Wheel bearing F#@! Up

[dan00001]

So I change a rear wheel bearing today, I change one not so long ago so It wasn't my first time.

Everything went well to start, what took me an hour or two first time took only half hour this time. So I've got the axle out, the old bearing off and the new bearing ready to go back on.

Now this is where things go wrong, I had taken the backing plate (is that what it's called?) off to clean everything up, I then replaced the new bearing & retainer without first fitting the backing plate

So desperate to be able to get my car moving, the only thing I could think of was to cut the retainer off (as I could not get it off with a good bashing) to be able to slide the bearing off (it came off easy-ish with a hammer & block of wood)

Now I have everything back together without the bearing retainer. I'm just wondering how dangerous this is, how likely is the axle to slip outwards?

I've driven about 6 miles with no signs of axle slipping out but I'm going to west Wales next weekend and that's 100 miles each way.

So should I be worried? Do I need to order a new bearing kit or can I buy just the retainer?

Thanks.

[SherwoodNash]

Damn, that's annoying, not sure about the safety aspect, but it appears you won't be the first or last to do that

At least you have a good week to sort it out if needs be

Here's a pic from darrell and Twiss's reply, see halfway down the 1st page of the thread in link.




http://twiss.ddns.net/scuk/index.php?op ... hp&p=14561

[Jezz]

Do not drive it on the road without the bearing retainer, The half shaft will come out and you will crash.
You will be fine shunting it around your drive etcetera, But at road speed cornering the load on the wheel will pull the half shaft out.
But it's your car , So up to you.

[Darrell]

Am I reading correctly, no retainer fitted! I wouldn't drive to the end of the road like that. The bearing itself won't be adequate to hold the shaft in and the axle oil seal will have nothing to run on and the oil will go through the bearing into the brake drum.
I think I must have the wrong end of the stick, I'll try reading again

[Darrell]

So I change a rear wheel bearing today, I change one not so long ago so It wasn't my first time.

Everything went well to start, what took me an hour or two first time took only half hour this time. So I've got the axle out, the old bearing off and the new bearing ready to go back on.

Now this is where things go wrong, I had taken the backing plate (is that what it's called?) off to clean everything up, I then replaced the new bearing & retainer without first fitting the backing plate

So desperate to be able to get my car moving, the only thing I could think of was to cut the retainer off (as I could not get it off with a good bashing) to be able to slide the bearing off (it came off easy-ish with a hammer & block of wood)

Now I have everything back together without the bearing retainer. I'm just wondering how dangerous this is, how likely is the axle to slip outwards?

I've driven about 6 miles with no signs of axle slipping out but I'm going to west Wales next weekend and that's 100 miles each way.

So should I be worried? Hell yes !! Do I need to order a new bearing kit or can I buy just the retainer?

Thanks.

If the bearing is fitted with rubber seals hopefully the oil hasn't gone through and yes the retainer can be purchased separately, well genuine ones anyway.

[Jezz]

I didn't bother mentioning the oil seal part, As i thought that will be the least of his worrys as his back wheel and half shaft overtake him as he slides sideways out of control into oncoming traffic or perdestrians.

[dan00001]

Thanks guys, yes I found out about the oil seal the hard way as I had a puddle of oil on my drive

Oh well, you know what they say about learning more from failure than success..

I will have a new retaining ring with me by end of tuesday and I won't be making that mistake again!

Thanks again for all your help/advice.

[dan00001]

I just watched an episode of 'roadkill' on Netflix where they had to fit a new wheel bearing to an old Chevy and forgot to put the retaining plate on before the bearing

It made me feel a little bit better about my f#@! Up today

[ScottieJ]

We have all made that mistake before....it's so easy to press the new bearing and retainer on forgetting the backing plate as said though, it's risky driving without the retainer.......I've had to do it before when the bearing and retainer got pulled off the shaft in some ruts while off-roading only option I had was to just hammer the shaft back in and carefully drive 30miles home. Had the passenger mirror tilted down so I could keep and eye on the wheel all the way home

[dan00001]

Scottie, I hope I never make that mistake again!

Anyway, I wanted to report back, I managed to get a single retaining ring from muddyzook.com and with their super fast delivery it turned up yesterday morning.

Now call me stupid but Monday & Tuesday I HAD to drive my car to the job I'm on and back home, it's only about a 5 mile journey each way and I took it slow and kept an eye on the wheel!

Yesterday evening I had the half shaft out again to fit the retaining ring and the half shaft had not moved a single mm out from the bearing,

Now it's not a good idea to drive without the retaining ring I know that and I wouldn't advise anyone else doing so, but i thought I'd report my findings nonetheless.

And I'd like to say a big thank you to muddyzook for all their help and for answering my questions on a weekend!

Thanks everyone,
Dan.