Rear Wheel Bearings Went AGAIN!!!!!!!
 

This will be the second time in the past year that I will be replacing my passenger side rear wheel bearings. Note: Proper seals were put in. what in the heck is going on?!
Brock

forgive the ignorance :) ... trying to diagnose whats wrong with my rear end... what are the symptoms of a bad rear wheel bearing?

Why dont you just go with another set of hubs with lower mile OEM bearings and go on about your business? In working with over 200 rx7s in 5-6 years I have NEVER had to replace a wheelbearing, ever.

what size and offset are you using for your wheels?

I agree with kevin, very rare to even replace them, well alone two sets in a FCs life.

OK. I'm going with Kevin's idea. Now I have an 89 rx n/a and I believe there is an 87 or 88 at the junk yard. Will the hub assemblies be the same? In general, what models should or can I look for to perform this swap out?

Any of the 5 bolt assemblies should work.

Are you properly preloading the hub?


-Ted

Preload?
 

I do not recall the manual mentioning a preload. More details please.

Isnt the hub assemblies like 110$ from Mazda? Why not just go get new ones.

The FSM should mention preload.&nbsp You're supposed to use a spring scale on one of the wheel studs to determine how much PSI of pressure it takes to turn the wheel.&nbsp You tighten the axle nut until you hit this preload spec.


-Ted

Hmmm... are you using aftermarket wheels?

And are you preloading it properly (as been mentioned)?

RX7's have very reliable wheel bearings, where as my SVX had to have them replaced almost anually.

I have had to replace one, but it was my own error, the axle nut was loose, i forgot to tighten it and put the tab in so it came off and the wheel started to shimmy for a while. It took forever for me to figure out what the hell was going on, so i took the whole shit apart and they were tore the fuck up. I went to the J yard and got a new assembly for like 20--30 bucks or so and went on my way. No problems yet.

Premature wheel bearing failure is usually due to improper installation.. :(

Thanks Guys.
 

Just Sounds like an error on my part. Thanks guys.
Brock

When replacing or adjusting your bearings you have to leave just a whisker of give in the wheel. Jack it up, pop the cap, pull the pin, pull the hex nut, then put your wheels back on, tighten lugs to just more then finger tight, and adjest the nut until the amount of give in the wheel is approx. 1millimeter. If you put it on too tight ,you will burn through them in no time.

i have replaced three in the last year.....maybe four......ill put on a new hub so this brake shimmy noise goes away and the clikity clack sound goes away...and the problem comes back and the hub is all out of shape the bearing isnt as flush as it was....go put another one on....same thing six months later....

No Mention of Preload in Manual
 

The manual only mentioned preloading the front axle. So upon installing the rear axle nut I just used the specified torque requirments (174-231 ft-lb) which resulted in the ruining of my rear bearings. Anyhow, here's my second attempt. So, should I just preload the rear axle using the specifications for the front. Frustrated.

You're right theres no preload values for the rear wheel bearings. However, they are a pain to remove and install properly, it's very likely you damaged them during installation. How did you install the bearings?

They are sealed units and need to be pressed in with tools well suited for the job. I use a hub shark for mine and the first time I fucked up the seal on one side of the bearing in the last few mm's of pressing it back in. That bearing lasted like 6 months, basically til snow started falling and all the crap got in the bearing and rusted it up.

where is this axle nut...my wheels in the back are all screwed up and it sounds like this might be my problem

he's talking about the REAR wheel bearings. Nothing to adjust on those.

why are so many people having problems with there bearings??

Oops, we just use the same preload as the front bearings...


-Ted

So... not to resurrect a dead thread or anything, but uh.. I had my rear wheel bearings pressed out because everything was dirty in there and whatnot and the guy who did it dented the outer bearing race (the part holding the balls) and somehow separated it from the inner race which is still on the wheel hub. I don't want to buy a new hub, but this is giving me the willies about replacing my bearings... has anybody SUCCESSFULLY replaced a set of rear wheel bearings on an RX-7 and had it last?

Thanks,

-- D
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My buddy and I replaced all four of his wheel bearings bout a year ago and he hasn't had any problems since.

He was in an accident bout 6 years ago and screwed up his hubs in the rear...the shop he took it to machined them out and inserted sleeves to hold the bearings which he replaced. He used bearings for an S5 or possibly an fd so the hub never sat right in the driveshaft. Nothing seemed to be wrong until his wheels picked up a nasty vibration...the bearings were shot and tore up the inner hubs.

When we looked at the bearings they look really similar except for a slight variation in angle at which they sit on the shaft...wore the bearing down to the point that it was taking chunks out of the hub.

Anyway, my point is make sure that they are factory spec bearings for the year of your car...S4 and S5 could have tiny variation which might cause them to wear excessively.

My buddy and I replaced all four of his wheel bearings bout a year ago and he hasn't had any problems since.

He was in an accident bout 6 years ago and screwed up his hubs in the rear...the shop he took it to machined them out and inserted sleeves to hold the bearings which he replaced. He used bearings for an S5 or possibly an fd so the hub never sat right in the driveshaft. Nothing seemed to be wrong until his wheels picked up a nasty vibration...the bearings were shot and tore up the inner hubs.

When we looked at the bearings they look really similar except for a slight variation in angle at which they sit on the shaft...wore the bearing down to the point that it was taking chunks out of the hub.

Anyway, my point is make sure that they are factory spec bearings for the year of your car...S4 and S5 could have tiny variation which might cause them to wear excessively.