Rear wheel bearings carnage and a question, and a crap mechanic

[Brian D]

LJ, I have to disagree with you regarding the looseness. I have a press and have done my own bearings, as well as bearings on several other types of cars. The axle does not have to be installed, the inner races of the bearing support the od of the hub and the press fit (if done correctly) will not allow play. That's why you have to support the back of the bearing inner race when you press the hub in. Every bearing I've installed has had zero wobble or in and out play, regardless of the axle not being installed.

OP, in a perfect world you would have your money back and the shop owner would be paying for new parts, because he's destroyed yours. I guarantee that the bearing is shot, and that backing plate is just sad. There's no excuse for butchery like that.

[rcsoundn1]

That has been my experience as well. When I had access to a press I never had the issues I have now, hence my concern. It seems to me he just slapped it in and was caught off guard when I called him on his poor work.

[LJ851]

LJ, I have to disagree with you regarding the looseness. I have a press and have done my own bearings, as well as bearings on several other types of cars. The axle does not have to be installed, the inner races of the bearing support the od of the hub and the press fit (if done correctly) will not allow play. That's why you have to support the back of the bearing inner race when you press the hub in. Every bearing I've installed has had zero wobble or in and out play, regardless of the axle not being installed.

I agree with your experience and i also press all my own bearings (and customers) on my own press. While i do not encounter the situation when i press them, the 2 inner races are separate and are capable of some endfloat without damage.

Maybe the hub is only pressed into the first inner race and not fully home? I can't tell from the pictures. That being said, with the parking brake carrier/dust shield the way it is, it would be difficult to trust any aspect of the "repair".

I think we would all agree that to be assured of a proper job, it needs to be redone with new bearings and shields.

[noid]

only way to do that is sue him now. he has my 250 with labor and part that i supplied.

You can:

1. Leave him a bad review on his facebook
2. Make a website with his name/shop name in the URL, everytime someone googles them they will see your page. Remember its not slander if you do not make any false statements.

It will be the best $250 he has ever spent to get that website down.

We once did this on bimmerforums to get a guy his money back from a scammer :).

[Brian D]

I agree with your experience and i also press all my own bearings (and customers) on my own press. While i do not encounter the situation when i press them, the 2 inner races are separate and are capable of some endfloat without damage.

Maybe the hub is only pressed into the first inner race and not fully home? I can't tell from the pictures. That being said, with the parking brake carrier/dust shield the way it is, it would be difficult to trust any aspect of the "repair".

I think we would all agree that to be assured of a proper job, it needs to be redone with new bearings and shields.

Ah, I see what you are saying. Agreed 100%.

[rcsoundn1]

Thanks for all the feedback. I have considered posting his work on his FB and web site to see if he truly is proud of it. What I do need to do is decide if I should put these on or replace it all.

[Som]

Funny to see these photos as I made the same mistake installing my rear bearings.

Here's how it went -- I installed the flange before I installed the dust shield. Halfway through installing the flange, I had that "oh shit" moment. So I thought, "maybe I still have a chance of pulling the flange back out without the bearing coming apart". So I start removing the flange. Within the first few millimeters of the flange being pulled out, the bearing started separating and I started seeing the grease inside it. So I said f-it -- I'll just cut the dust shield in half and put it together like 2 C pieces. I pressed the flange back together again.

My plan was to tack weld the shield because I was worried about vibrations causing weird sounds with the shield in half.

After installing the shield, and just before I was about to put the parking brake stuff back in, I gave the flange a wiggle test and it looked exactly like what you're seeing.

I'd like to end this story with being able to say I tried bolting it all back up to see if that fixed the problem, but I can't -- I didn't want to take the risk of wasting all that time. I went and bought a new rear bearing and dust shield. Actually, 2 dust shields because I'm OCD like that and I hadn't installed the other side yet -- I didn't like the idea of having one nice and new dust shield and another 25 year old one.

Som

[noid]

Thanks for all the feedback. I have considered posting his work on his FB and web site to see if he truly is proud of it. What I do need to do is decide if I should put these on or replace it all.

Replace it all.

[rcsoundn1]

Fugg me. Now what do I do to get the word out about this guys shop............

[rcsoundn1]

Well I posted to his FB. Lets see what he says

[rcsoundn1]

well here is what his FB has to say

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zeus-Automotive-Repair/362990750444339?sk=reviews

[Smelser]

For him to charge is not right.
now to my thoughts. I race my car on dirt. and I threw away the dust shields, just useless for me IMHO. the bearings have play until the axles are installed. even the brand new ones, when I remove my axles (which I have done several times to replace them cause they got wrecked on the track or just to do some other work) there is play in the hub. when the axle is tightened back up, its perfect.
I dont know what it sounds like cruising down the road, I can only hear my car and the cars beside me. I dont ever hear anything unless its a LOUD bang or clunk so I am not sure if they "humm" like a bad bearing would. but it hasnt blown apart yet. and again I did the work myself so I am happy with it.
But paying $250 to press in two wheel bearings seems a little extreme. he probably booked time the job (which includes removing the control arms and brake set up that you have done yourself) and charged it full tilt

[Som]

Another data point here. I finally got around to actually swapping out the rear bearing that I thought I'd ruined by trying to remove the hub a few millimeters.

As mentioned by Smelser, once I installed the flange into the new wheel bearing, it still had wiggle in it. So I'm guessing, yeah, once I tighten the axle it'll tighten up.

Som

[rcsoundn1]

Well he took his FB down, not suprised since his reviews were not the best to say the least. I guess he saw what people realy did feel about his work. I have to say I am not one to mess with a mans business, though the way I was treated........ I felt my choice to post to his page was a good one.