General Rear Radius (Trailing) Arm bearing removal

[Brookes90]

Half way through changing my rear radius arm bearings using a nice kit from ebay = ]

the porblem i got is that the arm is loose now and i can see the the old knackerd bearings and sleeve, how to i get this lot out the radius arm to put the new bearing kit in??

some people mentioned using a drift or sumin, i dont quite get how that works?

Also... how hard is it to remove the arm complettely, every bolt is off, only the handbrake cable and brake lines still on.

 

[ChrisUK]

It's a similar kit for the Coupe. I believe the bolt is a pain and only really possible if you have an impact wrench.

Take a look at this that shadey has kindly made:-

https://www.fiatforum.com/stilo-guides/269439-diy-stilo-rear-bush-replacement.html

 

[Lozzy08]

When I did mine a month or two ago, I knocked the old bearing out with a screwdriver and hammer. Is your arm still attached to the car? I removed mine completely. I undid the hand brake cables from the drives cab end and dis-connected the brakes where they connect to the arm itself.

If your bearing's are anything like mine were(Non-existent) then you'll have a hard time trying to remove them with the arm still hooked to the car.

 

[Brookes90]

the arm is completely off the car, i removed the hub back plates and pulled the arm through. so its all off.

the bearings and bushes are both really gone, i can see all the roller bearings nearly falling out. basically now im looking down at it and its got a center sleeve and a cap around the egde. i tried popping the outer metal ring thing off but it wont budge, went to a garage they told me it needed special tools etc. i think not tbh. what next?

i need the sh*t out now!!! gfrrr!!

 

[tinytim]

I soaked mine in Metal Ready which eats away the rust; the outer shell of the bearing will be corroded to the arm; otherwise pour large amounts of very hot water over the arm till nice and hot then apply a bag if ice to the bearing shell which will then contract away from the hot arm; you will still have to hit it out with a cold chisel or big screwdriver tho'.
The new bearing will have to be pressed in; a local garage will do this for you if you do not have a hydraulic press but what I do is to put the bearing in the freezer for a couple of hours and warm up the radius arm or whatever (lie out in sun or put in the oven); it should then just pop in....
take the opportunity to replace everything else (see other posts re this)

 

[stonesie]

These special tools you need are a long chizel or screwdriver (one with the metal shaft running all the way through the handle) and a hammer, just bash the buggers out, they're knackered anyway so if you mangle them a bit whats the harm?

Now re-fitting the new ones is a little different, finesse is needed and a nice big socket that fits on the outer race of the bearing but just fits into the arm to drive it in with a hammer (I use a toffee hammer, slow progress but less chance of damaging things). You could even use the old bearing's outer race at a push. It needs to go in level and even and remain undamaged. Freezing the new bearings is a very good idea and will help to get them in without too much effort.

Just please make sure you put the spacer in before the 2nd bearing..

 

[Brookes90]

small progress. i managed to get it all out, wooooop!!!

using a long unwanted bolt with a diameter little smaller than the sleeve i managed to knock it through. before this though, i knocked the outer ring slightly down the sleeve rather than trying to prise it outwards, think that helped .

next problem, bearing seal/housing are stuck in the arm proper good, and its too pitted to recover it back to life.

 

[stonesie]

Bearing seal housing?

Pictures please?

If you mean the inner race thet the rollers run on then this needs removing from behind, there is a small lip behind it, poke a chizel or other suitable drift through from the opposite side and give it 3-4 good taps then same again opposite where you have just done it so you are driving it out level.

 

[Brookes90]

yeah i do mean the inner race sorry, id say there almost welding on.

good news is that ive got one of them out, but the other side doesnt have much lip to hit so it slips when i try to hit it, hmmmmm.......

u think its possible to cut carfully or anyone got some tips on what to do next?

many tanks

 

[stonesie]

Hmmm, Try cleaning infront of it so theres no crap holding it in, the next step is heat, you will need it in a vice or workmate (you don't need it glowing red or anything) and get busy with the blow torch, heat around the bearing from outside the tube.

The aim of the game here is to make the metal of the arm swell very slightly to make it easier to knock the bearing race out, be careful not to touch the hot bits.

Note
Although I would use a gas torch a safer option is a heat gun, both will get the metal hot enough to do the job and both can burn you, so be careful and if you don't fancy it then taking the arm to your local garage and supplying the mechanic with some beer tokens should get it out. He might even fit your new bearings.

 

[Brookes90]

ALL DONE!

sorry for the late reply. anyway heres some TIPS and pointers for anyone wanting to do this.

Firstly alot of people call this a radius arm "Bush". tbh i aint a bush, its a bearing setup. there is a small bush but its more a cover/securing bush than anything else, just incase people are getting mixed up with the subframe bush, which actually is a proper bush.

so if you read above u can see myproblems ive had just the fitting.

first problem - getting it off, the easiest way to do this job is simple. undo shock, undo anti roll bar bolts, let the arm drop, remove the spring. easy.

TIP!! - instead of removing all the brakes cables and stuff, just undo the hub nut, remove the drum and wheel bearing (carefully). and unto the two securing nuts at the hub backing plate. doing this allows the swing arm to removed whilst not taking all the crap off. easy.

second problem - once the arm is out u will see the two outer caps at each side of the arm. u a drift ( or a nice bolt that is just smaller than the sleeve diameter) then spend along time hitting the center sleeve bit to knock through. when i knocked it through it literally exploded. bearing and broken bits flew everwhere, good job i was replacing it, it was fu*ked to say the least.

TIP - A blow torch or gas gun is a big help in this job.

next job, removing the old bearing seats. using a screwdriver to knock each one out from the back. the first was easy. tap at 12 o clock, tap at 6 o clock and all around, keep going until it moves, WD40 helps and heat does too.

third problem - the inner lip that i was hitting the second bearing seat was non existent. every time i hit it, it slipped. use a small rotarty tool with a grind piece to clean up and cut abit more seat, just alittle bit though. then hit it again. or u cuold try carefully cuting the seat.

TIP - u dont need a press to get the NEW bearing seats in, put them in the freezer for few hours and heat the bearing area on the arm with ur blow gun, pop the cold bearing seat inand using a socket or something similarm gently work it into its seat. worked first time for me.

other than them problems it all went ok. its not a huge job but very rewarding, she runs awesome now. for a first timer, i would reccommend reading all these first then allowing yourself at least 4 hours to do this job, your bound to get problems.

Thanks all round.

 

[Jip101]

Some good advice/tips there, will be doing this on my punto at the weekend (using ebay kits) so nice to hear everything went OK

 

[wilko1992]

You should make a guide on it to help other punto owners out in the future

 

[Brookes90]

There is a guide already that does explain things quite well so theres no point but my tips are ADD ONS so to speak. guide is in the guide section