[T3] Replacing Real Wheel Bearings

[Jim Adney]

On 22 Jul 2011 at 6:48, Doug Brashear wrote:

> - is it possible to replace the rear wheel bearings (e.g. at least the outer 
> roller bearing) without removing the CVs, drive shafts and stub axles?

Yes, it's possible, but any work back there is more trouble than it's 
worth. I've never seen one of those bearings fail. VW recommended 
repacking those bearings every 30,000 (or was it 60,000) miles, and I 
don't even do that. There's no reason to replace a bearing that's 
still good. Most of them outlast the cars.

> - does removing the CVs and axle merely involve undoing all the 6mm allen bolts 
> and removing the assemblies? Or do I need to remove the transmission, and then 
> all of this stuff from the car to do so? 

You remove the half-shaft and leave the tranny in place. The 12 point 
driver is called an XZN (or metric star) driver and most FLAPS will 
have one. It's not the same as a Torx. You need the 8 mm size.  

> I was thinking it would be good to replace both the outer roller bearings and 
> inner ball bearings, as well as regrease the CVs (they're fine otherwise), but 
> want to make sure I allocate enough time to get the job done.

I check the CVs for torn boots and just do maintenance on those that 
need to have the boots replaced. It's important to fix those, because 
water and dirt will get in and wear them out quickly. I've always had 
good used CV joints to replace worn out ones. I would say that CV 
joints are much more likely to need replacement than rear wheel 
bearings.

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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