Rear hub bearings - removal, refitting and adjustment
Removal
1 Remove the brake drum.
Rear hub/drum components
A Grease retainer
B Tapered roller bearing (inner)
C Bearing track
D Hub/drum
E Bearing track
F Tapered roller bearing (outer)
G Thrustwasher
H Nut
J Nut lock
K Split pin
L Grease cap
2 With the drum removed the bearings and inner hub can be cleaned and inspected, but avoid getting grease onto the braking surface of the drum.
3 Use a suitable tool and hook out the grease retainer from the inner hub.
4 Extract the inner bearing cone.
5 Using a suitable punch, drive out the bearing outer tracks, taking care not to burr the bearing seats.
Refitting
6 If new bearings are being fitted to both hubs do not mix up the bearing components, but keep them in their individual packs until required.
7 Drive the new bearing tracks squarely into their hub recesses.
8 Pack both bearings with a lithium-based grease, working plenty into the rollers. Be generous, but there is no need to fill the cavity between the inner and outer bearings.
9 Locate the inboard bearing and then grease the lips of a new oil seal (grease retainer) and tap it into position.
10 Fit the brake drum/hub onto the stub axle, taking care not to catch the oil seal (grease retainer) lips.
11 Fit the outboard bearing and the thrustwasher and screw the retaining nut into position. Adjust the bearing endfloat and lower the vehicle to complete.
Adjustment
12 Raise and support the rear of the vehicle on safety stands (see “Jacking and vehicle support”). Release the handbrake.
13 This adjustment will normally only be required if, when the top and bottom of the roadwheel are gripped and “rocked”, excessive movement can be detected in the bearings. Slight movement is essential.
14 Remove the roadwheels. Using a hammer and cold chisel, tap off the dust cap from the end of the hub.
15 Extract the split pin and take off the nut retainer.
16 Tighten the hub nut to a torque of between 20 and 25 Nm (15 and 18 lbf ft), at the same time rotating the roadwheel in an anti-clockwise direction.
Rear wheel bearing adjustment
17 Unscrew the nut one half a turn and then tighten it only finger tight.
18 Fit the nut retainer so that two of its slots line up with the split pin hole. Insert a new split pin, bending the end around the nut, not over the end of the stub axle.
19 Tap the dust cap into position.
20 Recheck the play as described in paragraph 13. A fractional amount of wheel movement must be present.
21 Repeat the operations on the opposite hub, refit the roadwheels and lower the vehicle to the floor.