Rear Hub Bearings

[Smurf]

I've read several post on this subject by searching and most write-ups are on earlier bay window buses and I have a '77.

How hard is it to take out later bay window rear hub bearings to just repack them? Is there a possibility of damaging anything? I've read that I could damage the races...but not sure why I would need to take out the races if I'm just repacking the bearings? I'm kinda lost on this.

I currently am working back there and I figure it might be a good time to repack them as I don't have any wheel play.

Any info/help is much appreciated.
_________________
1962 Beetle
1977 Westfalia (Subaru Conversion)

"Traveling in a fried-out Kombi
On a hippie trail head full of zombie"
-Men at Work

[SGKent]

it is a job that one cannot screw up on.

Do you have a torque wrench that goes to 253 ft lbs?

A lead or brass hammer?

Gear puller?

Good snap ring pliers?

Know how to adjust the brakes when done?

Have a Bentley manual and have you read the chapter on rear suspension?

If you said yes to all then you probably can handle it.
_________________
“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[Smurf]

[kreemoweet]

I'm gonna have to be disagreeable here and suggest that "repacking the rear bearings" is an ill-advised move.

The Bentley manual is a poor guide on this subject. The bearings have changed from what the Bentley shows, and the procedures given there are inapplicable. The only
bearing race that is separable is the outer roller bearing inner race.

The bearings are really not designed to be removed without serious risk of damage. I would suggest that it's almost impossible to remove the old grease and clean the
bearings adequately without removing them ... so why bother? The inner roller bearing can only be removed by pressing (or hitting, if you're that kind of guy) on the inner race,
a procedure that is almost universally advised against, although it must be admitted that the bearings are pretty stout, and frequently have lost most of their press fit on the OD.
Note that the Bentley manual says to press them out via their outer races, an impossible thing with the 71 and 78 bearing housings I've worked with recently.
The outer roller bearing is a VERY tight press fit in the housing, and the outer race (which is thin) may not survive the removal & reinstallation. Removal will also require a pressing
tool of rather exact diameter, not typically found in the average wrencher's toolbox.

I would instead recommend just letting the bearings wear out naturally, and just plan to remove and replace every 200,000 miles or so. Be prepared to use sleeve locker on the
inner ball bearing due to wear in the bearing housing.
_________________
'67 bug: seized by the authorities
'68 bug: seized by the authorities
'71 kombi: not yet seized by the authorities

Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[Smurf]

I never tackled this job before and I'm a noob when it comes to what is normal and what is not with rear hub bearings. The reason I decided to remove everything was that I had play pushing the stub axle in and out but I didn't have play when moving side to side. The Greece was very old and it seems like these are the original bearings that probably never seen the light of day in the 200k+ miles that were on my bus.

Also, I noticed before I removed the c-clip that the inner bearing moved up and down in the housing but it will not come out all the way. Is this normal? I'm guessing my bearings are shot but what about the housing itself?

Any help is much appreciated.
_________________
1962 Beetle
1977 Westfalia (Subaru Conversion)

"Traveling in a fried-out Kombi
On a hippie trail head full of zombie"
-Men at Work

[SGKent]

the inner bearing outer race should be loose enough to remove and reinstall but not loose enough to wiggle.
_________________
“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[kreemoweet]

Such movement is not "new-normal", but seems to be typical of well-used bus parts. If the inner ball bearings are moving in the housing, then yes the housing will be worn, and maybe the circlip also. It's easy and cheap enough to replace
the ball bearing , and you could use a bearing/sleeve retainer compound on the bearing OD. You might be able to just flip the circlip over, or use a new one (beware, there
are bogus undersized circlips in some of the bus rear bearing kits being sold - should be 2.0 mm thick). There are no new, unused bearing housings to be had, so your options
are limited.
_________________
'67 bug: seized by the authorities
'68 bug: seized by the authorities
'71 kombi: not yet seized by the authorities

Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[Smurf]

[Tcash]

Also, I noticed before I removed the c-clip that the inner bearing moved up and down in the housing but it will not come out all the way. Is this normal? I'm guessing my bearings are shot but what about the housing itself?
The bearings are a press fit into the housings. If there is any movement between the bearing and the housing. Time for a new housing.

This is an earlier model but will give you the idea.
thanks to anskeptic
IRS Rear Wheel Bearing Repack/Replace

Good luck
Tcash

[skills@eurocarsplus]

well, you opened it all up before cleaning, so you're pretty much guaranteed contamination at this point.

typically bearings don't survive well with r+r, and are a 1 time use kind of thing. can it be done, yes but you'd better bring your A game
_________________

[kreemoweet]

The housing bore just above the circlip groove will be the original, unworn diameter, so you can not expect the bearing to just drop out. The bearing
was originally a press fit in the housing, and did not move in/out or spin around. I would guess that you could drive around with a wiggly bearing for
another 100,000 miles, but of course the housing bore will become progressively worse.
_________________
'67 bug: seized by the authorities
'68 bug: seized by the authorities
'71 kombi: not yet seized by the authorities

Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[Joey]

If they're not making any noise and have no unwanted play just leave 'em.
_________________
Joey

‘60 Kombi - '74 Bus - '79 Panel - '65 Beetle

[Smurf]