:alright


Okay guys, I just bought this 92 318 with 100k on it for only $2900.00. It had bad bearings and a leaky a/c. I fixed the a/c leak for $100 and the bearings for $65.00 a side. FAG Bearing from O'reilly's. Now the things you will need to get this job done fast and right!! Descrition for now, pics later. THIS IS ONLY WHAT I DID AND IT WORKED FOR ME. TRY AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

Tools:

Loaned from AutoZone: Heavy Duty Slide hammer
Slide hammer flange
Bearing Puller (explain later)

Things every home mechanic should have:

Dremel with 2 cutoff blades
3-inch washer
Your normal manly tools either air
or manual
2 jacks, jack stands
:boobies ( always helps )

Procedure:

To start I used all air tools but hand tools will work, just a bear!

Raise car and support VERY IMPORTANT!!!

Pull off wheel

Remove hex nut holding rotor

Remove Caliber (tie it up to something)

Remove Axle Nut 30mm if memory serves

Air Tools if you have(hand tools if you don't)

Remove your sway bar bolts (13mm)
DO NOT REMOVE THE WHOLE THING!!!!
Support the trailing arm with 2nd jack
Use 18mm wrench/socket remove shock lower bolt
Using long extension and I forgot what size socket,
Remove bolts holding in axle to diff.
Raise 2nd jack up all the way (compressing spring ) and
remove axle, it will slide down towards right, this is the
reason from loosening the sway bar. lower the trailing
arm to about 13" off ground.


Attach Slide Hammer flange securely to HUB with lugs

Attach Slide Hammer to Flange

Slide the @&#&@ out of the hammer being careful not
to hit the NADS!!:nono
When the flange comes off, you'll be like oh sh$t
but thats ok, use what ever tools u have (i used flat
head screw driver) to pull the inner
and outer rings ( with bearings ) out.
Now you will have what believe is called a "racer" ring still
inside the hub. Also remove the "C" Clamp/Ring Whatever

Bust out the BMW special tool.

I bought mines at Lowes. I am sure Home Depot has
them too. Be careful, BMW is very smart and renamed
tool and called it a DREMEL :dunno and priced it for
$39.95. Now, using the dremel and a cutting blade,
****CAREFULLY**** cut the ring in half. careful not to
cut into the hub!!! The ring then just pops out because
the pressure on the hub is released.

Now :boobies Take a break! you are half way there.

Slide the new bearing into the hub. Using the bearing
puller. Attach it backwards; we are not using it to
pull the bearing out but rather pushing it in. Add the
biggo washer to the inside of the hub and using ur
wrench and thighten the puller, this will slide(press) the
bearing in. Or you can whack the bearing into the hub.
BE CAREFUL not to hit the rings or the bearings! I
would suggest a block of wood or something.

Check you work!!!

Make sure the bearings still rolls freely, Make sure you
DIDN't break anything else in the process.

Attach " C " ring /clamp thingy

Now cut the bearing ring that is stuck to your hub in the same manner as before. be careful not to cut into the hub itself.

Reattach hub to arm.

Align hub into bearing and tap it in slowly. Make sure it
is not cocked! Attach slide hammer on flange and
slide sway, once again, watch out for the NADS. Once
is on part ways. reattach your drive axle nuts and all.
You maybe wondering why I didn't hammer the hub all
the way in? Simple you don't want to damage the
bearings, so less force is better. We will use the nut
from the axle to "pull" the hub in the rest of the way.
Impact wrench would be great here, otherwise, bring
out the breaker bar. Once you start tightening the axle
nut you will notice the hub sliding back into place.

Inspect you brakes:

Right now would be the perfect time to do your brakes
if need be.

Reinstall everything:

Put that shock bolt back on, reattached sway bar bolts.
Put that brake disk thingy back on the caliber. Don't
forget that hex bolt. But if you lost it, like I did, i didn't
sweat it. Its mainly to align the wholes to the lugs. Put
the wheels on.

Eyeball everything:

Give everything a once over!!!!

Extra Parts:

Other that Bearing parts you trashed! Better not be
any, especially big bolts!!


:clap: :clap: YOU'RE DONE!!! Put up your tools, clean your
workplace. return autozone tools to get your $$$
back.


:boobies will think you are the man, you just saved $500 bucks!!!


***NOW I WROTE THIS WHILE I WAS BORED AS HECK AT WORK. IF I LEFT SOMETHING OUT I WILL UPDATE. IF I CALLED SOMETHING ITS NOT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I AM NOT HERE TO SHOWOFF OR PROVE ANYONE WRONG, I DID A LOT OF READING ON THE BOARD BEFORE I DID MY WORK, AND DIDN'T FIND MUCH WRITE UP. HOPEFULLY THIS HELPS. ***

Wow, it takes me an hour just to read that ;) Thanks

Nice work man. Thanks for sharing :)

hey man, if you get the pics...or even if you never come up with them...if you'd like your write-up to be on the DIY Library (see my sig), then email it to me and I'll put it on :)

Good job

no pics? :(

What size bolts hold the axle to the rear Diff, they look like Torx heads, anyone know what size they are?

Thanks
Mark

It's an E12 external torx.

Thanks a million for the write up S.A.M. I don't even have a manual, I just printed this out and busted out the tools. Saved me a ton-o-cash

My big hang-ups were when the bearing pulled apart trying to get it out and when I pushed it back in the first time I tried pounding it in- this blew the bearing apart so on the next try I used a piece of all thread and my impact driver to draw the bearing into the trailing arm. I did the same thing to get the hub into the bearing. Big point- don't push or pull in the center of the bearing and expect it to stay together! Tip, freezing the bearing and the hub before installing them helped alot. And lots of heat for getting things apart.

Sorry I didn't take pictures, I was in a hurry to get my car back on the road.

It's an E12 external torx.

Thanks a million for the write up S.A.M. I don't even have a manual, I just printed this out and busted out the tools. Saved me a ton-o-cash

My big hang-ups were when the bearing pulled apart trying to get it out and when I pushed it back in the first time I tried pounding it in- this blew the bearing apart so on the next try I used a piece of all thread and my impact driver to draw the bearing into the trailing arm. I did the same thing to get the hub into the bearing. Big point- don't push or pull in the center of the bearing and expect it to stay together! Tip, freezing the bearing and the hub before installing them helped alot. And lots of heat for getting things apart.

Sorry I didn't take pictures, I was in a hurry to get my car back on the road.


So it worked???? wow thats great, happy I could help out another member

I just bought a 92', took to the BMW for overall testing, found something wrong with the right bearing (this causes the a sound like an extra engine running on th e back of your car right?? But it only happend when your car is moving about 20mph?). Then I brought back to where I bought the car (a small dealer), I got it fix...for $350 (dang))))...Now, the same sound is coming from the left bearing. Would it be the same problem but on the left bearing?? I swear I will fix this myself... :D, because I don't have any "$350" to get to the dealer this time. I have some questions though?? Where can I find the parts for this project? And Do I need some heavy tools?? Thanks for the info...$$$$$ saved!!!!!!!!!!!!

part is about 60 bucks at any parts store. if theres an autozone where you live, just ask forthe parts i listed above

I'm doing this, well trying... Do you guys know if there are pictures for this process?

Thanks!

no try to the same thing on m roadster and kill yourself. thank god i dont own semi trailing arms suspension.

(im doing one of these for buddy on his roadster and it is a huge pain in the ass.)

So my brother and I were ready to install the new rear bearing today and well, things did not turn out as planned. We hammered the bearing in the "knuckle" without any problems, we used this BEARING RACE kit I bought at a local tool store for 35 bucks just like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4526819699&category=63702#ebayphotohosting.

We could of used the outer cylindrical shell of the old bearing but I did not know that until I did some research online, oh well.

The problem came when it was time to install the hub. We started banging it in
like crazy and the inner part of the bearing popped out the back when the hub was almost all the way in. We took the hub back out and the other half of the bearing (outter race) was stuck in the hub! Of course we were a bit upset because we knew the bearing was problably a total loss. We now needed to take the racer off the hub and we used a heating torch (like we did the old one) and we ended up melting part of the hub, so the hub is now toast too :buttrock

I guess we somehow missed this part of SecretAznMan4u write up:

"Reattach hub to arm.

Align hub into bearing and tap it in slowly. Make sure it
is not cocked! Attach slide hammer on flange and
slide sway, once again, watch out for the NADS. Once
is on part ways. reattach your drive axle nuts and all.
You maybe wondering why I didn't hammer the hub all
the way in? Simple you don't want to damage the
bearings, so less force is better. We will use the nut
from the axle to "pull" the hub in the rest of the way.
Impact wrench would be great here, otherwise, bring
out the breaker bar. Once you start tightening the axle
nut you will notice the hub sliding back into place. "

Moral of the story: Beer and rear bearing installs don't mix.

We are not giving up by any means, I already reordered the bearing and the hub. I will atleast take pictures of stuff from this point on to help any fellow members looking to try this.

Rock on Do it Yourselfers!

So where are the pics 5 1/2 months later?

Here you go:

http://www.paragonwest.com:8090/bmw_bearing/index.htm

Here you go:

http://www.paragonwest.com:8090/bmw_bearing/index.htm
Link doesn't work =\. Anyone have a link with pics to replace this bearing? I want to do it but cant understand half of the words in the DIY...

Such an awesome writeup. It was done before I had my right rear bearing changed, and I probably woulda done the job myself if I read it sooner...

wtf this is old

Can someone post pics please? I would SUPER greatly appreciate it, because I dunno what alot of the parts he was talking about are heh. My mechanic charges alot do this kinda thing, and I much rather just pay 52 bucks and do it myself.

Sorry, I'll repost the pics when get home tonight...

Awesome, how would you rate the difficulty of this project also, from 1-10. My mechanic said it would take him about 2 hours to replace, so thats 216 bucks without the part cost of 52, thats why I would much rather do it myself heh. I'm just not super experienced.

Wow, it takes me an hour just to read that ;) Thanks

Yeah, me too! :stickoutt

I have aixelsid (you figure it out...)

Link should be up now:

http://www.paragonwest.com:8090/bmw_bearing/index.htm


I would rate this a 6-7. Make sure you use an impact puller from Auto Zone (free rental) to take the hub out. Also, to avoid messing up the new bearing when you are banging in the new one (if you choose not to take the entire control arm to a machine shop and have them press it in) make sure you apply pressure from the back by pressing in the drive shaft inward as the new bearing is being banged in. You will need someone else to help you do this. One bangs the baering in, the other applies the pressure.

In all honesty, it would of been significantly easier and safer to have the machine shop press it in. Sorry, I did not have my camera when we removed the hub with the impact puller but it is relatively easy.

Good luck!

W...ow... I do not think I can do this =\. (#)$@^%# there goes another like 250 bucks for the mechanic huh =P.

Yeah, me too! :stickoutt

I have aixelsid (you figure it out...) Is that a condition that does not allow you to correctly spell words backwards? ;)

Is that a condition that does not allow you to correctly spell words backwards? ;)

Hellrot, I knew I couldn't fool you!

The pics aren't working.
I just need to know what the proper puller tool looks like so that I can get the new bearing back into the hub assembly. The bearing puller I got from autozone will only connect to the slide hammer and can only work one way. So in order for it to work, I'd have to get the entire slide hammer underneath the car on the backside of the hub assembly. That just doesn't sound right.
Can someone please link to the proper type of puller I should be using to get that new bearing in by pulling on the outer ring only?
Thanks.

Pics should be up...

http://www.paragonwest.com:8090/bmw_bearing/index.htm

We didn't use a puller we just banged it in as you will see from the pics. Must make sure someone helps you applied pressure to the shaft from the back side as you are banging in the new bearing. As soon as you can thread the knut use it to press the bearing all the way in.
Good luck!

Thanks for the pics.

Okay, this bearing job sucks! But two things made it worse....

First off, the wheel bearing I bought from AutoZone was too big. I didn't realize this until I screwed up my trailing arm trying to get it in. Never trust AutoZone. I took it back, they apoligized, gave me a refund and I got a new one from the dealership for $50. Not a bad price, but that one must've been defective because it fell apart before we even started installing it. Yep, the inner race just popped out revealing the ball bearings and wouldn't go back together.

So, I had to order a new trailing arm. I'm getting one with the bearing already pressed and the drive flange installed. This way I don't have to deal with it anymore.

Lesson learned. Should've just bought the bearing online for cheap and taken it to any independent shop and let them do the install. 2 hours for them is much better than umteen hours of mine and my poor dad's.

So, let this serve as a warning to anyone thinking of doing this job. Carefully consider it. I would never attempt it again and I am pretty mechanically inclined and do most stuff myself. I'm also stricken with loads of bad luck, so that may be a factor for me too.

Pics should be up...

http://www.paragonwest.com:8090/bmw_bearing/index.htm

We didn't use a puller we just banged it in as you will see from the pics. Must make sure someone helps you applied pressure to the shaft from the back side as you are banging in the new bearing. As soon as you can thread the knut use it to press the bearing all the way in.
Good luck!
Im going to be attempting to change my right rear bearing this weekend. i have a few questions:
1. secretaznman4u used a dremel to cut a "ring" out, in your DIY i didnt see any use of a dremel, and what is the "ring"
2. secretaznman4u also mention you need a 3" washer to put inside the hub to press, i also dont understand.
here is the steps im understanding:
1. basically most of the suspension is removed, and axle bolts are loosened
2. remove the hub with a puller
3. remove clamp holding bearing, remove bearing
4. put new bearing in, put in clip that holds the bearing.
5. have someone apply pressure from the back, and press the hub and the bearing until axle thread appears, and put on axle nut and tighten until hub and bearing are pressed.
is that about right. this should be written up like the DIY's on www.bimmerdiy.com

anyone? i plan on doing this on friday.

What are the bearing part numbers? (from FAG or SKF please)

yea pics would be great on this one

By ring he is probably refering to the inner part of the ring (called inner racing I think) that sticks to the hub as you pull the hub out with the puller.

My brother used a torch the first time to remove this from the hub and screwed up the hub in the process. The second time he used his impact tool thing to rip it, break it off. You may be better of taking it somewhere and getting it pressed out.

Your seem to be right on with the rest of your steps. Good luck!



Im going to be attempting to change my right rear bearing this weekend. i have a few questions:
1. secretaznman4u used a dremel to cut a "ring" out, in your DIY i didnt see any use of a dremel, and what is the "ring"
2. secretaznman4u also mention you need a 3" washer to put inside the hub to press, i also dont understand.
here is the steps im understanding:
1. basically most of the suspension is removed, and axle bolts are loosened
2. remove the hub with a puller
3. remove clamp holding bearing, remove bearing
4. put new bearing in, put in clip that holds the bearing.
5. have someone apply pressure from the back, and press the hub and the bearing until axle thread appears, and put on axle nut and tighten until hub and bearing are pressed.
is that about right. this should be written up like the DIY's on www.bimmerdiy.com

the part # is 33 41 1 468 747 from fag. im about to do my right rear. ive done both my rears two years ago. and now im doin it again. i gota catch the right rear while its goin bad before it messes up the other side. its a hell of a job. the hardest ive ever done in my bmw.

the part # is 33 41 1 468 747 from fag. im about to do my right rear. ive done both my rears two years ago. and now im doin it again. i gota catch the right rear while its goin bad before it messes up the other side. its a hell of a job. the hardest ive ever done in my bmw.

I mean the actual FAG part number - it would be like a 4 or 5 digit number with some letters after it. I used to work for a major bearing distributor and can get a deal. Thanks.

A few points about this job. First of all it is a bitch. I did this in 100 degree heat and it was for the typical right rear bear on a ti with 120K miles. I had the bearing tool and even with the tool it took me most of the day to do it right the first time. I had to clean parts etc and yes the inner bearing race will separate from the bearing when you pull the shaft off. I had to use an oz-ac torch and still use a dremel to get it off the shaft.
The force I had to use to break the shaft loose and the bearing was incredible. I am 6 ft and 220 and work out and even with an 18" breaker bar it took all the strenght I had so don't expect this ting to pop off easy.

SAM used a dremel to cut the old bearing apart. I could not do this because I would have cut the trailing arm too a little and I had the bearing tool which pushes the bearing out with significant force required.

Once I had the shaft out and the bearing out doing the install was easy as I was able to use the bearing tool to press the bearing in then the shaft.

I was stupid and followed the directions of bearing tool which says you can use the backing plate with drum brakes installed. No way, bent the backing plate and had to restraighten it.

Trust me unless you have the right tools you will beat hell out of you and your car and still not get the bearing out.
I think my situation was worsened because the bearing was really shot and this may have agrivated the removal.

Good luck with doing the removal and be sure to take your time and think things through as I found ways to use this bearing tool that were not in their instuctions which were mostly useless.

I planned to take pics but had no one to shoot them and was so beat I just didn't. Glad someone did for you guys.

I mean the actual FAG part number - it would be like a 4 or 5 digit number with some letters after it. I used to work for a major bearing distributor and can get a deal. Thanks.

FAG# 545495AD


can do a cross ref# check at:

http://www.fag.com/content.fag.de/en/products/bearing_exchange_database/bearing_exchange_database.jsp

just look up your wheel bearing at RealOEM.com, put that number in the part# field, choose "Customer number (OEM)", then at the bottom choose "BMW" under "company" and whalla! You have your cross ref. # ;)
I have new FAG bearings BTW.. they are that number.



Looks like Harbor Freight has this for a bearing puller tool??:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92884


and this is their tool to whack it back in?:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92387


The slide hammer I can rent for free at the local parts store, but those tools above I cannot find to rent :(

It's almost worth having a shop do it since I'd prolly not use these special tools for much else in the future.

I'm coming down the home stretch of this project. I FINALLY got all traces of the old bearing out of the Trailing Arm. In all honesty, I think that a distinct difference is apparent between the Passenger Side Rear Bearing Svc and the Drivers Side Rear Bearing Svc. Naturally, I'm doing the Driver's Side and some extra components make access most unsavory. The Muffler makes axle removal mucho ugly. Also, it should be mentioned that once a predominance of the old bearing has been removed (inner halves(2) + bearings) you're left with the entire outter bearing race/shell STUCK in the Trailing Arm. Cutting this out with a dremel was nearly impossible. I ended up combining one of the shoes in Bearing Puller & the Impact Slide Hammer and banging the old race out. I'll show wome pictures shortly.

I really think some details and change in verbage within the original post could relieve some confusion.

Anyone still have the pictures saved/hosted for this DIY?

Here's the link:

http://www.paragonwest.com:8090/bmw_bearing/index.htm

Let me know if it's not working for you. My web server is flaky at times.

-me

Awesome. I saw the link (or a similar one) posted earlier, but it came up as object not found. This most recent one works....Thanks!

Steven, is there any way you can get in contact with me? What is going on?

Awesome. I saw the link (or a similar one) posted earlier, but it came up as object not found. This most recent one works....Thanks!Did you attempt this job yet, Steven? If so, how'd it go?

Can you make a picture book? I cant read over 100 words in one day...

THANKS!!

-Serge

Although an old thread, this is a great write up! I'm going to add this to our site of technical articles.

Still ...no pics...........ooh well

My home server crashed and burned:( I'm in the process of setting up a new one. So far, I have tried installing Win server 2003 three trimes and I can't seem to get video..rrgh! I'll post the pics as soon as I can. If this doesn't work, I'll settle for win2000 server.

Thanks-Alex

Cool, I need to do my rear left side. Tried to do the right rear, but ended up taking the trailing arm assembly to a shop and they still charged me $200 to press out the old bearing and install the new one. That was with me providing the bearing. :mad

I have a 1996 318is. Need to change the rear wheel bearings. need to know which to buy. they range from 80 to 120. Help!

anyone know how many bearings are on each rear? is it just 1 bearing per side? so a pair of bearings would be able to do the 2 rears? correct?

bearing .http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=CD33&mospid=47501&btnr=33_0441&hg=33&fg=40

Is this the tool everyone is talking about?

the URL with all the pix is down again

djbit, can you please host the pics on photobucket in the meantime? Thanks!

Ok, so following the advice of this thread I changed my rw bearings and I have to say, anyone who can do this job in one hour is either a professional BMW mechanic or a professional bullshitter.

Notes from my experience:
1. If you have a car with high mileage don't expect to get the hub off easily... It took me about 45 minutes a hub with an oversized slide hammer. (note that my car has ~150k miles and it was obviously the first time these had been removed)
2. If you think a dremel will cut a bearing race effortlessly you are mistaken. I ended up using a bearing puller and a press to get the inner race off of the hub, which is a better way to do it anyway.
3. Hammering or tapping your hub back in is risky and potentially fatal for your new bearing, easier method: Purchase threaded rod, 4 nuts, and several washers (one washer with the same OD as the inner race of the bearing, and one with an OD larger than the ID of the hub. Make tool to press hub into bearing using bearing inner race. Return rod, washers, and nuts to store.

Good luck guys!

i just bought a used low milaege trailing arm with the bearing already in it for 100 dollars, wham,bam thankyou mam!

I just did all 4 wheel bearings myself and I have something to add:

I did NOT use a puller. I removed the entire trailing arm and popped the bearings out on my HF 20 ton hydraulic press. They took an UNBELIEVABLE amount of force to come out. The 1" thick steel bars I was using as press plates bent a LOT, and the left rear bearing race shattered when it popped out. It's not easy to shatter a bearing race. Anyways, the point is that I can not even imagine doing this job without hydraulic tools. I would have been hammering and pulling all week. Maybe my bearing was seized worse than most, but nevertheless, if you DIY you should be prepared to put your car back together and take it to a mechanic. BTW... removing the trailing arm was not very difficult.

To remove the inner bearing race from the hub, I cut it with a dremel about 80%, then pounded it a few times with a cold chisel. It cracked easily where it was scored. This way i avoided damaging the hub with the dremel.

This has been said before, but should be emphasized:
- When pushing the bearing into the trailing arm, push on the outer race only.
- When pushing the hub into the bearing, the bearing should be supported from behind by the inner race. Don't just hammer on the hub or you will screw up your bearing.

The front bearings are easy, and can be removed easily with a puller.

Posting with some pictures would be very nice....

Lack of pics = DIY failure.

NICE write up...even without pics.

Can't wait to view the write-up site with pics once it is back up.

I can't beleive no one saved a copy of these pics and put them up on a real pic site. Come on folks, someone must have them? I need to do this job this coming weekend....

I can't beleive no one saved a copy of these pics and put them up on a real pic site. Come on folks, someone must have them? I need to do this job this coming weekend....

Me too! :(

2. If you think a dremel will cut a bearing race effortlessly you are mistaken. I ended up using a bearing puller and a press to get the inner race off of the hub, which is a better way to do it anyway.

I had no problem cutting them off:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v507/mzmtg/323is/DSCN3666.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v507/mzmtg/323is/DSCN3668.jpg

I cut three notches, cracked it with a chisel in the middle notch and it slid right off.

Sorry, but the link doesn't work. :help

Does anyone have pics that they can e-mail me?

Most importantly I need to see the bearing tool because I don't want to spend $250 for the BMW tool :eek: if I can get it from harbor frieght/ebay/sears or use something else cheaper.

Thanks again!!!

PS: This seems like the perfect job to do while replacing the rear struts, since I need to buy a spring compressor as well. :buttrock

Sorry, but the link doesn't work. :help

Does anyone still have pics that you can e-mail me?

Most importantly I need to see the bearing tool because I don't want to spend $250 for the BMW tool :eek: if you can use something else cheaper.

Thanks again!!!

PS: This seems like the perfect job to do while replacing the rear struts, since I need to buy a spring compressor as well. :buttrock

You don't really need a spring compressor for the rear struts. And you wouldn't really save that much work by doing them together.

Sears just has pullers. HF has some wheel bearing tools but they're a little junky. IMO you should either get a hydraulic press or the BMW tool.

I had no problem cutting them off:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v507/mzmtg/323is/DSCN3666.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v507/mzmtg/323is/DSCN3668.jpg

I cut three notches, cracked it with a chisel in the middle notch and it slid right off.


how in the world do you get that off? are you suppose to just pull it out?! not the bearing, the whole thing

how in the world do you get that off? are you suppose to just pull it out?! not the bearing, the whole thing

I believe BMW has some sort of "special tool" that attaches to it and pulls it off via the small groove.

I just cut a diagonal line with my dremel and then used a center punch in the cut area to crack the bearing sleeve and then it just slid right off:

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc200/m2pc/DSC026341024x768.jpg

how in the world do you get that off? are you suppose to just pull it out?! not the bearing, the whole thing

Slide Hammer:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v507/mzmtg/323is/DSCN3663.jpg

Slide Hammer:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v507/mzmtg/323is/DSCN3663.jpg

Hey you had me do a double-take there for a sec buddy! That looks almost _exactly_ like my setup, down to the car color, the "101 projects" book I used, and the slide hammer rented from AutoZone! :D

Hey you had me do a double-take there for a sec buddy! That looks almost _exactly_ like my setup, down to the car color, the "101 projects" book I used, and the slide hammer rented from AutoZone! :D

Does your garage look like mine?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v507/mzmtg/323is/DSCN3661.jpg

Does your garage look like mine?


Yours looks cleaner than mine:

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc200/m2pc/CarOnJacks.jpg

Hi there,
I am in the middle of changing my rear bearings now as all i needed to do was change the protective shield what the brake shoes attach to but have had to undo the rear hub and remove it.

I can maybe take some pictures tomorro and post them for all to see??? If any1 wants me to

Hi there,
I am in the middle of changing my rear bearings now as all i needed to do was change the protective shield what the brake shoes attach to but have had to undo the rear hub and remove it.

I can maybe take some pictures tomorro and post them for all to see??? If any1 wants me to

You mean the dust shield? Can't that just be cut off and not replaced?

Just a note to anyone looking to do this to an M3. Most of the DIY's and guides in here are from regular E36 Folks (thanks guys!) but there are some differences.

The E36 M3 has:

Larger Axle Nut - 36mm 12pt.
Larger Diameter Bearing & Carrier. (so all those DIY made out of pipe tools wont work until you get even bigger diameter pipe pieces! I'm in the middle of it right now, so I don't have the measurements yet)
Larger and stiffer C-Ring (to hold bearing in)

I also had no problem dremaling the outter races off the Hubs...easy stuff! (have a B&D Dremal, put her on "6" and cut away!!!) Even cut that blasted C-Ring, none of my C-Rings tools (even bought new HD one) could handle that puppy until I mad that relief cut..)

I'm also curious about the Dust Shield and any ramifications from removing or cutting it way down. I plan of doing those two Balljoints at the same time and the dust shield might have to go.....

Wow, I heard the M3 was different, but not that different! :eyecrazy

I just R&R'd my balljoints and I was able to unbolt the dust shield and let it just hang loose (it can come all the way off with the hub removed) while I did the job, then bolted it back in place. I've heard people removing them for race applications or just because, but I chose to keep mine on just b/c I don't want brake dust getting into all the bearings and such back inside there.