Rear AU IRS Wheel Bearings are stuffed

[grandpa_spec_F6]

I'm starting to regret buying a car that is nearly 10 years old.

So... this loud banging noise accompanied by a scraping metal ensures, I panic, pull over, inspect the car.

Nothing out of the ordinary, drive off, after a while the noise goes away. As we pull up at home all you can smell is burning break pads and the wheel is as hot as my old High school Computer teacher :

Took the wheel off this morning as well as the caliper and rotors, only to find I can wiggle the hub a good 10 - 20mm and the caliper has been scraping on the rotor due to the misalignment.

NO ONE will quote me a price to get this fixed over the phone the minute I tell them it is IRS and autobahn reckon its 40 bucks per wheel bearing per side, however I've been told there is more than one bearing per side.... i've been able to find almost nothing on the subject and any help is appreciated.

[RG]

You'll also find that either;

A) You'll call a workshop who has done it before and they'll either charge a fortune or just say no

or

B) Find a workshop who say they'll do it but find out that they can't.

There's many stories about on how people have seen 20T & even a 50T press fail trying to get these bad boys out. It's also correct that there is more than one each side, there's an inner and an outer bearing. I fortunately haven't had to replace mine yet, they were knackered but so were my half shafts so I replaced the whole lot, hub included.

Maybe replacing the entire hub is a better option for you.

[5.0 ED]

yep i've done em and they not nice, there is only 1 bearing per side. Best bet is to find yourself a 2nd hand good unit already done.

[Mr Hardware]

Ooh bugger mate, i'm sorry to hear it's not gonna be a simple fix for you.

Oh and your car is gonna be 11 soon, Sept 98. Possibly AU Ghia #00001.

[aufairmontghia]

Oh Shhhiiiittt..........

I hate to tell you but I went through the same very problem only a couple of months ago on my GHIA!!!!!

I had metal scrapping/rubbing noise from the left rear wheel & as much of up an inch or more wobble in the wheel.... It became so unstable on the road, I didn't feel safe driving it even on straight road & was swaying from side to side!!!

After having more than 15 or so, so called experts from all walks of life look at it & each giving their own 2 bobs worth to no avail!!!!

I got absolutally fed up & parked her in the driveway..... I decided to do it all myself!!!

I jacked the car up & put it on stands. I slowly diagonised the problem... I later found that the bearing had seized & failed & then let go again!!!! There was so much play that the caliper was moving from side to side up to an inch.

I was sure the problem was in the bearing or hub....

I then proceeded with these steps:
Removed wheel.
I unbolted the caliper & put it aside.
Removed disc.
Removed hand brake shoe.
Released handbrake cable.
I removed the pac nut with 3/4 drive breaker bar (36mm deep socket) is needed to clear half shaft thread end.... New pac nut is needed when reinstalling ($30 from Ford).
Unbolt Toe link end at ball joint to knuckle attachment.
Unbolt shock absorber lower bolt.
Unbolt upper & lower control arm to knuckle bolts & remove.
Hub & knuckle assembly should now pull out.

The hub needs to be pressed out of the knuckle assembly. I was lucky the boss at my local ultratune with a 30ton press & spacers did it easy. The problem was worse than I expected!!!!! Not only was the bearing stuffed but had also scoured & damaged the hub..... So I was up for a new hub & bearing!!!!
Ford wanted $400 or so for the hub alone & $260 for the bearing....
I managed to get a new hub & bearing for $285 from a spares place so I was rapt.
There was more damage to be found.... the stuffed bearing & wobble had caused the upper & lower control arm ball joint bushes to the knuckle, wear out with play!!!! Arms needed to be removed.... So they had to be replaced also.... They need to be pressed out & new ones pressed in!!!! At $100 or so each, there not cheap. My Shocks were stuffed!!!! Top shock strut mounts were stuffed.... More $$$$$... What can i say!!!!!

Installation is the reverse of removal.
A heavy duty torque wrentch is required to torque all nuts & bolts.
The pac nut alone needs 360 newtons of torque when fitting new nut.
Air tools & compressor were a real help in my case.

The car is real solid now..... :

[grandpa_spec_F6]

Hmm well I've contacted a mechanic someone recommended, however, could anyone give a ballpark figure of how much replacement hubs would cost?

Was kinda disappointing not being able to put on all my new toys that I picked up from DBA today :(

[mik]

the job itself is easey , its the pressing the bearings off thats difficult, i removed the hub/ knuckle assy myself , bought 2 bearings from a bearing shop $80.00 each had them fitted by a diff place, half way through the job they rang me up and said they had unavoidably damaged the backing plates trying to remove the bearings and did i want for them to hammer them straight or get neweys from Ford, i told them the latter, from memory the pressing job ended up being $380.00 , bearings $160.00 and i fitted the hub assy myself, oh and 2 new hub nuts $20.00 each its good to replace these, total $580.00, i tried a mates 30 ton press prior to the diff place.....just not happening it was bending crap outa the press, some places have 50 ton presses, big dealers usually do and are sometimes still hard to come off, not disrespecting the small garage /workshop but if they have`nt got at least a 50 ton press, i`d bet they will have problems, good luck.

[grandpa_spec_F6]

sweet jesus .... looks like the ghia is going to be off the road for quite a while :(

thanks for all the info, much appreciated, looks like i'll be putting round in my mates corolla for a while.

On the plus side, if the suspension is also stuffed, I think i'll finally have my excuse to lower it

[sbcb]

Keep us posted on your progess mate, costs and results.

[grandpa_spec_F6]

Just got a price on a rear hubs, $250 each side and they come with an 8 month warranty, from a spares place near me. Have to ring back Monday as they are shut over the weekend, will keep you posted.

[aufairmontghia]

My Ghia was off the road for a month while I putted around in a crapy Holden Nova!!!! I'm glad I had that at least....

That's not a bad price for the hub!!!! You should be able to get the bearing for $40-$50.

Keep us posted with the progress. More than happy to help out with anything!!!

[RG]

Funny thing is I bought second hand half shafts with the hubs already attached (if you try having a look for new ones you'll see why I went second hand) and it is a really easy job. I also only paid $300 for both sides :

[BuckTooth]

I know the pain of this job. Wen i picked up my XR8 the previous owner said to me that he had just done the wheel bearings. And that the spare in the console was just that. I picked up a clunk in the *** end of it. Then upon further investigation thanks to the local mechanic and his hoist, i realised the LH rear wheel was wobbly. Took it off, and could tighten the pac nut by hand (problem solved, obviously he hadnt tightned it properly) nicked it up, all good. Drove a few more thousand km's, noise started again. Wheel off, tighten nut, all good again. I've driven a few more km then it started a nice metalic squeal. Pulled everything apart again. Checked everything, and couldn't find a thing. Jumped on the net, found and read this post. Suddenly i'm thinkin mine sounds the same. Car on blocks, started it up, put into drive, run around the back, looked at the rotor and noticed its wobbling. Hmmmm, look behind the knuckle, and the CV shaft was moving to. I pulled it all apart as per the details in this previous post. I had destroyed the back of the hub and the wheel bearing. Today saw me press out the old bearing and replace it with the new one. Tommorow will see me driving to ford and picking up my new hub ($340). Hopefully this will fix it all. Kinda sad as i just pent $1000 overhauling the brakes last week.

[grandpa_spec_F6]

well absolutely NO ONE in Brisbane has second hand hubs OR the hub and axel assembly at the moment so I am hoping my tax comes back in a hurry so that I can buy some new ones!

[stock au]

I had that same problem a couple of years ago, Got mine fixed for $50 of pedders while they replaced my exhuast at the same time. But still have the noise as i think mine is more the hand brake pads are stuffed if that helps

[grandpa_spec_F6]

Just scored a pair of rear hubs from Aussie Auto Recyclers for $500, managed to get him down from $330 if i bought one then another later or $550 for both.

Looks like the ghia-saurous will live sooner than expected

[RG]

Originally Posted by grandpa_spec_au

Just scored a pair of rear hubs from Aussie Auto Recyclers for $500, managed to get him down from $330 if i bought one then another later or $550 for both.

Looks like the ghia-saurous will live sooner than expected

Mate, that is really expensive.

I paid $150 each for mine and they came with the CV shaft attached to them and they were from a T2.

I'd keep looking.

[grandpa_spec_F6]

wow where in the hell did you pick those up from?

this place is the only one i've found that has them

edit: they also have a 6month warranty on the parts

[RG]

Originally Posted by grandpa_spec_au

wow where in the hell did you pick those up from?

this place is the only one i've found that has them

edit: they also have a 6month warranty on the parts

From a bloke that wrecks high-spec AU's/BA's in Melbourne.

[grandpa_spec_F6]

well no one else in brisbane had anything so I settled for just the rear-left hub and axle for $250, I know its not a brilliant price but I miss driving the car and my mate wants to sell his one i've been putting about in.

Will do a how-to thread with pictures on how to replace the hub and axle on saturday

thankyou for all the input guys!

[grandpa_spec_F6]

In dire need of help!

We have managed to get all of the other bolts loose however there is a bar coming from near the diff that is about 10-15mm, it goes to the rear of the hub assembly and looks like it slots straight down into the hole with the nut underneath.

we have tried everything! Jacked up the hub so that the bolt is at a 90 degree angle and should just slide out, jacked the bolt itself up in the hope it would pop out etc etc. Applied 'liberal' amounts of hammer time to it and NOTHING!

Please end my misery and tell me its something simple i've forgotten

[grandpa_spec_F6]

Managed to get it out

New issues has arisen :(

I've disconnected the abs module and try as we might we cannot get the axle to come loose from the diff (which has destroyed the CV joint plastic from the force we used to try and pry it free)

How do you remove the axle from the diff?

[RG]

Originally Posted by grandpa_spec_au

Managed to get it out

New issues has arisen :(

I've disconnected the abs module and try as we might we cannot get the axle to come loose from the diff (which has destroyed the CV joint plastic from the force we used to try and pry it free)

How do you remove the axle from the diff?

We just used a large screwdriver in between the end of the half shaft (axle/cv shaft) and the diff housing. There is a circlip type pin around the shaft inside the housing that needs to release so it can take a bit of force to get it to come free.

[BuckTooth]

If i'm not mistaken. And the axle is the part closest to the rear diff that you re trying to remove. The should be a crush pin in the CV joint. You would see a small hole through the shaft, find the appropriate sized punch and knock the pin out. Whole shaft should then slide off.

Although someone please correct me if i'm wrong.

[grandpa_spec_F6]

had a look and im not sure where you are finding this crush pin.... any pictures? I dont have a camera on me at the moment otherwise i'd take some myself for reference.

[ronwest]

If you're not in a desperate hurry I'll scan the appropriate Haynes pages and email them to you. Can't do until later this evening, though.

[grandpa_spec_F6]

Mate, your a legend, i'd really appreciate that

its been a very frustrating day so far...

I've given up for today, light is fading and a walk to work and public transport isnt going to kill me for a day or too haha

[grandpa_spec_F6]

Well progress have been slow due to my work not paying me 2 weeks worth of wages, however the axle is now out (big thanks to RG and ronwest)

My next question is (be nice =P) what is the correct name for these little buggers (see image below), they are worn out and you can move them all over the show. I think they are toeball joints or something?

[CAT600]

Dont stress about the movement, they are supposed to "swivel", just not float front to rear that's all.

Daniel

[grandpa_spec_F6]

thanks a heap mate, I was looking at it going "oh great more money.... "

cheers