I've done the search, and found a lot of good info. I've got an '82 GSL, with rear disks and LSD, 195K miles. I drove through some deep water (hurricane) a couple of years ago, and now its time to pay the piper by replacing the bearings. Changing the axle fluid right afterwards did not prevent the damage. The bearings have been loud for a long time.

I've got a slide hammer, and I intend to take the axles to a shop to have the old bearings pressed off, and new bearings pressed on. Does anyone have any advice? Any unpublished problems? Some FWD transmissions use the axles for support, and you don't pull both axles out without inserting a dowel. Nothing like that hiding is there?

I've been thinking about cooling the axle (to shrink it) and warming the bearing (to expand it). This might allow me to put the bearing on myself. Has anyone done this?

Thanks,
Eric

 

Well i ended up Cutting mine off and pressing on the new ones...However...Do NOT use heat!! It can warp the axles which i believe happened to someone on the forum.

 

ive been needing to do this as well. im debating if it would be less trouble to just put a new rear end in the car. looks like it

 

First off - I have not performed this maintenance...

The FSM states that you use a bench grinder to grind down the 'ridge' on the axle, and this allows you to then split the ring that holds the bearing in place. If I have this wrong, please forgive.

For me, it looks like a lot more trouble than I would want to get into, so I'd probably buy the bearings, pull the axles myself, and take the whole kit-and-kabootle down to the local rear-end mechanic and let him figure out how to get them on there.

Too easy for me to screw it up, and he's likely done this every day for awhile. From reading the FSM, it just looks like too much hassle and too many opportunities for problems, IMO. HTH,

 

I did this not too terribly long ago myself. Indeed the easiest way is to just pull the axles, buy the bearings, and take the "whole kit-and-kaboodle" down to a shop. I just took mine to Napa, they have a machine shop, and had the whole process done in a couple of hours. You'll appreciate having that slide hammer. Pulling those axles without one was a bitch, let me tell ya.

Just do exactly what you'd planned. No tricks, or surprises. Oh, and have fun!

Brian

 

I did this recently.

Just pull the axles (simple job, and no hidden nasties) and take them, along with your new bearings and collars to a mechanic. They can remove the old ones and press new ones on for ya. My mechanic used a cold chisel to get the old ones off, and a press to put the new ones on.

You can do the axle seals yourself, they're cheap so you may as well replace them while everything is apart.

All up, it's not too bad. Just a bit time consuming, with removing the rear brakes and blah blah.

 

I saw a reference to new collars. I got new bearings and axle seals, but I did not get the collars. Should I plan on getting new collars and have them pressed on at the same time? Looks like VB would be the place I would order those from.

Oh, and I do have the factory manual and the Haynes manual. I like pictures.

I've called around and found a place that will press the bearings on for me. This is all good info. I always like it when I'm doing something that someone else has done before. I hate it when I hear, "We've never seen/done that before."

Eric

 

i'm doing this VERY VERY SOON...i'll give an obvious tip that hasn't been mentioned...

make sure you drain the rear end fluid before pulling the axles...(credit goes to 82transam for that one)

I only got the bearings and seals and not the collars too...i have the same question as well...

 

Would the Floating Axle kit from Guru make the rear axle bearings easier to replace?

 

You cant press off the collars to get the old bearings off. Like Long Duck said, the best way is to grind the collar flat, then split it with a cold chisel, being careful not to damage the axle. Then the new collar and bearing can go on. I had a NAPA machine shop do a set for me once. Never again. They removed the collars by bracing the axle on a work table and using a 10lb sledge. I found out cause I wandered into the shop while they were working on it. Needless to say I wont be letting anyone do that again. You do need a hydraulic press to get the new stuff on. If you dont have your own press, my suggestion is to watch them work on it to make sure that they treat your stuff properly. Or remove the old stuff yourself and have them just press on the new bearing and collar.

Pele. alot of expense to go thru for easy bearing changes.

 

Yes, and the guru kit is ausome. But at a price of like 2200-2700 it might not be worth it to replace axle bearing which in all should be under 200 for the whole job. I tryed to do this a couple weeks ago. I ended up just replacing my center section, which was the source of most of my noise. But i had trouble getting good axle seals, they sold me some crappy tin ones that were impossible to get in without destroying. I finally got some good ones. try and use the Chicago Rawhide name brand for the axle seals, they are better quality and have a strong durable steel case, much easier to tap into the axle without ruining the seal. Then i also had trouble getting the bearings, i finally got them but they didnt come with the retainers, so i just said screw it and reuturned them. Im going to try and do them again in a couple months, by then i hope to have found the right bearings. But most of the noise in my car was from the 3rd member.

CJG

 

The collars are actually a part of the bearings.

 

No the collar is 26152 and the bearing is 26151

 

Thanks for the tip. I already had that in mind. I'm beginning to believe I need to order some spacers. Better to figure that out now than later...

 

Sorry Carl, what I meant was that the collars should come with the bearings when you buy them.

 

Funny, I got new ones with my bearings, but I guess they dont all come that way.

 

As was said DO NOT USE HEAT even careful application of a torch to get the old bearings off resulted in my friend "Nick-7" 's axels being bent. (wasn't me BTW) So be sure and get them pressed off by someone with the proper equipment as has already been said.

 

Well I just got mine from the mazda dealer and yes the collar is a separate part. I hope I can find someone to
press the new bearings on. I talked to a "mechanic"
and he said he just beats them on with a hammer!
I can do that at home, I just don't want a 350 dollar axle
messed up. One thing I was not sure of is do the
brake lines have to be disconnected? I am hoping to
get this done by myself and just get the bearings
removed and pressed on at a good shop.

thanks guys very timely post as I am going to be trying this soon.

 

I've got rear discs, so I should only have to tie the caliper out of the way.

And I just ordered the collar and the spacer from Victoria British. I think one of the bearings from Autozone or Advanced Auto parts had the collar also.

I should be pulling the axles this weekend. I'll post any "key learnings".

As for heat on the bearing, you can also make a bearing not be round anymore. At work we put new bearings in an oven to gently heat them. A few weeks ago we put 100 bags of ice on a large shaft to shrink the shaft to help put a bearing on.

 

Here is a good shot of the axle after its out.

I tryed just to post the pic but it won't take it.

And take a look at this guys car very nice!

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/455583/8

 

Dont let ANYONE hammer that bearing on. I hate these clowns that call themselves mechaincs. A press is the only way to go. Find someone else to do the job.

 

yea as stated earlier, NO HEAT!!!!!!!!! I'm one of a couple people who have bent axles because of that ****. I am going to be replacing my axles very soon, doing the work myself (I have access to a press for the reinstall) I can do a write up if anyone wants me to. Also, the collar is seperate, and you will need that, it must be destroyed to remove it.

 

The brake line MUST be disconnected sorry. Disconnect it at the hose to hardline connection. Reason being that the bracket that holds that interface is mounted to the backing plate/ dust shield, which also must come off to remove the axle.

 

Dont buy the bearing/seal kit from VB. the seal they included with the kit i bought was defiantly not the right seal.

 

I'm fairly certain that there's other advantages to that floating axle setup other than easy bearing and pumpkin changes.

Don't they take sideways load better? I've heard of the axles or bearings creeping outwards or something under HARD cornering or sideways loads on cars with these perss on bearings... Although it IS just hearsay.