replacing rear axle bearings

[Formula Z]

someone who has done it before, please tell me how. what will i need? cant be to hard , can it?

when i bought the car last summer, there was a noise coming from the right rear tire. i had noticed it but thought that it was a bad tire. well ive replaced the tires recently and its still there and seems like its getting louder. if i pull the rear diff cover, remove c clips, remove tire, brakes and rotor, shouldnt the axle come out? are the bearings pressed on or can i do it without a press? i need and want this done before the trip to the meet and greet, so any advice or a hand will be greatly appreciated. thanks

mike

[1bad83ta]

your gonna have to figure out how to get the bearings out, they are pressed into the axle housing. I did mine with a long piece of rebar that I had laying around, you can probably find a puller that would work at one of the auto parts stores? They usually have that kinda stuff for rent. and there is a seal on the end also. But you can pretty much tap the bearings back in using the old bearing as something to hammer on. I have a set of impact sockets that I used to get the new bearings and seal in with.



Oh and to get the axles out you need to:
1. remove diff cover
2. remove the large pin in the differential that is in between the axles(there is a bolt through it that keeps it in the differential)
3. remove c clips
4. remove wheels/brakes
5. pull axles out.

[fireball25f500]

Exactly like Justin said. I rented a puller from Murrays. Best tool deal in the free world. They charged $90 and gave it back when I returned the tool.

[Phantom409]

You perty much have it nailed down.
You have to remove a shaft out of the center, has a small bolt holding it in.
Becareful that you don't rotate your spider Gears out after you pull the shaft out.

Get all your junk off, Tires, Breaks, Roters then push your Axel in and remove the C-Clips, the axels will pull right out.

Getting the bearing out is the hard part, a slide hammer works best for pulling them out.
Then do the reverse going in.
If you can find a piece of pipe that is close to the same diaamiter as the bearing you can tap the bearings in but be carefull that you don't put a bur on the inside of the axel housing or you will be screwed.

[Phantom409]

Man I need to type faster

[1bad83ta]

lol yeah you do kyle.

[Formula Z]

thanks guys, didnt think it was that hard. yeah i remember the pin now too, wasnt sure it needed to come out. sounds like i have a small project on my hands.

[shawnc16]

when you pull the axles out just use the end of the axle to pull em out.. yur not gonna hurt the axle... we did it on a jeep no extra tools needed.

[01WU8]

Are you sure it is the axl bearings and not in the carrier. As you know Mike, I replaced rear carrier in the Camaro last year also. I can get it all done for free other than you buying the bearings and races, gasket, fluid (I still have a good share of Royal Purple left over by the way) and such. You might have a few other things wrong in there than what you think. Find out for sure exactly what it is. I had mine custom built with new shims and such too make the 96 Firebird rearend fit in mine that I got from Adam as you might remember. So basically I am fresh with remembering it all. If it does end up being the carrier or something else, since it is apart anyhow, you might want too replace the c-clips and such also. I think for all new bearings, c-clips, fluid, gasket, center pin and such I paid right around $140 for the parts out the door. the only thing I used that would have costed more was the carrier, but Adam supplied me with it. If you already have it apart, I would suggest using as many fresh parts as possible so you will be less apt too have too replace anything again too soon. Are you sure it is not a u-joint going bad, or are you for sure that it is a axle bearing? I have too replace the carrier on a 98 Camaro Z-28 in a few weeks for my friend Mario also. It is way easy my friend! In case you cant remember the thread from the club forum, and need extra help here is a posted quote from the Lawless Performance Racing forum on how too replace and remove the carrier and parts if that is what it is:

[quote author=admin board=tune thread=1156149206 post=1156530356]Perfection! It works great now! Thanks again for the carrier Adam...I couldnt have done it so efficiently without your generosity. It has less slop in it now than it did when I first bought it, and it locks up extra smooth and a bit faster now also. I bought all the extras I needed for under $150. I got new c-clips, new bolt and bolt screw, gasket, front and rear carrier bearings (wow Adam...the bearing on that old carrier of yours were wasted bad), custom made shims, and Royal Purple Gear Oil. It only took about a hour to get the new parts in, fill, put the brakes back together, and get wheels on. It took approximately 1-2 hours for the original tear down though.
Some pics:
The stock parts from Adams 96 Firebird that he gave to me. Almost everyone from different dealerships I called, and auto parts stores said this job could not be done because I was swapping in the 96 Firebird parts into a 01 Camaro SS, a few did think it was possible though. The ones that did were the real winners in this situation. It is amazing what a good tool and dye guy, scrap steel, good machinery and a height guage can do for a auto enthusiast! Thanks alot goes out to both Johns for all their help with this project! I know that in time the car will need aother rear end, or too be upgraded to a 12 bolt or a Ford 9 but for the price to fix this one, I could not go wrong...

The Patient before performing surgery...

In order to perform this task, you have to remove the pan cover, retaining brackets on the outside of the carrier in the housing, tires, remove the traction control sensors out of the back of the axle housing, brakes and brake caliper brackets to get the axles pushed in enough to remove the c-clips and pull the axles out of the shaft. Then use a crowbar or something like a long screwdriver to kind of pull the housing free and roll it out. Check too make sure there is no wear and chips on the ring gear, pinion, and the internal gears of the carrier (especially the worm gears!). Be sure too check for signs of burning on the sides of the carrier also from viscosity breakdown.

The lid to the housing...look closely at the magnet in the lid that has alot of metal shaving stuck to it. I pulled lots of busted chunks and pieces of worm and spider gears out of the housing and from the lid.


The Original Carrier after lid removal still in its place



The old carrier after removal and ready too be measured and examined. The worm gears and spiders of the carrier were wasted from chips and such.

Busted chunks of gear lying in the base of the housing. It was pretty full in the oil, housing, and on the magnet. Once the housings lid was off, the oil was poured like water out of it as it was way to thin from viscosity breakdown. With the new Royal Purple Synthetic Gear Oil, I expect it to perform better, and last longer. (Be sure too completely clean out the internal housing and the pan and magnet before replacing!)

[/quote]


Also, if you need a hand doing anything, don't be afraid too ask. I have time on the weekends sometimes for extra things. BTW... I will work for beer! LMAO!

[Formula Z]

i dont have the cash to do it all right now. if i can get away with just doing the bearings right now until later, that will work. i havent torn into yet to see how bad it is. just sounds like the right rear is making some noise, not the whole rearend. sounds kinda like a flat spot on my tire.

[01WU8]

Well, if you end up needing any help on the other things, let me know, or refer too the previous posting.