Hey guys, long time since I've been here. Been busy with my new house!

Anyway, I got the humming noise again and it sounds like its my right rear wheel bearing. I just wanted to get some of your input if I would be able to do this. I did manage to replace one side of my front control arms(the pinch bolt got the best of me on the other side). Did it with no power tools.

So would this be easier?

I am going to follow this DIY AudiWorld Tech Articles right up to step:16

I would I just remove the arm with the bearing and hub still in place and from that point I just bring the whole assembly to a shop for them to remove and press in the new bearing.

I will buy this bearing kit Audi B5 A4 Quattro V6 30v > Search > Wheel Bearing > ES#2550262 Rear Wheel Bearing Kit - Priced Each (75mm) - 8D0598625A

and will probably get a tool to remove the rear brakes.

Anything else I should consider?



TIA!

 

wheel bearing are fairly easy. just remove the knuckle and let a shop deal with pressing the bearing and hub out and in. ive never done a rear bearing but i imagine its easier than a front because of less linkage. and what kind of special tool do you need for rear brakes? i believe the caliper is held in with 8mm allen heads. unless you are talking about replacing pads too, then yes youll need a tool to turn the piston while it is retracting, although it can be done with a big channel locks too

 

Well to get the knuckle out, you'd have to take the brakes out, and when you do the piston will push outwards wont it?

 

The piston won't close without something causing it to do so.
If you push the brake pedal while the caliper is off the pads, then yes, it will move (and not in a good way either).
But if you just remove the caliper from the pads, and don't change the pads, then you shouldn't need to compress the piston.
And for the rear, don't pull the e-brake and the same will hold true.

 

yeah what metal man said. just don't hit the brakes and the piston wont push out.

 

One tip: When unbolting the hardware that holds the knuckle in place, there is one bolt that is built-in to the suspension. It spins freely within a ball joint.

If possible, unbolt the nut on that bolt first. I had a hell of a time on my first wheel bearing DIY because I left that nut for last and the bolt just kept spinning. I had to file down a small set of vise-grips to secure the bolt and remove the nut.

 

If you want to save money you could defiantly do it yourself. I did mine by myself. Both rear bearings. Just follow one of the guides out there I think i saw one on one of the Audi sites. It took me 2-3 hours for the first side and about 45 for the other (disassemble). I'd recommend going to a shop and having them press your bearings in 30-60$ and saves you a ton of headaches!!!!!The freeze/heat method did'nt work for me. And about 30-45 min per side to reassemble. One issue I ran into is the rear abs sensors in the upright. Mine were very corroded and one broke...be careful because the are more fragile than the look (thin metal walls filled with fine coiled wire) then you have to grind/dig them out w/o damaging the housing.

I think all you need is regular hand tools. The only weird one was the brake caliper bolt (big hex wrench)(or some part of the brake assembly)

Oh and be careful with you wrenches when removing the upper part of the upright. To far and you nick your fender. You'll need 2 wrenches for that part.

 

Done it that way a few times, but now I have a friend with a bearing press. As someone else said, you can have a problem with the toe in trailing arm. Sometimes I leave the arm on the knuckle and disassemble it back where it connects to the body. Mark those eliptical bolts so your alignment is close. But you should still get a new alignment.

 

leave the ABS sensors in the hub, (old hubs with road grim and heated hubs from bearing failure friction lead to problems) and follow the wires for the abs sensors up under the rear bench seat and disconnect them there. you will need to remove the rubber grommet to pull them through, but this is much better than trying to fight the ABS sensors out of the Hub and then trying to get them back in correctly. Take the Knuckle with ABS and wires still attached and get a local shop to press the bearings out and in for a few bucks.

 

This sounds like a good alternative when handling the ABS sensor. I'll give this a try.

Thanks everyone for their inputs. Much appreciated!