Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2014 20:31:46 -0800
Reply-To: "SDF ( Scott Daniel Foss )" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "SDF ( Scott Daniel Foss )" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Organization: Cosmic Reminders
Subject: Re: Rear wheel bearings
In-Reply-To: <CAFnDXk0ewUBjpM0b1CLut1h_oMHS5ReOxaHhZ6Hezfw8_a+evw@mail.gmail.com>
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It's true you don't have to take stub axle out unitl it's on the bench ...
or you can push it out any time..
once the axle, the big nut, and the flange are removed...take out the
stub axle then if you want.
major dissasembly is straightforward. Don't worry about it at this point.
yes, big nut off. I welded up a super solid axle/flange holder
.....and it's better to use a 3/4 inch drive breaker bar and one helleva
cheater bar.
usually the nut comes off 'normaly[' ..tight, but no big deal, and
I have seen the nut be super tight ...like 4 feet of breaker bar and
cheater bar, standing on it, would not budge the nut.
( always spray
penetrating oil on the nut and cotter pin right away )
I've had to heat some nuts with a torch to get it to unscrew.
The extreme worse case I ever had was .....even heated carefully ..the
nut galled the threads of the stub axle the whole way unscrewing , no
matter how careful I was.
I had to replace that stub axle .
I've done this job a hundred times ...and ...that's just how this one
went. Just getting that nut off consumed about an hour and half ..just
that one task, in this particular case.
another time i had to cut the nut off with a cutting torch.
It's amazing how you can cut with a torch, and bring one piece of metal
to a molten state ...and not cut into or melt the other part it's touching.
Those two cases where extreme though.
here's a trick.......leave the parking brake cable attached to the brake
shoes and backing plate.
Just set the backing plate aside....still attached to the van by the
backing plate and cable.
There's one place removing the backing plate can be a problem .....it
can get very stuck on the locating pin at the bottom..
If necessary , this pin can be driven out from the back side with a punch.
Always use spray penetrating oil there too. And a very light
application of an anti-seize compound going back together.
speaking of assembly .on many threaded fasteners I put a little Permatex
High Tach gasket sealer on the threads..
it prevents corrosion ..
and it sticks the fastener in there a little too.
Years later it will unscew just fine, not getting very rusted over time
due the red hightack on the threads.
once the backing plate is out of the way ..
4 big 22mm hex head bolts ....half inch drive socket works nicely.
then take the whole hub off.
the flange..
'usually' the flange slides off spines of the stub axle.
Always lube those spines nicely with fine grease or something like that
on assembly.
on rare occasions I've seen the flange hard to get off the stub axle,
but 98 % of the time they slide right off.
Scott
On 2/3/2014 3:33 PM, Jim Felder wrote:
> I know it's in BTDT, I'm looking at the Bentley, and have Bell's excellent
> writeup to go by. But rear wheel bearings are still the last charted
> Vanagon territory for me. But, I'm about to have to do it.
>
> So, the deal is, you mightily chock the wheels, cheat the nut off, and then
> you can pull the hub off? Then the brakes and backing plates come off, and
> then what?
>
> Is Bell showing that you don't have to pull the stub axle out until it's on
> the bench. As usual, I could figure this out eventually, but I like to know
> in advance.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jim
>
