Rear arm bearings, nearly halfway there..

[maxgreenwood]

I picked up my 'new' 16TXS yesterday and took to the garage for its MOT. New rear discs and pads, some welding on front wheel arch, but 'a pretty solid car' according to them. The rear suspension is also pretty solid and they say it's the rear arm bearings. I did notice lean on the rear.

It drives nice and i was pleasantly surprised the interior is nice with no big squeaks or rattles, steering is nice and light, front struts ok (Tim i think the groaning you heard must have been the rear arm bearings?) and engine runs well.

This is demag's old car which has since been through the hands of another owner and had some work done on it.

What do i need for the rear arm bearing kit replacement? (Which i am planning to tackle myself with the help of Mat Fenwick's Tech write-up and other tips on here)

GSF list the bearing and 'seal' - don't i need the tubes etc as well, and a shim?

GSF:
http://www.gsfcarparts.com/parts/steeri ... sion-parts

[maxgreenwood]

or this seems to be the complete kit

http://www.eurocarcare.net/rear-suspens ... r-kit.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mds141]

Hi Max. If you keep a look out on eBay.fr and/or Leboncoin, genuine SKF rear arm bearing kits often crop up for sale.

[ghaddon1701]

Avoid the SNR kits if you can. Other than the bearings themselves everything else is poor quality in these kits. Especially the bolts and the steel tube.

Regards Graham

[Defender110]

GSF had full SKF kits on the shelf when I bought mine.

[demag]

Max glad to see you got it back ok.

[rutter123]

got mine from cafco (camberley auto factors) not a stock item and listed under C15 van or Xantia but they got them in for me about £35 a side, seem ok 6yrs later, in a red box poss power train, prices do seem to vary from £30-90, any decent motor factors should be able to get hold of them same or next day. GSF and ECP usually have some in stock, worth shopping about tho.

[Tim Leech]

Well done max !

[Tinkley]

There's lots of stuff about changing the arm bearings on the Forum under Technical somewhere. Unless it is really bad, you only really need the matched taper needle roller bearings, but the complete kit makes it all nice and easy. Watch out for the shims as they are specific to each car (and side) so do not throw those out, just clean and reuse. Not too difficult a job as long as you can drift out the bearings ie you have a tube or jemmy or other drifting tool. Do not be surprised to see the original rollers in little pieces!.

Main issue with the bearings seems to be the grease or rather the quality of the grease. My '88 lasted longer than the '91's!. I used the graphite/molybdenum lithium grease on reassembly, but the red marine/heavy duty digger grease is reportedly good too. Do not use straight golden lithium grease as it does not last and lets salt in. I am not over enamoured with the calcium loaded lithium either, which is supposedly marine, but I've seen too many taper needle roller wheel bearings knackered in under a year with that stuff.

[maxgreenwood]

thanks for the advice guys,

http://www.efox.ie" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; can get me SKF ones for €40 a side incl. vat, local motor factors gave me the SKF part number VKDA 23001
if you google that you get some helpful options

this is the same kit from a different supplier
http://www.mister-auto.ie/en/suspension ... 23001.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The shims.. there's a good chance i can re-use the existing ones? The bearings are seized and pretty squeaky

[RxBX]

or this seems to be the complete kit

http://www.eurocarcare.net/rear-suspens ... r-kit.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hi Max,
I think you've already picked out the best supplier price-wise /\ for a full kit, which works out for a pair £51.30 inclusive of VAT and postage (But may be more for delivery to Dublin/Ireland) ?

However if your going down the route of just replacing the bearings (Timken JL22349F/JL22310 Tapered Roller Bearing) and hopefully salvaging the pivot-tube/spacer/shims) then you should read thro' THIS thread if you haven't already, as that gives you the options/supplier links

I hope it may be of help and Good-luck with the repair !



.

[maxgreenwood]

The skf arm bearing kits arrived this morning.

I'm wondering about that shim, before I take everything apart, I need to be confident I'll be able to use the old ones. The arms are creaking but they're not seized. There is a fair bit of rear wheel lean too.

What are the chances? Should I wait and get some new ones from Citroen in case

I'm a bit nervous about taking this on, biggest job I've done on a Bx. A possible backup plan is to swap the arms on the 16TZS , they're ok.

[maxgreenwood]

.. And is a black and decker workbench enough of a vice to mount the arm in?


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[demag]

Max I remember doing this job on my 1.4 Leader years ago.
I was a bit wary of doing it but was amazed how straightforward it was to do.
I think you'll be ok. Once you get stuck in it all becomes self explanatory.
Providing nothing is badly seized it's an ok job.
Just get some good stands under the car.
I took the opportunity to get some grease on the pipes where I could.

[maxgreenwood]

Thanks Dave, some words of encouragement are much appreciated! I just have the small size axle stands, but they should be ok under the axle tube, with the front down the back should be quite far off the ground?


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