Hi - I wanted to share my rear wheel bearing experience;
I used Andrewwynn's excellent rear wheel bearing DIY as well as the youtube link from post #9 above, both were extremely helpful.
Easy parts:
-tapping axle out
-puling hub with a free loaner slide hammer from Advanced Auto
-remove old bearing race from hub with grinder and a smack with a cold chisel
-Pressing new bearing onto hub
-cutting slots into bolts to make it easier to snug up bolts.
More difficult parts
- getting the correct angle and ENOUGH torque to break bolts free
- getting bearing flange bolts started by hand.
- getting the correct angle and ENOUGH torque to torque the bolts upon installation
My axle nuts were a corroded mess - see pic below, so I bought replacements and paid a mechanic to loosen/replace them for me. Glad I did.
I did this on a lift, and becasue time was tight I decided to do one side then the other later. One bearing was making a load whirrring noise and I guessed it was it was the right side rear (passenger side in US) and thankfully I was RIGHT.
Once I removed wheel, brakes, rotor, parking brake shoes, axel nut, & tapped the axle through, I was read to attach the loaner 5lb hammer and the hub came right out.
I then jacked up the rear wheel carrrier close to level and USED EVERY socket extension, wobble joint, universal joint and 3/8- and 1/2= drive E14 socket I had, as Andrew mentiones in his DIY... I used different combinations for the upper and lower bolts... I found I needed a large 1/2 drive breaker bar to break the bolts free..
The trick to getting access to the bolts is to keep the axle pushed in.. On reinstallation of the new bearing. the axle is going to have a tendency to push thru the hub...but don't let it until you got bolts tight.
I used a flexible socket 8" inch 3/8 drivev socket extention with a finger ratchet (i'll try to add a picture) to get the new bolts started by hand...They felt like they wanted to strip, so getting them started by hand is the way to go. I slotted the new bolts, and was able to turn them fully snug with a long screwdriver (another Andrew tip) before torqueing them.
