Rear (and Front) Wheel Bearing Replacement (5spd).

[Steve Hoelscher]

Hussein,

The illustration is accurate. Note that the snap ring is oriented so that the foot of the L is against the face of the outer race and extends into the steering knuckle's groove. The upright part of the L extends up the bore and is what you see in your photo.

the hole I drilled was at the intersection of the upright part of the L (Snapring) and the bore of the steering knuckle. The hole mostly was into the bore's wall but penetrated only about .020 to .030 inches into the wall. Just far enough to get the pick behind the snap ring. See my indication on your photo below.

I did reclock the snapring to get a good purchase with the pick. That's easily done by putting a flat nose punch against the end of the snapring and tapping it with a hammer.

 

[Ics19]

IIRC there were two types of lock ring on the front 1500s - an earlier stepped type (the L profile?) and the later completely flat type (a recent SKF kit had this type). The hub is the same, but the corresponding shield is recessed differently so need to be fitted as a matched pair with the lock ring. The one in the picture above looks like the flat type. I guess the stepped L type have a greater profile so more to 'pick' against

 

[lookforjoe]

IIRC there were two types of lock ring on the front 1500s - an earlier stepped type (the L profile?) and the later completely flat type (a recent SKF kit had this type). The hub is the same, but the corresponding shield is recessed differently so need to be fitted as a matched pair with the lock ring. The one in the picture above looks like the flat type. I guess the stepped L type have a greater profile so more to 'pick' against

Phew - that makes more sense - I was trying to wrap my head around how I was possibly going to get the "L" ring out from behind the bearing, since on mine there appears to be zero wiggle room for that kind of removal .

Looking on Vic Auto, the pic of the 'kit' (only has one v-ring seal)shows a flat snap ring.

If I were doing this again, I would definitely buy the kit, as it is easy to damage the 'thrust' washer. It's really a seal seat rather than a thrust washer - I guess things get lost in translation - maybe 'thrust' as the v-ring is compressed against it...

 

[Steve Hoelscher]

Yes, the kit is preferred because the "thrust ring" (not particularly descriptive) that the seal rides on can be damaged if the bearing has failed, or at the very least, gets lots of dirt and oxidation on it and thus is difficult to clean and get to form a good seal.

In this photo you can see the old thrush ring sitting on the bench. The sealing surface has been rolled up into a pronounced lip that and had completely eaten away the seal. This was due to the slop in the bearing. Obviously, this one couldn't be reused.

In my experience all of the OE snaprings were the L shape. _Some_ of the replacements were and some weren't. Either work but the L is easier to manage. I came up with drilling the hole years ago when I first did one of these and there was no internet to consult. On other internal snapring installations I had seen a little gap left to access for removal. Since these don't have one, I made my own.

Note that each front bearing uses two seals (gaskets in the illustration you posted).

Oh, and I have never used a puller as you are in your photos. I have a full set of good pullers but have always used my press.

 

[lookforjoe]

Yes, the kit is preferred because the "thrust ring" (not particularly descriptive) that the seal rides on can be damaged if the bearing has failed, or at the very least, gets lots of dirt and oxidation on it and thus is difficult to clean and get to form a good seal.

In my experience all of the OE snaprings were the L shape. _Some_ of the replacements were and some weren't. Either work but the L is easier to manage. I came up with drilling the hole years ago when I first did one of these and there was no internet to consult. On other internal snapring installations I had seen a little gap left to access for removal. Since these don't have one, I made my own.

Note that each front bearing uses two seals (gaskets in the illustration you posted).

Oh, and I have never used a puller as you are in your photos. I have a full set of good pullers but have always used my press.

I used the press to install, probably safer for removal too - pullers can have a way of going sideways if not careful.

What's confusing me is the "L" description - the pic from MWB makes it look more of what I would describe as a stepped ring - I was trying to figure out how on earth one would remove a snap ring that has a 90 degree edge to it. I'm afraid your description didn't help me visualize it

"the foot of the L is against the face of the outer race and extends into the steering knuckle's groove. The upright part of the L extends up the bore and is what you see in your photo. "

 

[Steve Hoelscher]

I used the press to install, probably safer for removal too - pullers can have a way of going sideways if not careful.

What's confusing me is the "L" description - the pic from MWB makes it look more of what I would describe as a stepped ring - I was trying to figure out how on earth one would remove a snap ring that has a 90 degree edge to it. I'm afraid your description didn't help me visualize it

"the foot of the L is against the face of the outer race and extends into the steering knuckle's groove. The upright part of the L extends up the bore and is what you see in your photo. "

Stepped ring is what I was referring to. The thin step that extends outward on the outside of the ring is the only part that fit into the groove in the bore. The inner portion of the step fits against the wall of the bore, away from the bearing. The surface under the step that fits in the groove is what faces the bearing's outer race.

Sure wish I had an upright on the bench to take a photo.

 

[lookforjoe]

Stepped ring is what I was referring to. The thin step that extends outward on the outside of the ring is the only part that fit into the groove in the bore. The inner portion of the step fits against the wall of the bore, away from the bearing. The surface under the step that fits in the groove is what faces the bearing's outer race.

Sure wish I had an upright on the bench to take a photo.

Turns out mine has the flat lock ring - I'll add all the pics to the first post - many many thanks for the suggestion of drilling a recess to get behind the ring - I would never have got it out in one piece otherwise. I tried any number of ways of counter holding the other side of the opening, clamping the ring in place, etc., to no avail. Maybe if one had three hands....

1st Post updated with all pics from install today.

 

[lookforjoe]

Took the driver's side apart today, the new bearing & seals arrived from MWB - found that this one is set up differently:

Hub is different than other side - No inner seal or thrust plate

Inner seal set up is also different

This hub also has the step snap ring

I drilled a slot, it's just a no brainer in terms of problem free removal of the snap ring

Maybe with '87's they just threw what ish was left over, since it was the end of the line?

EDIT: Just noticed than Steve's knuckle is like the one on my 81 parts car - substantially more meat on the hub area (much wider land) and the steering arm - what year did they introduce the weight reduction variety I have on my 87?

 

[JKIDD]

Thanks for this detailed writeup. I was putting off this job for a while now. Had it done it less than an hour yestereday using this guide!

 

[lookforjoe]

Thanks for this detailed writeup. I was putting off this job for a while now. Had it done it less than an hour yestereday using this guide!

You're welcome! Glad it helped - I certainly wouldn't have got mine done so readily if it weren't for the help from others on here!

 

[JKIDD]

Thanks again to Hussein for this writeup. 2nd time I've used it.