Wheel Bearing question - Torque 339 lbs?
 

Ok - So I'm going to replace my right rear half shaft - see other post for my plea for anyone who has one gathering dust -

And I need to put together the right tools for various jobs and the right torque specs for the bolts -

Axel nut is what size?
Looks like the shop manual says 22mm - is that correct? Seems small for a nut that has a 339lbs torque spec. I was thinking to buy a 3/4 drive breaker bar, a small extension and an impact socket specifically for this removal and install...

Half Shaft bolts to the transmission are M8 31 ft lbs and M10 59 ft lbs according to the shop manual

And then I figured while in there to change the wheel bearing. Pelican sells and wheel bearing removal/install tool - any reason that home depot for 20 dollars is the way to go? Is the 300 dollar tool from pelican going to make the job that much easier?


I've been reading countless threads all the past day - but figured I'd open a dialog here to get some opinions from some of you that have direct experience with this stuff...

The axle nut is 32mm.

My dad welded together a torque multiplier for me, basically a 7-8" extension w/ a female 1/2" drive on one side and a male 1/2" drive on the other.

Using an online calculator (*link here*), I factor in the extension length and wrench length, set my 250lb-rated Craftsman wrench to 240-something lbs and the applied torque is 340lbs.

In my experience, the handbrake won't hold that much torque, so it's necessary to have someone sit in the car and press the brake as you torque the fastener.

I thought the axel nut was 32mm...must be a typo in the shop manual...

So I found a rebuilt Half shaft - and now really looking and wiggling stuff around and it seems my wheel bearing is shot -

Question - I plan to buy the sir tools wheel bearing tool form pelican - What other tools do I need? What do you use to pull the hub?


++++Scratch that - looks like the Sir tools kit comes with a hub puller+++++

Does anyone have any experience using this kit to remove/install rear wheel bearings?



++++++Double Scratch that - first, the kit from Pelican for the Sir Tools bearing tool, doesn't work on the C4. Second, i'm not sure if I can tackle this without the right tools. So any advice before I give in and take it to the shop would be great.

Goughary - Did you end up getting the tools to replace the wheel bearing yourself? I need to replace mine.

Rob. No I didn't. I did replace the half shafts bit left the wheel bearings for another time. They are due now, but still ok enough...so maybe I'll be back soon to do it.

Sir tools sells the press you need. Was it Marc shaws thread a couple years ago that stated the exact model numbers from sir tools? Can't remember. I had thought that since I need bushings too, that maybe o would send the arms off to elephant and have them do the bushings and press in the wheel bearings as well. Not sure yet.

Let me know what you end up doing. I've been discussing this with a friend, and he needs to do the same...

And while we are at the tools...for the axle nut removal and the subsequent 339 lbs of torque, I bought a 3:1 torque multiplier at northern tool, makes that job easy to do with a 1/2 drive breaker bar and torque wrench...no more standing on a 4 foot cheater.

The axle nuts are self locking , so remember to buy new ones...

Done that a couple of times a while back. I thought the nut was 36mm, perhaps I'm wrong.

To prevent movement I stick a large flathead screwdriver in the cooling vanes of the brake rotor. Once you apply force the screwdriver presses against the caliper and prevents any further movement. At the time I thought this was a dodgy approach but it worked just fine. A few years later I saw the same procedure done on a race car at the pits at an IMSA event so I guess it's not so bad...

I didn't use a torque multiplier at the time either. Just a 4' metal drain pipe attached to a breaker bar. It got the job done. When torquing it back I put my whole body weight (read stood on the pipe) a little more than 2' from the center (I'm 160 lbs). Worked fine.

These days I have a 4x1 torque multiplier and a digital torque wrench for the centerlock wheels of the GT3. Those need to be torqued to 440lbs and it's worth the investment. For an odd wheel bearing replacement I probably wouldn't spend the money on the equipment though.

Best of luck!

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I rented a full-on torque wrench and got it done +1 on Ilko putting something into the rotor. I had an old rotor that I later replaced so I wasn't worried about it. I found it best to use a 1/4"drive handle instead of a screwdriver as the shaft is a little bigger.