opinion wheel bearings

[anthony_c]

i'm planning a rebuild of the rear suspension and brakes to includes all bushings, strut cartridges, spindle pins, washers, nuts, etc.

in the spirit of "while we're at it", is there any reason or value to replacing rear bearings as well? 

i noticed a fair amount of wheel wiggle up front, i'm assuming the rears are in similar condition.

[grannyknot]

There are a few threads on the rear wheel bearings in the archives but the long and short of it is,

The rear bearings last a long time. Mine had 152,000 miles on them and were in perfect working order when I replaced them, but I was in there anyway and didn't expect to go back in the future so I replaced them.

[siteunseen]

^^^^me too^^^^. What he said.

[anthony_c]

did you replace inner and outer bearings?

[grannyknot]

did you replace inner and outer bearings?

Yes, I did the whole thing and the inner bearings are a real bugger unless you have the right tool.

[Mike W]

I did a complete rear suspension upgrade about 2 years ago and for some reason never even thought about changing out the rear bearings.

 

So just recently I did a rear disc brake upgrade, which required that I remove the rear strut assembly, and decided to do the bearings while I was at it. 

 

Glad that I did.  I've owned the car since day one and so I know they were never changed before.  Two of the bearings were so dry of grease that the balls actually rattled within the bearing race.  I guess I should be happy that they were still in reasonable condition after 40+ years of use.

 

I replaced them with genuine Nissan parts.  Figured if the first ones lasted 40+ years, I would never have to worry about this again.

 

It is a much easier task if the strut is off the car and if you have a press as well as a split bearing puller.  There are alternative ways of doing this (see the write up on Atlantic Z from Blue) but if you are at the point of disassembling the rear for a suspension upgrade, you should definitely do the bearings especially if they have not been done before.

 

Mike.

[73str86]

i'm planning a rebuild of the rear suspension and brakes to includes all bushings, strut cartridges, spindle pins, washers, nuts, etc.

in the spirit of "while we're at it", is there any reason or value to replacing rear bearings as well? 

i noticed a fair amount of wheel wiggle up front, i'm assuming the rears are in similar condition.

 

I'm replacing everything in the rear except brake hardware and the rear bearings. I probably would if I had more time or money. And the sooner I'm driving the Z, the better. 

 

I've gotten decently lucky pulling spindle pins, strut cartridges, and bushings. I never had an issue with brake shoes or rear bearings so I'll leave them as they are. 

Edited April 22, 2015 by 73str86

[bartsscooterservice]

I remember mine where stuck as hell. I eventually heated up the housing first and then with the right bearing puller it came out easily. My advice would be don't wack it cold ! Only if you have a shop press and the whole thing of the car.