So folks. If you are using a bearing removal tool such as the one like Nicks then be aware that the blank that you use to remove the bearing at the rear is very much smaller than the one you use at the front to get the new bearing back in. There was quite a bit of rust at the back and at first I put on too big a blank as it was difficult to see exactly what was needed.
Nick is right: The bearing winds out quite easily and if it gets really stiff you are probably jammed on something.
Putting the new bearing in was really easy. I had mine in the freezer for a while but it still needed pulling in with the tool.
The next job was getting the big circlip in. I don't have a big enough pair of pliers and there seemed no way of tapping it in. Necessity is the mother of invention: I took the point off of two shiny nails that fitted in the circlip holes. Insert them so that they are protruding about 2mm. You have to use a pair of water pump pliers or similar up against the circlip to squeeze the nails together whilst using a slim cold chisel or similar the other side to ensure that the nails stay roughly parallel. I was able to compress the circlip enough the get it mostly in and then tap it in the final bit with a screwdriver. I'm sure the health and safety officer wouldn't have been impressed as there is a chance of everything springing apart. In my defense I wore some safety glasses
Reassembled the drum brakes which was easier with the hub out of the way. Thanks Nick for recommending this as they are a bit tricky.
To get the hub back in you have to use washers or similar up against the new bearing and wind it in. I fortunately had some old heavy duty pipe of the correct diameter that I could cut into various lengths, about 1.5cm and 0.5cm, and also used the old inner race I had cut off. I wouldn't have been able to do it with just the old inner races as there is not enough thread on the hub to just pull it through. This job was pretty awkward as you are trying to keep the hub stationary with the pry bar whilst getting the socket on properly at the back. I'm glad I had bought a long reach ratchet as you can only turn the nut a small amount each time.
Putting the drive flange back on is a similar exercise. I found that I had to tap it on gently before I had enough thread at the back to be able to get the nut on. The final tensioning of the nut is 300NM. This is equivalent to 30kg at 1 metre which is pretty tight but doable. Just be careful to keep the socket on square to the nut. It is a very shallow nut and it's easy to slip off it when you are trying to get big pressure on it.
Will get the drive shaft and disc brakes back together today to finish the job, hopefully
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Topic: Rear bearing needs replacing (Read 10292 times)