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GU Rear Wheel Bearings

32K views 56 replies 19 participants last post by  Frenchfries 
#1 ·
Hi Guys,

I'm looking at changind the rear wheel bearings on my GU. I have replaced front bearings before but never the rears. These bearings are monsters. Does the sleave require pressing out and in? and am i required to drop the diff oil to remove the hub?
Cheers
Troy
 
#4 ·
They need to be pressed out and can be a right bugger to do. The bearing housing can be very tight, so you will need a pretty big press and very likely some heat. You also have to be very careful when pressing them out, so that you don't bend the housing (ergo the use of a bit of heat). It's not an overly difficult job, if you can find a workshop that has the right gear to press out the bearing.

Cheers

Ray
 
#5 ·
Hi guys,

No problems with them. Was just going to change them as a maintenance precaution. The trucks done 270 000klms, just thought she could do with some new ones. I've got them there but if you think there's no need I'll leave them alone. And wait till they need them. What are your thoughts????
Cheers
Troy
 
#6 ·
Do a small test to see if they feel right. Take off the wheel and spin the hub and listen for any noise (they should be smooth and quiet) and then see if there is any lateral etc movement in the axle. Usually when the bearing starts to go, you'll hear a rumbling noise, especially while driving when they are really on the way out.

Cheers

Ray
 
#7 ·
Hi Ray,
I did all the tests a few weeks ago when I had issues in the back (turned out to be a loose wheel weight) All sounds great and smooth. I dont think i'll do them now. I'll wait until there is a problem.
Thanks
Cheers
Troy
 
#8 ·
Hi Troy. If you do the bearings one at a time, you don't have to drain the diff oil. Just jack up one side fairly high, block up with stand and leave for a while for the oil to run down to the diff head. Withdraw the axle and then after replacing, do the other side. I have to say I lean to the party saying leave the damn thing alone until it becomes roudy though. The bearings could do over 400 to 500 k without grief. Cheers, Derb.
 
#9 ·
hmm hey guys, didnt want to start a new post so bummin on to this one (sorry troy), i have a loud "woouuurrrrring " faster and repetitive sound in the back and is got the tiniest little vibration when off the gas ,more then wen its on (probably cause everything else is moving ).
ive had the same sound before in a barina i once had and it was the wheel bearings , people say they last for ever but i say they dont .
what are your comments or ideas ?
cheers!
ps. 98 gu with 340,000 klicks.
 
#50 ·
So grease ?
Okay so new ones come pre-greased ?
So no grease in this section ?
Got a pic of grease in new bearing ?
Did they need doing DB ? Use grease ?
Hmm. Maybe yours need doing Sydo. Oh wait...

Yep did mine at 300000km waste of time and money
Did you use grease?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Mine are original at about 430k, one side had leaking axle seal once that washed the grease out. I just stuffed grease in with my thumb for five minutes and whacked it back in with the new seal. Since then been to Cape York and Kimberley twice so seems ok lol

Yes Sydo they are greased bearings, but interestingly it is a highly regarded mod on defenders to convert the rear bearings to diff oil bathed. Improves reliability apparently.
 
#27 ·
BTW Sydo, that's not an accurate drawing of disc rear. I know it's a PartSouq drawing but it's not descriptive of the disc parts lineup of what's in the hub. The drum and disc are vastly different. I may be able to find an accurate one
 
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#16 ·
Just over 3 years and 50,000kms ago I had a rear leaking oil seal around the brake area so I immediately assumed the rear axle bearing was stuffed. After a bit of research and consideration I decided to just replace the oil seal and repack the bearing.

I purchased oil seal p/no 43252-VH300... PLUS...'O' ring 43253-C9300 and jacked her up as described by 'Derb' removed the axle, spun the bearing which appeared ok and forced grease into the bearing and re-assembled and never had a problem since. I also fitted new pads and slotted discs whilst at it.

I don't understand the comments about the bearing being oil fed when there is an oil seal in place which I assume is to prevent oil getting to the bearing, I'm not disputing same, just don't understand why that would be ?
 
#18 · (Edited)
Yes they need grease as far as I know. I just changed rear diff housing, fitted new grease/oil seals to the inner axle so they are definitely separated, sealed off from the diff oil. This is in a H233. I am not sure what the full floating axle 260 set-up is like possibly that is oiled bearings. Utes may also be a bit special Sydo. I know the rear drum one has different oil seal on a flat metal disc.

The brand new bearings in the box came pre-packed with grease ( I have a new set on the bench, packed with grease and still sealed in the bags if you want a photo http://patrolapart.com.au/product/n...l-bearing-kit-suit-gq-and-gu-rear-except-leaf). But they were going to be such a bugger to take off, press out, that I felt the old bearings and decided to just re-pack them. They are a double row of tapered needle rollers with an open end cage so you can see into the rollers. They felt good, rolled smooth. The old grease in the bearings looked a bit brown so I used a hypodermic type grease gun fitting to force new grease into the bearings between the rollers and squeeze the old crap out.
 
#22 ·
Boundry rider, I'm in the similar situation, I have a 6 tonn press and looked at what it would take to do the job myself. Even bought the new bearings to have ready if they were needed. Then realised how hard it was going to be to get the things out without destroying the threaded lock nut, the axle, or the pres. The local diff and gearbox shop said they take at least two to three hours to do it and that is at $120 an hour. They said if they have been contaminated with water, rusted or run out of grease then there is no guarantee that they will come off without damage to the axle or the housing part. They also said they rarely need to change them unless there has been water leak in.

Yours is GQ (but still coil and disc brake rear) so I'm not sure if it is identical bearings to mine. Do you know if it had two separate bearings each side or the one big mother of a thing. If it is the big bearing then the only slack could be if it was not pushed all the way down in the housing or not pushed all the way home on the axle before the nut is locked. That is what I was worried about doing if I installed with my gutless little press.




Yes as far as I can tell the GU and GQ wagon H233 diffs with rear disc brakes are pre-greased, the bearing is also a complete unit that is non adjustable, you do not tension or bed the bearings in, just press them into a housing and press onto the axle then fit a lock nut/washer: http://patrolapart.com.au/product/n...l-bearing-kit-suit-gq-and-gu-rear-except-leaf

Even the genuine inner axle seal that I fitted came pre-greased: Genuine Nissan Patrol GU Rear Inner Axle Oil Seal


Rear drum and leaf spring ute models may be different. Do not look to be greased:
Wheel Bearing Kit Suit Nissan Patrol GU with Rear Drum Brakes Leaf
 
#20 ·
I had Dale do my rear bearings, it was a while ago but if memory serves me correct they are greased. There is supposed to be a seal which keeps the diff oil out. Again, it was a while ago but I faintly recall him regreasing them so that he was confident that they were greased properly with good grease.

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk
 
#21 ·
I had a slow axle oil seal leak in 2012 and didn't fix it coz I was too lazy to do it in summer. Eventually the oil weeped out the hub outer and spread across the back of the the disc.
So I fixed the axle seal and cleaned up all the oily mess. I managed to inject what I thought was adequate wheel bearing grease in using various methods. On inspection of the other wheel there seemed to be a definite presence of grease, old and many kms travelled but not too discoloured for my liking. The big grey has 400k on the clock.
I then became concerned that I had washed too much the bearing grease and not returned enough, as the second bearing set was not going to receive enough of the injected replacement grease. Oil had to travel through the entire housing to exit at the rear of the disc where there is a grease retaining o ring hence my concern.
It was after the drowning in the Gardiner that I became more paranoid about a failure, so I set about to press out the bearings. I tried but it wouldn't work in my 10T press and it wasn't tall enough for axles either.
Trundled them both off to the local gearbox place and $450 later I picked them up, fitted them and happily motored along. Apparently I had water ingress and had to be Oxyed out in pieces.
A while later I pulled the axles again to setup the Detroit, and found play in the LHS one after jacking. Pulled the axle and sat on the shed floor trying to figure where the play had come from.
I don't outsource much work, only back lashing diffs and had my turbo and gearbox recon. This is exactly why. I really don't know the quality of the bearings and whether they're packed properly or anything, and now they're not even bedded grr.
Finally I decided to just nip it up as play the waiting game, I picked up about 5-6mm more before they bedded. I am now getting a couple of spare axles to do myself and swap in before I do any central trekking.
So whomever does your rears, it's a big job and check them after a month or so by jack and bar manipulation.
 
#24 ·
OK you 2 I have a press capable of doing rears, did one of mine 10 odd years ago, changed diff since and have a spare set I need to fit up and install at some stage.
They take a fair old bit of pressure to let go, likewise torque for retaining nut is high

Bearing is a double taper roller, last one I got came in a toyota packet! Same bearing number just yota axle is not press fit as has floating rear axle
 
#25 ·
Geordie, your Patrolapart link seems to ignore the "0"ring but then shows it for drum brake models. I think this link to Atoc which shows the o ring separately and in kit form is more informative. I remember at the time wondering why some mentioned it and some didn't and was very glad to have it when I pulled the axle out.

ATOC Auto Repairs: AXLE & WHEEL BEARING
 
#29 · (Edited)
Yes good point, I did have to buy the O ring as a separate part. I got a genuine pair of them. The O ring is on the outside stub tube part of the diff tube. The bearing housing slides in over that and is bolted to tighten up over the O ring.

This link shows all the part numbers for genuine bearing kit for disc bake rear GU:
ATOC Auto Repairs: WHEEL BEARINGS - OEM Genuine REAR Wheel bearing kit to fit Nissan GU Patrol with ( disc brake )

I see that ATCO make an interesting note in their description of the parts in this kit regarding the spacer ring: copied direct from ATOC link "** tip in 1995 Nissan changed the rear wheel bearing spacer to a non stepped spacer. this means there is no way of removing the rear outer bearing without damaging it. we recommend fitting a new early spacer p/n 43070-01J00 to all rear axles including GU so they can be removed without damage and reused : - and yes we stock these too !"

I do not remember seeing where this spacer is located on mine. I thought mine had the big bearing (pictured below) then the thin locking washer which has a tab in the grove on the axle then the locking nut.

Well it'll be beers at Kiwi's when I get the spare axles then lol not sure when though it'll be a while. Still owe ya for the AC too haven't forotten :)
What about yours Geordie how urgent?
Beer is urgent but my bearings will be good for a while now I re packed them and put it back together.

Geordie. Got a pic of grease in new bearing ?
It is still in the plastic, grease is thick clear white stuff and well packed.
 
#30 · (Edited)
I did my rear bearings about 2 months ago.

Same bearings as per Geordie.

In the grand scheme of things I had very little issue getting the inner bearing out. It just took time to get the gear together and modify / make the tools. And then the job took a lot of time as I was very careful not to break, twist or crack anything.

Hardest part was figuring out and making up a lock nut spanner. I got a deep socket from Toolmart (can't remember the price but was not cheap) and took to a local shop who cut the drive end off and welded a handle to it. 54mm I think it was (with out going out into the pyshing rain in the dark to have a look).

One fcuk up here was I destroyed the ABS collar getting it off the axle before I could undo the nut. Lesson learnt.

I bought two 1/2" 4ft HT GR5 UNC threaded bars from Blackwoods ($35 each) and welded two bolts to one end that went into the bearing housing caliper adaptor stud holes with a nut under the flange (the adaptor moves down against the axle flange enough to get a nut in).

On the top end I had a bit of drilled 1/2in flat plate held in place with nuts on the threaded bar, a 1/2in hole through this for a bolt with a nut on the underside pressing on the axle shaft, and I pressed the axle shaft out. ($35, I don't have a welder and bolts aint cheap)

Once it was out a brass drift got the outer grease seal and spacer out (easy, spacer was reusable Geordie, grease seal was not), then flipped over and on to my bearing press and just pressed out the inner bearing.

Pressed bearing in after heating the bearing hub (called a cage in the manual) in the oven set to 80deg. (no, it did not cook the grease on the inner prepacked bearing).

Once everything had cooled down I put the grease seal into the outer hub, slid to spacer over the axle shaft and carefully inserted the axle through the seal, bearing hub and inner bearing till it would not go any further. Then pressed it home with the bench press.

On with the lock washer and lock nut and did the nut up as tight as I could, then gave it a good lick with a hammer as the manual says it needs to be made up to 350 ft-lbs. Which is pretty damn tight and I was a bit worried about this, but both electronic and paper manuals say the same number.

Then on with the ABS rotor till it butted up to the lock nut, driven down with the press. On with the oil seal. The hub turned freely on the axle, so I guess it was good.

And then put is all back together.

No rumbles from the back end and the wheels have not fallen off after a few thousand k's, so all go I guess ...

I should have taken pictures, and may have missed a bit here and there above, but it's a general outline.

Time taken, well, the question is do I admit how long it took me ???





Feck it, the whole damned weekend.

Forgot about O ring, same as Geordies account above.
 
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