DIY: Rear Wheel Bearing Replacement

my gf's rear wheel bearings went out so I figured I'd make a DIY for you guys.
DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING YOU DO OR DON'T DO. USE THIS AS YOUR OWN RISK.

First off, I'm gonna go ahead and give this a Difficulty of 10/10 as it requires some mechanical know-how and a good bit of tools. This is not something a nooblet should attempt.

Pretty much anything that could have gone wrong did go wrong for me so this should help keep anyone from getting stuck.

Tools I used:

Jack stands
Screwdrivers (phillips and flat head)
Socket set (12, 14, 19, 32mm) and extension
Piveting Breaker Bar
Impact Wrench
Torque Wrench
Cut-off Tool
2 Hammers (at least 1 ball pein hammer)
Rubber Mallet
Brake Cleaner
Rags
Goop hand cleaner
A punch
A chisel


Parts to Buy:

Rear hub/bearing assembly
Spindle Nut 90305-S30-003
Hub Cap 42326-SLJ-000
(2) rotor screws 93600-06014-0H



When loosing the lug nuts I prefer the 19mm socket and a breaker bar. Remember to use jackstands and not just your scissor jack.

Once the wheel is off start using a flathead screwdriver and hammer to pry the hub cap off

LARGE

hub cap


Next you can start on the Spindle Nut. It has a dimple to make sure it doesn't come undone so use a flat head screwdriver and a hammer to knock it outword as shown

LARGE
Use your torque wrench and 32mm impact socket to get the nut off. ...you cant do this with a breaker bar and pb blaster

LARGE

To get the screws off the rotor it may be useful to set the parking break. You may be able to just unscrew them but they are probably rusted in. To help break some of the rust free put the ball pein end of the hammer up against the screw and hit the hammer with another hammer as shown

but use a real hammer not a rubber mallet.

VIDEO REFERENCE

If that isn't enough then you may have to resort to a hammer and a punch but unlike the video says I doubt you'll have to punch the whole head of the screw off. Use the punch to make a hole off center of the screw then angle the punch in that hole in an effort to make the screw unscrew

LARGE
It only took me about a minute or 2 of doing this to get the screws to break free

Next you can start working on getting the brake caliper off. Remember to release the parking break if it's still engaged.
First unscrew the 12mm bolt attached to the brake line ( go ahead and do this on both sides of the car )


then the 14mm bolts for the brake caliper



You will need an extension to get the lower brake caliper bolt out


Once those are off pull the brake caliper off the rotor. a wire may be helpful to make sure the caliper doesn't fall



The rotor will probably be stuck to the hub so use the 2 bolts from the brake line to screw into the rotor so you can push it off the hub. Only turn each screw 2 quarter turns at a time.


hub assembly


Hopefully for you, you can now grab the hub and slide it off and you'll be ready for reassembly. Unfortunately for me, it wasn't that simple.

 

The hub assembly was stuck so I used the rubber mallet to tap on the back of it to break it free.

After I pulled it off a notice a piece was still stuck on there (the race)

and here's the nasty wheel bearing

I used the hammer to try to break the race free and pull it off but it was a no-go.

So, i had to resort to a cut-off tool and a chisel to cut the race off. Use the second half of this video for reference if you ever need to do this. It took me a lot longer than him but eventually I broke it off.


Next I had to sand smooth all the knicks I left. I used terry cloth sand paper
...a before and after shot though you can't really tell much



Now you can use your brake cleaner to clean off that part and get ready for reassembly. grab your new hub assembly and use your cleaner to make sure there is no debrie on the bearing to make sure it sits nicely on the axle. make sure you put both your thumbs on the inner bearing part when pushing it onto the axle. otherwise, it can slide out.


Reassemble is the same as dissasembly. go ahead and clean your rotor, and check your suspension and brake components while you're under there.

-Torque the Spindle Nut to 139 lb/ft (over torquing the spindle nut can lead to prematurely wearing out the wheel bearing)
-Brake line bolt torqued to 16 lb/ft
-Caliper bolts to 41 lb/ft



It took me about a day to get the first bearing completely off but the second bearing didn't get stuck on the axle so it only took me about an hour and a half for disseambly and reassembly of that one

 

nevermind...I removed the outer race with just a chisel and hammer.

 

Great write up, hope i dont have to do this any time soon, lol.

Repped..

 

Nice write up Jon, clear an concise, and good photos. Reps.

 

Great job man! Nice DIY. Interesting, where were you able to find the replacement bearing for it? When doing my 5-lug swap, I was only about to source the replacement hub assembly whole.. Couldn't find just the bearing.

 

Thank you for this DIY - I'm finding it very helpful as I swap a rear wheel bearing/hub on my car.

I ran into the same problem OP did where the race decided not to come out with the rest of the hub - I don't have a dremel, and there isn't an electrical outlet in my apartment's underground garage - anybody have any alternative ideas for removing the old race?

 

Screwdriver and a hammer. Just gotta get it wedged between the race and the knuckle. After that, its a piece of cake. Just be careful not to score the surface that meets the race.

 

Great write up. Did you find OEM bearings of aftermarket?

 

Next time try this for the screws:
http://m.harborfreight.com/impact-screwdriver-set-with-case-37530.html

One of those has worked on Honda's for years. Hundreds of cars (I'm a mechanic).

Otherwise it looks like a good how-to!