Installing Rear bearings

It's not hard but you should thoroughly check your axles and the spacers for any wear as reassembly of compromised parts will end in premature failure. Also a good time to get your discs replaced or ground if they are worn. Remember the axles nuts are left and right hand threaded (S for sinistra = left, D for Destra = Right) with the left hand thread on the left side.

The task itself requires a press, the specific axle nut socket, access to an oven, freezer and a high torque air gun. Remove the axle nut and press out the axle over something that is hollow to sit the rotor on. You'll then need to remove the bearing retaining ring (four screws, that can be a PITA, I typically use an impact driver), press out the old bearings using something of similar diameter as a guide. It's just a reverse assembly at that point, check the faces of the spacer and replace if suspect. I use an old wheel to feed the wheel studs through the rotor and axle and bolt up to keep everything together then press the hub carrier down onto that. Place the hub carrier with new bearings in the oven at 150F for 30 minutes and the axle in the freezer to help with the press fit, keep going on the press so it's a smooth insertion rather than start/stop. 

The axle nuts are a cinch nut designed for one time use so should be replaced, I just keep going with the air gun until I hear the sound change to a solid ring and no further movement.

Julian

Thanks Julian! I had a place take everything apart, but now they are too busy and cannot find another place to put it back together. I have all new axles, nuts,  bearings (wider inner) and wildwood brake set-up. I figured I'd give it a shot myself,  I just wasn't sure of the order to press in the bearings & axle. Just need to buy a press now. 

Are your Wilwood rotors/hats offset designed for inside mount on the axle? I moved mine outboard. Where are you located?

Julian, 

My wildwood setup is same as oem.  I'm near Raleigh NC. 

Have you looked into using a machine shop or hot rod shop? Another option is to ship everything to Ron McCall. He has a top notch Pantera shop in Hampstead, MD. About a 5.5 hr drive for you. Save you a bunch in shipping charges. Or find someone going that direction and see if they can make a drop for you, 

Husker,

Yeah, the shops I called either don't do bearings or small jobs and farm them out. Another place was going to do it, but the guy was only willing to press in the bearings and nothing else. He looked confused when I showed him everything. I left in a hurry. Lol. I'm fine doing it, just time-wise I thought be quicker taking it in.

I was able to press in the outer bearings with no issues. When I just checked my wheel studs, 2 I can push in with my hand and they spin. Guess I'll need new ones, or is there a way to save them?  Anyone have a couple good spare ones? 

John

No real way to save them and often aftermarket discs don't have a lip for the flat edge to seat against to stop them spinning. Believe me it's a PITA when you can't get the nut off because the stud is spinning!

John,

I imagine there may be a way to salvage them but do you want to? Any welding to restore the hole will probably change the metallurgy of the disc. REcommend new discs. And now is an ideal time to do it. 

John, you mentioned you’re installing Wilwood brakes. Does that include rotors and hats? The Wilwood hats that Pantera Performance used to supply with their Wilwood kit, were thinner than the same part of an OEM rotor. Dennis supplied spacers to go between the head of the stud and the rotor, so the splines on the studs engaged at the proper location. If you don’t use the spacers, the studs sit too far through the rotor/hub assy. and the splines might not engage fully. This may not apply to the setup you have but I thought I should mention it. Of course, if it’s obvious the splines on two of your studs are damaged, that’s your problem!

David - My Wilwood setup is exactly as you described, new rotors, hats & axles as well. I do have the washers for the studs. I noticed with the new hats the flats on the studs are useless. I saw another person welded small flat stock to the flats of the studs to remedy this with the new setup.  Sounds like a good idea. I went and ordered new studs.  

Please do NOT try welding or brazing to the wheel studs to 'solve' stud spinning. The studs are hardened steel and CANNOT be successfully welded- the welds always crack in a short time, besides softening and weakening the steel in your studs. Problem is, there's metal missing from the stud splines or from the holes. New parts are the solution.

Bosswrench- Good points. Already have new studs ordered, so not going to be welding anything. 

If it turns out that new studs still don't fix the stud spinning, you can try assembling the studs with some shim stock wrapped around them, as a temporary measure to increase the press fit. But it really means the part with the hole in it has somehow become enlarged and must be fixed or replaced. Some shops simply rotate the rotor 30 degrees and redrill to the minimum size, then press fit as necessary.

 It's the studs as I have 2 new axles and only the 2 studs pushed in easily and spun on either axle. I'm guessing they are the original studs, and I know they have been removed/reinstalled before and the splines are now just no good. 

Ok. Incidently, the taking-apart is infinitely simpler if you carefully knock the 5 wheel studs out before trying to press the assembly apart. Those studs really increase the pressure needed to push the axles out.

And before reassembly, check the 4-screw front bearing retainer for flatness; sometimes the pressing force causes the mild steel bearing retainer to go conical, making for a slightly loose assembly later. Just hammer it flat again.