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Sun May 06, 2012 11:01 am

I finished the ball joints and now I reluctantly want to attempt the rear axle bearings because they are starting to chatter. From a range of 1-10, 1 being easiest, and 10 being difficult, how would you range this fix on the rear axles?

Sun May 06, 2012 11:17 am

what would CV joint be on the 1 to 10 ?
it's about the same a lot of grease and some time under the bus.
but YMMV.

Sun May 06, 2012 11:29 am

it is not a bad job to do, just be sure you have the tool to loosen the axle nuts if they are really tight. I broke a 1" breaker on one side of ours putting about 1000 pounds on it trying to break the nut loose. Also make sure you don't get the brazilian KMM bearings as they were junky for me and I tossed them in the trash - Bus Depot sold them to me and I threw them away rather than have someone else end up with them. I fought with them for about an hour getting them in and they just didn't feel right then I found some FAG nos ones and decided to use them instead. Took about 1 minute a side what was taking one hour with the Brazilian bearings. The problem is that the KMM ones were oval a little. I don't want to slam a brand but they were poor quality. I doubt if Bus Depot knew when they sold them because they have been really good to me. I think they may have even given me a credit way back on them because at least for awhile they stopped carrying the brand. The FAG (Germany, USA, Japan or Korea) are so much better. Also they were harder - you could see polish marks (brushed finish) in the KMM ones where they get polished before packaging whereas the FAG ones are a deep mirror like finish.

Here is what someone else here had to say about the KMM rear bearings

germansupplyscott wrote: fireman9027 wrote: the outers are KMM??

beware of ANYTHING made by this company. i have yet to see one single part from KMM be anything but garbage. wheel cylinders that leak out of the box because the hole for the brake line is too deep, ignition cylinders that fail in a year, engine mounts that are junk. etc. KMM is an absolute scourge. i doubt they make any of the stuff they sell, they are a distribution company that sources the cheapest parts available and passes them on to the unsuspecting public who don't know any better. they have cost me lots of wasted hours.

Sun May 06, 2012 11:45 am

X2 on avoiding the cheapo bearings, they will make a relatively simple job an all day ordeal you'll have to do over in a few weeks.

On a 1-10 scale I'd rate replacing/repacking the rear bearings on a disc brake bus a 4 or 5, if you can get the axle nut off as SG says and the CV bolts aren't a pain the rest is just greasy and dirty, you'll need a pair of big internal circlip pliers, something to pull the bearings in and out with (I use an assortment of big sockets, washers and a length of all thread) and a soft hammer to bash the axle out of the housing with. The skill comes in when it's time to get the outer bearing installed, it's got to go in straight and it's easy to bend the outer shell if it doesn't. I'd rate them lower than a full CV job as there's much less time with a billion greasy parts personally.

Sun May 06, 2012 2:33 pm

Well this is a convenient thread :D

Sun May 06, 2012 5:50 pm

I just ordered a set of bearings and the nut breaker tool from Cip1 and I will attempt the repair. I've taken the bearings out of a set of front and rear wheel hubs and I think I can manage it. Thanks again guys.

Sun May 06, 2012 11:10 pm

GeorgeO. wrote: I just ordered a set of bearings and the nut breaker tool from Cip1 and I will attempt the repair. I've taken the bearings out of a set of front and rear wheel hubs and I think I can manage it. Thanks again guys.

if the bearing say KMM on them when you get them, send them back.

Mon May 07, 2012 8:47 pm

SGKent wrote: GeorgeO. wrote: I just ordered a set of bearings and the nut breaker tool from Cip1 and I will attempt the repair. I've taken the bearings out of a set of front and rear wheel hubs and I think I can manage it. Thanks again guys.

if the bearing say KMM on them when you get them, send them back.

Will do. What brands should I be looking for?

Mon May 07, 2012 9:15 pm

FAG maybe SKF or Timikin

Wed May 09, 2012 7:52 am

Isn't Timiken Chinese

Wed May 09, 2012 8:12 am

porschpow wrote: Isn't Timiken Chinese

Timikin, Timiken, whatever.

Timken Bearings have had an excellent reputation, but there are warning signs that they too are beginning to compromise, as evidenced on BMW forums where people are finding that the Timken front roller bearings do not have the heat-treating and the polishing of yore.

Wed May 09, 2012 1:59 pm

This might be a silly question but are the bearings vehicle specific or if I were to walk into a bearing store and ask for ones with xyz dimensions could they produce them from their stock?
There's a bearing shop up the street so I was just curious because what I like about buying from commercial retailers is they don't sell crap.

Wed May 09, 2012 2:13 pm

RatCamper wrote: This might be a silly question but are the bearings vehicle specific or if I were to walk into a bearing store and ask for ones with xyz dimensions could they produce them from their stock?
There's a bearing shop up the street so I was just curious because what I like about buying from commercial retailers is they don't sell crap.

many bearings like the alternator ones (6210 or something like that I think) are common. The VW axle bearings are not so common or no longer made except in China and Brazil etc.

Wed May 09, 2012 4:56 pm

How many mm is the needed socket for the castle nut? Odds are I'll have to order one.

Wed May 09, 2012 10:16 pm

46MM on the axle nut, and if you're lucky they'll spin off .. eventually.

I couldn't get mine to turn at all, eventually wound up *very* *carefully* cutting/grinding down to just above the threads of the stub axle before mine would move. Not sure if it was heat from the cutting/grinding that did it or if the cutting/grinding relieved some tension or .. what.

Thu May 10, 2012 6:48 am

http://airheadparts.com/vintage-vw-parts/vanagon-tools/46mm-rear-axle-nut-removal-tool

Thu May 10, 2012 7:11 am

don't forget a heavy pair of internal snap-ring pliers.
and the 46 socket works well to drive the new bearings in :wink:

this job is one of those cases where degree of difficulty is really dependent on having the right tools and knowing how to use them.

the pliers, power tools for removing castle nut & CVs and a good bearing race driver make this job about a 2 for me.

Thu May 10, 2012 8:41 am

I have access to a full compliment of tools and a press. Gonna clean them up and paint the housing with Por-15.

Thu May 10, 2012 10:37 am

GeorgeO. wrote: I have access to a full compliment of tools and a press. Gonna clean them up and paint the housing with Por-15.
cool.

i would recommend doing it on the car as opposed to taking the housings off & using a press (like the book says).

Thu May 10, 2012 2:01 pm

borninabus wrote: GeorgeO. wrote: I have access to a full compliment of tools and a press. Gonna clean them up and paint the housing with Por-15.
cool.

i would recommend doing it on the car as opposed to taking the housings off & using a press (like the book says).
^X2^, unless you want to do the torsion and radius bushings at the same time, you'll never get closer than when the housings are already off.