'm replacing the bearings. On the original build I had replaced oil seals but for some reason left the bearings as they were - just delaying the inevitable!

Procedure is as described in my old Sierra manual plus a useful page compiled by my car club: RhoCar Changing a wheel bearing assembly (Sierra).

The rear assemblies are relatively straightforward - no special tools required - but an oil seal puller is useful.

I have a 1m breaker bar and hub nut socket, used on the original build, which loosened the hub nuts with relative ease - pressure applied with the car on the ground, wheels on, in gear and handbrake applied. Then jack up, wheels off, brake calliper off, disc off then finally a puller to pull the hub plate off the drive shaft.

Offside

Now that is a spanner!

Just nuts and bolts - however the 4x bolts holding on the bearing carrier went back on with nuts on the outside - much more accessible on the completed car.

Drive shaft bearing surfaces a little discoloured, not blue - but straw coloured so ~300ºC at some point in its life. Feels smooth to the touch, a little muck on the rear edge where the oil seal rides - but looks serviceable to me - no change required here other than a wipe down.

Part way through the job, old bearings and seals out. Tools: oil seal puller works well to hook underneath without damaging the carriers, steel drift and hammer to knock out the old bearing races and install the new, wooden packing and g-clamp to hold things steady.

Drivers side carrier with seals and bearings removed - looks and feels ok to me.

Re install is the opposite of dismantling, straightforward - precise application of pressure taking great care not to damage any of the new components and keep everything clean of dust or other contaminants (other than copious grease).

Notes:

Hub nuts are handed, both loosen towards the back of the car, tighten towards the front. Interesting reason why to do with precession which I found out on the original build.
Keeping the bearings and the seals in the freezer beforehand makes them possible to fit.
Need to keep the bearing inners with their own races.
Pre fill the back of the oil seals with grease before chilling so they can come out of the freezer and straight into the carriers before they warm up.
The vice was useful for balanced pressure on the oil seals to get them started back in. Stacked with the old seals to avoid any damage on the new - this is the trickiest part of the job IMHO.
The old bearing runs and oil seals are useful as drifts to help install the new ones without damage.
The grease is messy - everything gets messy - gloves useful, if only to have one clean hand to get back in the house!
Nylocs and hub nuts are one use only - so all replaced during the procedure