Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2004 05:42:07 EDT
Reply-To: RAlanen@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Frank Condelli <RAlanen@AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: hello and a new memeber.
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
In a message dated 02/08/2004 12:32:43 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
LISTSERV@GERRY.VANAGON.COM writes:
I have been reading the vanagon.com archves for some time and heve not
found any answer's to a question I have.
I would like to remove the rear stub axles and service the rear
bearings.
I am finding out that a regular service schedule on the rear axle
bearings will be an unpleasant task.
The stub axle will have to be removed along with other items.
Not a savory task.
I had in my mind to drill and install a grease fitting into the stub
axle so at least once a year I could give the bearings a bit of high
temperature, no washout, heavy duty grease just to make sure that they
are properly lubricated.
Does anyone out in the list see any problems with this modification the
rear axles?
I have done this long ago. You must drill the hole dead centre in the hub
so that it is in the area of the bearing spacer. You must take precautions to
not introduce any drill filings into the inside. You must have the grease
fitting aiming to the rear of the van for access. You must only pump grease
into this fitting when the brake drum is off, once a year for brake
inspections, this is because overfilling the space with grease will pop off the inner
seal and get grease on the brakes eventually. The outer seal will not pop off
as it's trapped in place. With the drum removed you can see when the seal
starts to move and stop pumping grease, push the seal back into place then
clean up any grease that may have escaped.
One more note. If you have significant movement in the bearings when
rocking the wheel on the axle it is most likely the bearings and spacer need
renewing. The spacer is the important piece, it determines the distance
between the bearings for the pre-load when the axle nut is tightened to its
recommended 360 ft. lbs. I have these parts listed on my _Vanagon Items Forsale_
(http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/sales.htm) webpage.
Cheers,
Frank Condelli
Almonte, Ontario, Canada
_BusFusion_ (http://members.aol.com/BusFusion/bfhome.htm) a VW Camper
camping event, Almonte, ON, June 10 ~ 13, 2004
'87 Westy, '90 Carat & Lionel Trains
Member: _Vanagon List_ (http://www.vanagon.com/) , _LiMBO_
(http://www.bcn.net/~limbo/) , _IWCCC_ (http://www.westfalia.qc.ca/) & _CCVWC_
(http://www.ccvwc.ca/)
Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in the Ottawa Valley
_STEBRO/Vanagon Stainless Steel Mufflers_
(http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/stebro.htm)
_Frank Condelli & Associates_ (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/busindex.html)
or http://frankcondelli.com
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