hitbyastick

Yeah I ordered my stuff the other day and started taking my suspension apart. I got all the shocks out no problem.
I have a fear that the bushings won't fit because I don't have the stock stablizer thing.
But my real question is:
I want to get the rear wheel bearing out. How would one go about doing that. The front one came out with the brake disc. True for the rear? If so I can't get the center nut off. Or the two screws that hold the disc against the rest of the car. I may have to drill them out. Yeha ok someone tell me how to get it apart please.
THanks

Christoph <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" />

philinjax

Christoph,
Get a copy of the Haynes shop manual. It will cover most everything for maintenance on the 914.
Phil

Evill Ed

The rear wheel bearing will be destroyed when you remove them, thay can only be used once. So unless you need to replace the bearings, do not try to take them apart.

To remove the big nut on the hub, the best tool is an air impact wrench and sometimes a torch to heat them up. Plan B is to use a breaker bar and socket with a 4ft cheater bar for more leverage. be carefull if you do this, the bar or socket could break and injure you.

For the 2 phillip screws on the rotor, you will need a hand impact tool with a phillips bit. You whack the tool with a hammer and it breaks the screw free. Plan B is to drill them out, but becareful not to damage the threads.

Ed

hitbyastick

Well, I do need to replace the wheel bearing it was "somewhat" wobbly back there. So I got on side off but I broke the friggin 4 ft extension bar in half. I feel like such a man. Now I'm going to get me an impact gun. Anybody know where to weld in the chassis stiffening kit?


<img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" />

KeithMcd

I broke two Snap-on breaker bars when I changed the rear bearings. The factory torque setting is something like 250 lbs. Lets see..250 lbs times 28 years = <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" />

Snappy man was not happy with me that day.

Keith

hitbyastick

How did you end up getting it off.
I just broke one wrench with extension (good quality, but about as old as the car), and I can't get it off with an impact gun. Any ideas?

<img src="graemlins/crying.gif" border="0" alt="[crying]" />

DERSIX

Get a 3/4 inch T-bar from Sears..the 1/2 inch stuff is not heavy enough. The 3/4 inch T-bar plus a six foot pipe will lift the car off the ground....
Pete

Mihai

You can always go to a good garage or a truck garage where they have a 3/4 impact gun and have them loosen it. I doubt they'll charge you a fortune. Problem with the long bars is that part of the force applied is used at lifting the car. An impact gun will use almost all it's force to turn the nut. Apply some Kroil or some sort of penetrant also.

Mihai

KeithMcd

Bigger wrench. I used a Snap-on 1" bar. Yes one inch. This after breaking both my 1/2" and 3/4". I borrowed it from snappy when he came out to replace the broken ones.
I didn't have a problem with car lifting. Left two of the wheel studs in with a long pry bar wedged between those and the lift. Applied anti-sieze to the threads during re-assembley.


Keith <img src="graemlins/yltype.gif" border="0" alt="[typing]" />

hitbyastick

Keith, even though I didn't read this all day, and I got the nut off. I used the whole wedging the wheel, because I already took the spring-strut contraption out. All is well. And yes, it took a 3/4 inch impact gun I had to borrow along with a bigger compressor. And even that stood there rattling for a little while.

All is well, at last.

<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" /> <img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" /> <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" /> <img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" />

Evill Ed

Okay, good deal. Now let me share tip #2 for getting the new rear wheel bearings in the trailing arm.

After you remove the old ones, with a hammer and drift, take some emery cloth and WD-40 and clean the bearing bore. It will have rust and gunk in it, clean it until it is smooth and shiney.

Take your new rear wheel bearings and put them in the freezer the night before you plan to install them. When you are ready to install, take one bearing at a time out of the freezer and run out to your trailing arm. Quickly unwrap the bearing and drop it into the trailing arm. It should drop right in. Within 2 seconds, it will start to warm and expand and you won't be able to get it back out. Without freezing, you'll need to tap it in with a hammer and drift.

Good luck,
Ed

SS 6

Stick,
I had the same issue with the frozen wheel nuts. Took the whole trailing arm off the car and over to the friendly local garage, along with some huge pony clamps to steady the trailing arm while somebody used an impact wrench to free up the nuts. The guy just laid the trailing arm on the pavement and applied the impact wrench to it, and before I could say "wait a minute", he had the d*mn nuts off of there! Bought a compressor the next weekend.


So did you get one of the instructionless stiffening kits from Pelican? That's where I got mine, so here goes:

If you remove a rear wheel and look at the vertical surface directly above where the disc is, that's where the largest piece (~20") goes. The PP kit has a kinda crescent shaped piece that you laminate *on top* of that large piece right at the narrowest part of the rail. This kit has another little D shaped piece that goes directly above this sandwich. The rest of the pieces basically follow that 6" frame-rail-like strip of sheet metal forward, over the outer suspension console (the pistol shaped piece has to be bent into an inverted saddle for the console) and all the way to just before the jack post. Some bending required.