Page 1 of 5 12345 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 119

Thread: Rear Wheel Bearing Replacement: In Progress and Trying to Document with Pics

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Florida Panhandle/ Ohio
    Posts
    7,318
    My Cars
    14 JGC/13 E88 128i

    Rear Wheel Bearing Replacement: In Progress and Trying to Document with Pics

    I am in the process of replacing a rear wheel bearing and taking my time so that I can shoot some pics for the guys that seem to need the step by step pics.
    Stay tuned.
    I am also experimenting with a slide hammer to see how hard this might be before I break out the B90 BMW Bearing removal tool. Slide hammer was borrowed from Auto Zone so that anyone doing this can also get the tool from them.
    I expect to finish within a week as that will be about the time Pelican can get me the new bearing (I had one but forgot it was for a ti and not an e36 with standard configuration).

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Florida Panhandle/ Ohio
    Posts
    7,318
    My Cars
    14 JGC/13 E88 128i
    I have the write up done and the pictures taken. They are better then nothing so here is the write up and I will attach pics following...

    BMW E36 Rear Wheel Bearing R&R

    This write up discusses the approach taken to remove and replace the rear wheel bearing on an E36 BMW with disc brakes.

    The first order of business is to determine if the wheel bearing is bad. Driving the car around and making sharp turns to load one side of the car or the other is one way to determine if the unloaded side vibration and noise go away. Assuming you have located the correct rear wheel bearing that is bad now you can attack the problem. Sharp right hand turns loads the left bearing and unloads the right bearing. For example if the noise diminishes or goes away during the turn then the right bearing is the bad one.

    I caution anyone doing this job that is will be long and not easy. You will get very dirty and greasy. If these things don’t appeal to you, stop now and let a wrench do this job. Most pay from $200-300 a side to do this job.

    Bear in mind that BMW bearing are not stocked at most of your local auto parts stores so investigate getting the bearing first then begin the work unless you don’t mind down time on your car. I have used many of the forum vendors to obtain parts and use realoem.com to be sure you get the right part number.

    At this point we have the bearing either coming or obtained and can start the disassemble process. Proceed with loosening the wheel bearing nut on the half-shaft of the bad bearing side. The car should be on the ground and the parking brake pulled and in gear if a manual or in park if an auto. Remove the plastic Roundel so you can see the wheel bearing nut. Place the metric socket with extension on the nut and break it loose. It is torqued to a couple of hundred foot-pounds so expect to either get an extension on your socket handle to stand on it to break it loose. It is a typical threaded nut meaning righty tighty, lefty loosey so counterclockwise loosens the nut. Depending on the type of E36 you have you might have a nut that is pinched in two places on the inner shaft of the nut which hold the wheel bearing nut from turning or you may have a securing plate that holds the nut from moving. Be sure to release the nut holding mechanism so you can remove the nut. Once broken loose you can either remove it or just leave it loose but either way it will need to come off. While you are at it you should loosen the lug bolts on the problem wheel side but do not remove them

    Now jack the car up and put the rear of the car on jack stands while blocking the front wheels of the car. I can’t stress how important this is because you will be jostling this car around and there is no stupider way to die then to let your BMW crush you. I also keep my floor jack placed on the differential in case a jack stand slips.

    Ok now you can remove the wheel since you have loosened the lug bolts and set it aside. You will see the brake and caliper in front of you. The half shaft needs to be prepared for removal at this point. The half shaft is held to the differential by 6 torx bolts so be sure you have some torx sockets. I would expect these to take considerable force to break them loose as well and these are not that easy to get to so expect to be able to loosen one torx bolt then rotate the shaft to gain access to the next bolt and so on. It helps to have a friend sit in the car, transmission in neutral, and pull the emergency brake so you can break the bolt loose then release the brake so you can rotate the shaft to the next position where you can gain leverage on that bolt. Others state that penetrating oil helps but I don’t use anything because it is not the crap around the bolt but the fact that this bolt has long threads and is factory torqued to a high value that makes the release hard. It might have some dirt on it so I would try and clean that off with a brush so you can get a good grip on that torx bolt (M8X40). Do what makes sense to you but expect to use a minimum of a 3/8” drive or ½” drive ratchet is even better. Once you have all of the bolts loose then remove them and the ¼ moon washers that come with them. You should have 3 ¼ moon washers and 6 bolts. Once you remove the last bolt the shaft is free and should be supported but wire or a bungee or something so it will not bang the ground.

    Now remove the caliper by removing the plastic cover on the back of the caliper exposing an Allen bolt. Loosen the Allen bolts and remove the caliper and hang it so that the brake line is not supporting the caliper. Remove the caliper carrier assembly that is held to the axle with two bolts (M10X26.5). Set is aside. Next remove the Allen bolt that holds the rotor on the axle. Once you remove the Allen bolt the rotor should come right off unless you still have the emergency brake on. Once the rotor is off then you can go to the back of the axle, and remove the ABS sensor. It is held in place by one Allen bolt. Once the ABS sensor is removed you will need to remove the half shaft. I use a B90 BMW Bearing removal tool but many have stated that banging away with a soft drift and a huge hammer works. The tool attaches to the spindle and the shaft of the tool pushes the half shaft out the back side of the axle. In my case because this E36 has Dinan springs and Dinan rear sway I had to remove the lower wishbone on both side and the sway links which hold the sway bar to the suspension as well as the exhaust system. All this was necessary because I could not get the half shaft out of the differential area once I began to push the half shaft out. Other E36’s will not require this but you are forewarned. Use whatever makes sense but be aware that some of these half shafts held in the spindle are extremely tight and much force will be required to break it loose. This is one area in automotive work that requires a lot of force at times and seems primitive but that is just the way it is. Once you can extract the half shaft you can check the CV boots and be sure they are up to par, now is the time to replace them if you need to.

    At this point the next part of the wheel bearing that should be extracted is the spindle. There are many ways but I will discuss only two of the more common ways here. The first way is to use a slide hammer that you can rent of be loaned in the case of Auto Zone with a hub yoke. It is the one that has a number of holes in it so you can use lug bolts on the spindle to attach the slide hammer to the spindle. The heavier the slide hammer the better as you will need to use many blows to get the spindle off. Place the hub yoke on the spindle and expect to not have it fit around the concentric hub that sticks out from the spindle. I used long lug bolts so that they would have adequate threads to attach to. The stock lug bolts might work but may be too short. Don’t expect the hub yoke to fit perfectly centered over the spindle either. As long as the force is transferred parallel to the spindle shaft you will be fine. Attach the slide hammer on the hub yoke and then position yourself to use the slide hammer with maximum force. Good gloves are important here for two reasons; so your hands get good grip and don’t slip and so that the vibration from slamming the slide hammer against the stops is cushioned. Expect this to take many blows as hard as you can manipulate it to break the spindle free. Be careful, you can injure yourself if the spindle breaks free and you are not prepared so take a stance or position yourself such that once it breaks free you and or your car are not harmed.

    Once the spindle has been broken free there is a 90% chance that the bearing race is on the spindle shaft. In that case you have a couple ways to get the race off. One is to use a torch and heat only the race and work the race down the spindle shaft. This is tricky because you will heat the shaft eventually and that will cause the race to stick. Cooling the shaft helps to get the race off or even lower away from the spindle shoulder. Assuming you did not get the race off then you will need to cut a couple of sections of the race with a dremel tool and some stone cutting discs. The purpose is to relieve the pressure on the shaft so that the race can slide down or will easily come off the shaft. Remember that the race is hard steel so expect to use many of these discs and take your time. You might score the shaft and as long as it is not too deep you will be fine. All you want to do is to get the race off the spindle so you can clean the spindle up for reinstallation. Use a snap ring pliers to remove the snap ring that holds the bearing into the axle receiver before beginning to start work on the rest of the rear bearing.

    Now you are left with removing the rest of the bearing that is left in the axle. Using the B90 tool the bearing can be pushed out from the back to the front and removed. This can be done with the parking brake left in place. Once the old bearing is out and the area cleaned up as well as the spindle cleaned you are ready for reinstallation.

    Ok now let’s discuss using the B90 tool to remove the spindle and the bearing instead of the slide hammer. The B90 tool has a large shoulder that fits against the front axle but does not touch the spindle. The B90 tool shaft goes through the middle of the spindle (remember you removed the half shaft so the tool fits in that opening). It has a pusher disc and a large nut (box end wrench required is 1 1/16” or 27m/m) that fits on the B90 shaft. The front end of the tool where the large shoulder is has a bolt that is treaded through the spindle and had the disc and nut on the opposite end. Unfortunately you will most likely need to remove the parking brake to keep from damaging the backing plate and parking brake shoes. The instructions state you can use the brake shoes to support the tool when pushing the bearing out. Don’t do this as you will bend the backing plate and you will screw up the parking brake shoes. Removing the parking brake is a pain and then you will need to remove the backing plate too. Once done the B90 tool has a clear shot and will fit on the axle well. Operating the B90 tool by tightening the nut against the bolt will force the pushing disc forward and will result in popping off the spindle with the race attached most likely and leave the rest of the bearing to remove. Use a snap ring pliers to remove the snap ring that holds the bearing into the axle receiver. Once the spindle is out of the way keep using the B90 tool to force the rest of the bearing out.

    I like using the slide hammer only because I don’t have to reassemble the parking brake. If that poses no issue for you the B90 tool will remove the spindle and bearing. Remember that you will still need to remove the race off the spindle as it will most likely stay attached to the spindle. Same procedure described above applies for removing the race from the spindle.

    At this point the old bearing is out of the axle and the spindle has had the bearing race removed. You should clean and smooth both the spindle exterior and the axle bearing receiver surfaces with emery cloth or very fine grit sandpaper. Smooth and clean is what you want. Lightly grease the spindle exterior, the new bearing exterior and interior and the axle receiver. Now using the B90 tool with a pusher disc that is as close to the same diameter or smaller as the axle receiver, attach the B90 tool to the axle. The B90 tool will go through the axle with a stopper plate on the back side (toward the differential) with the large bolt and on the front side the pusher disc and the nut that will force the bearing into its location. Turning the tool forces the bearing into the axle receiver, keep the bearing centered as it enters the axle receiver. It should slide into place and stop against the axle receiver shoulder. I would suggest that you stop and check your progress so that you do not crush some of the bearing seals when getting close to the receiver wall. Once the bearing is seated a new snap ring should be installed and then the spindle should be installed as well. Note that the spindle will use the same technique as the bearing except the spindle slides on the inside surface of the bearing. Once you seat the spindle you have the toughest part of this job done.

    Other techniques can be used to seat the bearing into the axle receiver as well as seating the spindle into the bearing area. I have not done these other techniques or discussed them because there is too great a chance for ruining a bearing by tapping or hammering the bearing/spindle into place. If you use that technique do yourself a favor and have an extra bearing ready so you can try again if you ruin the one you are installing. If you don’t need it you can always resell it on eBay or one of the BMW forums.

    Ok now that we have the new bearing installed with the spindle. You can put the rotor back on with the Allen bolt, install the ABS sensor with its Allen bolt, install the caliper carrier with the two bolts then mount the caliper to the caliper carrier with two Allen bolts. Lightly grease the splines of the half shaft and slide the half shaft into the axle as far as it will go. Next put the axle nut on the half shaft and tighten it down. If it turns the half shaft just reinstall the half shaft to the differential using the 6 torx bolts and 3 ¼ moon washers. Put the wheel on and tighten the lug bolts. Now you can remove the jack stands and lower the car to the ground and tighten the axle nut. Secure the nut in place and check the torque on the lug bolts.

    In my car with this car I will still need to reattach the sway bar links to the rear sway bar, reinstall the lower wishbone (by the way greasing the adjustment bolt and nut and special washer will eliminate any squeaks later on), reinstall the muffler clamps.

    Job done…

    A couple of tips…
    If you plan to keep your car forever you should consider doing both sides. You have most of the effort accomplished with doing one side and redoing this again is a huge pain so consider replacing the other bearing at this time even if it has not gone bad, trust me it will go bad. Use a tyvek suit so that you are not filthy. These suits are a couple of bucks on eBay or a supply store and they will save your cloths. Use mechanics gloves to keep from making you hands look and feel awful. Use rubber gloves if you can stand them because they give you better feel but if your hands sweat then mechanics gloves are best. Get all the tools you need ahead of time as well as all your supplies and parts. Tools like a torx socket set, typical quality 3/8” and ½” sockets and wrenches are essential. You will need a couple special sockets to get the wheel bearing nut off as well. If you use the B90 tool you will need a box end 1 1/16” or 27m/m wrench and the corresponding socket at the bolt end of this tool. You will need some grease, emery paper, brake cleaner if you want to clean all the areas before reassembly as well as clean the torx bolts, good lighting so you can see what you are doing, and a good creeper as you will be all over the underside of the car.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Florida Panhandle/ Ohio
    Posts
    7,318
    My Cars
    14 JGC/13 E88 128i

    Rear Wheel Bearing Pictures

    Whell Bearing pictures
    Attached Images Attached Images

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Florida Panhandle/ Ohio
    Posts
    7,318
    My Cars
    14 JGC/13 E88 128i

    Removal of the half shaft prep for bearing removal

    More pictures of the rear wheel bearing removal
    Attached Images Attached Images

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Florida Panhandle/ Ohio
    Posts
    7,318
    My Cars
    14 JGC/13 E88 128i

    More Rear Wheel Bearing Pictures

    More Rear Wheel Bearing Pictures

    First shows how to push the half shaft out of the spindle

    Second picture shows how the bearing race usually stays on the spindle requiring removal of the race with a dremel

    Third picture shows the scoring of the race on the bearing thus the reason for the removal

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Florida Panhandle/ Ohio
    Posts
    7,318
    My Cars
    14 JGC/13 E88 128i

    More pics tomorrow

    More tomorrow

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    KNOXVILLE
    Posts
    1,708
    My Cars
    2001 740il
    subscribing

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Florida Panhandle/ Ohio
    Posts
    7,318
    My Cars
    14 JGC/13 E88 128i

    Wheel Bearing Removal: More Pictures

    First Picture is of the Dremel tool used to cut the bearing race so you can remove it from the spindle.

    Second picture is of the slide hammer and hub tool you can borrow from Auto Zone

    Third picture is what the old bearing area will look like when you pull the spindle out. I like the slide hammer because you do not need to remove the parking brake and backing plate

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Florida Panhandle/ Ohio
    Posts
    7,318
    My Cars
    14 JGC/13 E88 128i
    I have more pictures but they are not of great quality. I have tried to show what some of the procedure is like and I know some pictures are out of sequence but at least you can see how the slide hammer and hub foot work and why the B90 tool is such a great way to press the old bearing out and press the new bearing and spindle in...
    If you have questions please just IM me.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    KNOXVILLE
    Posts
    1,708
    My Cars
    2001 740il
    Thats the best rear wheel bearing DIY out there.Thanks

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Sydney Australia
    Posts
    83
    My Cars
    E36 1991 318i
    Hi,
    great DIY tip mate.

    1. Do you have a pics of how the spindle was taken off using both the B90 and slide hammer? I can't imagine how it was done especially using the slide hammer.

    2. Any pictures pressing the spindle back using the B90?

    Lastly, if I may ask a favour please? Do you mind give me the specs/dimensions of the B90 tool 'parts'? I mean just when you have the chance to measure each part. B90 is a bit of 'ouch' in pocket to buy $$$. I can ask my machinist uncle to make one for me instead.

    Cheers
    Edgar

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Springfield, mo
    Posts
    43
    My Cars
    1999 525
    Nice write up man. Thank you. I've been researching this. I thought my back tires were getting noisey, but since have figured out that a bearing is going bad. It still has no play or grinding, but I'm sure it will soon.

    One other note, from my research, the rear bearing is a Timken/BCA part number 513106. And Beck/Arnley 0512733

    Specs are

    Bore - 1.6535"
    Outer Diameter - 2.9528"
    Width of outer race - 1.4567"

    Pretty common part. I'm going to try a bearing place here in KC. They can match any bearing pretty much, usually for far cheaper than the local auto parts store, and they are American made, top quality.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Yardley, PA
    Posts
    385
    My Cars
    09 Audi A4, 94 325is
    Looks like we'll be attempting the above technique this weekend. Can't get hold of a B90 tool to seat/remove the bearing so we'll just have to "be careful" seating it.

    Wish us luck!
    If anyone has any wisdom to share please let me know.

    Thanks fun2drive.... awesome!

    John

    Update 1-2-2007:
    Did the job in @ 6hours using all tools rented from Autozone. The worse part was getting the Torx bolts off the half shaft, we had to cut them off and get some new ones. The car is sooooo quiet now! My B-in-Law did most of the work, without him, the car would have went to the garage!
    Last edited by jg727211; 01-02-2007 at 05:31 AM.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Central California
    Posts
    170
    My Cars
    1994 BMW 325ic
    Great Diy

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Sandpoint, ID
    Posts
    329
    My Cars
    Eclipse/M3
    FYI the e36 m3 has a 36mm nut holding the axel on there.

    Thanks for the great writeup.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Hope, Arkansas
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    1996 BMW 328IS

    Thanks for posting the great information!

    As an aircraft mechanic, I am used to fairly complex assembly work, but the information that was posted REALLY made this job MUCH easier! I only replaced the right hand side, which did not require removal of the exhaust system, but I DID have to remove the torsion bar (about a 3 minute job!) Total time was about 4 hours and 10 minutes, and some of that time was spent on making a bearing "installer" tool.

    The "installer' tool is a very simple affair. Two 2" x 4" x 1/4" with a hole drilled right in the middle of both ( hole size depends on the size of all-thread that you use). A 12" piece of all-thread (bigger the better!) with three nuts. Pretty simple and cheap!!!

    USE lots of grease on the inside of the bore and the outside of the wheel bearing. Attach two nuts on one end of the all-thread and jam them together so that they will not allow each other to turn. Put the all-thread through one of the plates, put this through the BACKSIDE of the bore so that the plate sits flush on the two "raised areas" on the top and bottom of the backside of the wheel bearing housing. The all-thread should com all of the way through the hole. Put the new wheel bearing (with lots of grease!) over the hole and put the other 2" x 4" plate over the bearing. Tighten the nut so that the plate is "pushing" the bearing into the hole.

    Hold the two nuts from the back side with an appropriat wrench and tighten the front nut with another wrench or ratchet. Put pressure on the bearing by turning this nut. Every turn to a turn and a half, stop and DO NOT HAMMER the plate but just "bump" this plate with a SMALL hammer. Just enough to "jar" the bearing and let it slide into place.

    After you get the bearing in as far as it will go (the plate will stop when it gets to the lip, the bearing still has about 3/8" to go!) you will have to find something the exact sixe of the bearing to place between the bearing and the plate you are using to push the bearing in with. I used the old race, which just happened to be the right size (go figure!) I tightened up the all-thread again, after putting the old race between the bearing and the plate, and continued to tighten and bump until the bearing bottomed out in it's bore. remove the nut and slide the all-thread out and you are ready to put the spindle back in.

    I had real good results with this method, and it will be the method I use for the other side in a few weeks. It is simple to make, efficient, reusable, and CHEAP!! I think I have less than $4.00 in my set-up!

    I hope this information helps somebody. If there are any questions, just hollar!! Again, thanks for the great information!!

    Ken

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    northridge,ca
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    BMW 1984.1987,1994

    Thumbs up

    Okay I just need to get the old bearing out all but the outer ring of the bearing fell apart. I don't have a B90 any other guesses on how to get it out it's stuck in there pretty good?

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    60517
    Posts
    5,195
    My Cars
    94 325i, 95 M3, 1997 325
    You just gotta love wheel bearings.
    Washedit1 by thedude60526, on Flickr
    11/10's Racing
    94 325i #36/64 TEAM PENISTON OILS/ LARSENS BISCUITS

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Sanger
    Posts
    2
    My Cars
    318is
    Sorry to bump this from the past, but fun2drive,I bought the b90 tool, and I know the nut on the end of the threaded shaft is threaded but is the cross bar on your b90 also threaded? I can't figure out how to push the shaft through with my b90, the only female thread is on the nut?

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    PA
    Posts
    743
    My Cars
    95M3,98Z3,00528
    I'll be doing this within the week, thanks for writeup

  21. #21
    busterhax's Avatar
    busterhax is offline Y̝͎̘̍́ͣ̉͑̿̆Ō͎̼̺̬̒ͯ̃̇͗̂ U͈̖
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    NYC
    Posts
    8,440
    My Cars
    e36
    I couldnt pop the half shaft out for ish. I tried using the b90 tool but it kept walking off of the thread piece of the half shaft inside the hub. then i tried hammering it..no go. I'm gonna pick up a torch tomorrow...heat it up, spray it, then whack the F out of it with a hammer and hope it pops out the other side. I spent sooooooo much time today trying to get the damn half shaft out of the hub >:[

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    Posts
    1,418
    My Cars
    '95 Hardbody
    Quote Originally Posted by busterhax View Post
    I couldnt pop the half shaft out for ish. I tried using the b90 tool but it kept walking off of the thread piece of the half shaft inside the hub. then i tried hammering it..no go. I'm gonna pick up a torch tomorrow...heat it up, spray it, then whack the F out of it with a hammer and hope it pops out the other side. I spent sooooooo much time today trying to get the damn half shaft out of the hub >:[
    I had exactly the same problem. I ended up soaking it with PB Blaster overnight, and using a puller with an impact wrench. Even with a giant hammer, the axle didn't budge. When I reinstalled it, I coated the splines with anti-seize compound so I wouldn't have to deal with that PITA again. Good luck, man.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    560
    My Cars
    92 325i 9/91 Build Date
    Just got done with one side. What biatch getting the drive flange and bearing off. I rented a slide hammer and beat on it for hours, finally I got one side off but the other doesn't want to budge. Heating/cooling, using a heavier barbell weight and it still won't move. Time for a cold one and I'll try again tomorrow.

    Any suggestions?

    BTW - Dri ice worked wonders during the install. Sat the bearing and flange on ice and they went in pretty easy.


    PS - Nice write up.
    Last edited by Headnsouth; 06-05-2009 at 05:55 PM.
    92 325i 230K
    98 Pontiac Transport 195K
    03 GMC Sierra 72K
    05 G35 102K

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Houston, TX
    Posts
    12,459
    My Cars
    36 Cylinders
    when you used the dry ice.. did you have to make a press tool or did it slide right in by hand?
    -Abel

    - E36 328is ~210-220whp: Lots of Mods.
    - 2000 Z3: Many Mods.
    - 2003 VW Jetta TDI Manual 47-50mpg
    - 1999 S52 Estoril M Coupe
    - 2014 328d Wagon, self-tuned, 270hp/430ft-lbs
    - 2019 M2 Competition, self-tuned, 504whp
    - 2016 Mini Cooper S

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    560
    My Cars
    92 325i 9/91 Build Date
    Quote Originally Posted by 328 Power 04 View Post
    when you used the dry ice.. did you have to make a press tool or did it slide right in by hand?
    I had to hammer it in. No way was it that loose.
    92 325i 230K
    98 Pontiac Transport 195K
    03 GMC Sierra 72K
    05 G35 102K

Page 1 of 5 12345 LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •