frenchstallion

how hard would it be to replace the left rear wheel bearing on my 2001 a4 1.8tq?

whoace

It's quite the process. I just did the rear right on my car about 3 weeks ago. You'll need some tools that are not common if you aren't a mechanic.

- Torque wrench
- 14mm allen
- Breaker bar
- Hydraulic press or a hub tamer
- A bunch of wrenches and allen sockets, IIRC 10mm, 15mm, 17mm X 2, 19mm X 2, and I think a 4mm and 6mm allen

There are camber washers that need to be marked and they need to go back in the exact same position or your alignment will be off. The hub bolt is one time use only since it's torque to angle. You will need to get a new one with your bearing.

Unless you are very mechanically inclined, this is not a do-it-yourself kind of job.

sam.hollis

Took my mechanic 4 hours to do 3 weeks ago drivers side rear. Bought the bearing from purems.com for $60 plus $15 dollars shipping.

whoace

I did my rear right bearing four weeks ago because it was very, very loud. So I fix that and as soon as I drive away, I hear the noise from the rear left. Did it today. Took me 2 hours. The toughest part is removing the damn collar (axle shaft) bolt which has a ridiculous torque spec of 85 ft/lbs + 180 degrees. It's a 14mm hex and it's so rusted that it'll just strip. I welded a piece of a hex key into the bolt and removed it with a 3 foot breaker bar. You will also need to buy a new collar bolt since it is torque to angle (one time use only). Cost for me was $32 (bearing and bolt) but list is around $60-80.

All the tools you need: (these are the correct tools, scratch the post above)

• 19mm wrench X 2 (to remove upright bolts)
• 17mm wrench X 2 (to remove stab link)
• 14mm allen (collar bolt)
• 8mm allen (caliper carrier)
• 5mm allen (for the ABS sensor. These things are seized in as well. I found it easier to remove the back seat and unplug the harness and remove the grommets)
• 10mm socket (backing plate)
• 13mm socket (caliper bolts)
• 15mm thin wrench (to hold the slider on the caliper)
• Torque wrench
• 1/2" drive breaker bar (the longer the better)
• Hydraulic press or a hub tamer (remove/install bearing)
• A little bit of emery cloth to clean the rust
• Bungee cords to hold the caliper and drive axle

Make sure you mark the camber washers and the pinch bolt at the bottom of the upright or your alignment will be out. Remove the washer before punching the bolt out.

I'm so glad that damn whirring is gone. Finally, some peace and quiet.

Black_RS4

wow... sweet write-up....

DominikA6

I've found great success getting the old bearing out with an air hammer. Without damaging anything. you just gotta get it in the right spot and it just pops out.

SportyBry

Do rear wheel bearings go frequently on these cars? If so, why?

My girlfriend has a 2000 A4 2.8 quattro she bought 1.5 years ago.
The right rear wheel bearing was done right away. Left rear done 6 months later. 3 months after that the right rear was replaced again under warranty due to noise. Now the left rear is humming again.


I know on my old 4WD Mazda 323GTX there was a spacer required between the inner and outer bearings. You needed to set the bearing pre-load to find the correct spacer first. Many, MANY people had endless trips to the dealer who just replaced the bearings and re-used the old spacer while never verifing that the preload was correct.

Chaos

i did mine 2 days ago rear left worst part is getting the hold bearing out and putting the new one in. Didnt have a press so i used a hammer and the old bearing to punch it in dont recomend this method but no shops were open to press it in for me at the time.