So as per the other thread, I successfully removed both rear calipers and am continuing the job of cleaning up the rest of the rear brake system (prop. valves/hoses/lines/rotors, etc.). But now with both discs off, I just want to confirm that my bearings aren't bad. When I rotate the hubs I can hear a muted "click" like the sound of a hockey card in bicycle spokes but obviously dulled and coming from the axle or differential. Is it just the differential gears, or could it be the bearings? Should the rear hubs spin silently like in the front? What should I be listening for to identify a bad bearing?

As others have suggested, I don't want to fix what's not broken. But if there is an issue with the bearings it's probably as good a time as any to get in there. That said, the mounting bolts are as corroded or more so than the caliper bolts, and I don't believe they've ever been removed. So I don't want to push my luck if it isn't necessary.

Again, I apologize for being the noob of the century here, but seeking guidance (and offering where I can) is why I'm here. Thanks everyone.

Hi,

Seeing as your doing a thorough overhaul and the rotors are now off, it might be the time to repack the rear wheel bearings and inspect the inner seals. The rear bearings are greased like the front.

I don't want to cause you any extra anxiety, but I suggest it because at the point you're at it's only a matter of removing the parking brake shoes and undoing 4 bolts.

Peter

So in the end I think you're right. The driver's side axle seems fine with no evidence of oil leakage, play or noise. The passenger side is quiet and without play, but upon closer inspection I see that there is oil leaking from the seal. At first I thought it was residue from the generous amounts of kroil applied to the area to get the caliper off, but now I realize there is an issue with the seal(s).

SO, I guess my question is how do I proceed? I've removed the parking brake hardware and loosened the 4 bolts - very carefully, but successfully. Incidentally it was a 17/32 socket that fit best! Glad I had that lying around.

Anyway, if the bearings are good, can I just repack them and replace the inner seal - I assume it's the inner seal that has failed and allowed oil to seep through? Or do I have to replace the entire bearing assembly - pressing off/on?

BTW, I do have a 30 ton H-frame shop press with a 20 ton hydraulic jack on it. I don't know if I have the right collars/drifts, but quite possibly.

Hi 83GLT,

Good for you. Good for you fro being brake and taking this on. Inspecting and repacking the grease-lubricated RWD Volvo rear wheel bearings.

Yet what may be rear wheel bearing noise can be a dry and failing pinion bearing, also.

Kudos and congrats. You are brave taking this on. The RWD Volvo rear wheel bearings are a point of neglect, I feel.

I hope the your find the bearing bright and with some grease lubrication, and that all's within tolerance.

Usually, using trolley, or floor, jacks with axle stands, or chassis braces, some will lift the side they mean to treat higher than the other side. You already know both wheels must be off the ground.

Some may drain, or, if the fluid is recent, lower, the the differential oil, perhaps replace with new, when serving the RWD Volvo rear wheel bearings.

You'll want to clean around the entire area before removing the axle-hub retaining hardware where you can withdraw the axle shaft for inspection. Use a stiff bristles steel or brass brush, some of the less harmful brake parts cleaner. You want the area clean, antiseptic, like working on brakes.

Be careful with the parking brake shoe spring ...

When you crack open the rear hub, if a bunch of differential oil comes out, blue nitrile (I guess they were nitrile in the 1980s?, or were they the orange seals?), suspect a faulty seal. Well, replace that inner seal in the groove on the axle tube housing. Do not nick or damage the carbon-steel surfaces the inner seal rest in. What I'm not sure now, is whether you can replace the inner seal on the axle tube even though the bearing race and both bearing race seats are fine.

To remove the seal on the axle requires a press, or slide hammer to remove the bearing race from the axle. You do this if you've been leaking differential oil through the bearing race and onto the floor.

On close inspection of the bearing races, check for scoring. The tapered roller bearings must remain the race. Differential oil does not lubricate the grease pack bearing assembly, yet prevents heat buildup if the bearings were dry, yet the inner seal was leaking into the wheel bearing chamber. If caught early, you may be able to get away with a seal replace and repack. These hub seals fail usually from bearing wear causing the rear axle to wander away from center during rotation, and not replacing differential fluid with new on schedule.

Verify in your owner manual or with Volvo technical service bulletins. Yet should be an appropriate NLGI-2 auto wheel bearing grease. I do not know what formulation Volvo originally used. I think a lithium soap complex in your era Volvo 240. So, if unsure as to compatibility of an NLGI-2 auto wheel bearing grease you want to use, yet what remains in the bearing race and seats, remove all old grease. Again, brake parts cleaner.

Use you hand, perhaps wear nitrile glove, and work the grease into the roller bearing race. Pack the race fully. You can choose to pack the seat first. You want to fill the rear wheel bearing chamber to be as full as when you do this to the front wheel bearing race; maybe fuller.

Also, replacing the axle tube seal requires you use a seal press to drive the seal into the proper depth and straight. Slather wheel bearing grease on the on axle tube seal seat in grease. (Yes, I think you can replace the on-axle tube seal without having to bother with the axle tube bearing seat.

Some may withdraw the entire axle assembly to inspect for deformation. Warps, bends.

On the 700-900 FAQ:

https://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/Driveline.htm

We have live rear axles. The assemblies are not wholly duplicate.

You may also want to search the brickboard and maybe turbobricks for more info on this task on 240. Other folks will have quips and suggestion to make this task easier and more successful for you.

I need to do this, also. To six rear wheel hubs ....

Been a VERY long time I'd done this, so I may not recall everything so well.

I guess you have a Bentley 240 service guide. The Haynes treats it okay, if too briefly.

Good luck.

Thank you very much for this detailed an encouraging post. I have searched around and will try my best to tackle this. I guess I won't know whether the bearings are still good until I pull the shaft(s). I have a shop press, but I'm not sure how I would use it in this application.

Anyway, here are some photos of the passenger side hub, and then the driver's. I used the same copious amount of kroil on either side to assist with loosening the retaining bolts, but as you can see the passenger side is wet around the seal, and if you look underneath the e-brake cable retainer is sticky with oil and gummed up with dirt:

Passenger:






Driver's Side:

Hi 83GLT,

Great job!

It looks like you used a 12 point socket to crack it open. I recommend you to use 6 point sockets in the future so that you don't strip it.

Good luck with the rest of job.

OK, so I removed the passenger's side axle shaft to see what I would find. Here are a series of photos I took. I'm going to try my best to document this whole process and prepare a new thread to help others as there isn't a ton of info here on rear bearing replacement.

Anyway, when I removed the axle shaft (which only required a firm
tug - I didn't need to reverse the rotor, etc.) here's what I found:

This is the inner seal, and clearly there is an issue here. It looks like it became misshapen at some point, allowing differential oil to seep into the bearings, and eventually through the outer seal which enabled identification of the problem:





I don't think the bearings are supposed to be coated in a latte?






This ultimately allowed oil to seep through the outer seal:





Here's the inner seal after picking it out. I actually ended up using the same hammer claw method I saw elsewhere online. Crude but effective. Just be careful!





The bearing race was quite loose in the axle housing. It was thoroughly coated in oil on both sides and would spin inside the housing. Is it supposed to be that loose? I was able to pull it out with my fingers.





TIMKEN USA in case anyone's wondering:




UH-OH!!! This has me concerned. There is some pretty nasty looking corrosion on the INSIDE of the axle housing! I've read at least one other post here talking about this situation on an 1800. Apparently this can be caused by a blocked axle vent? I'll check mine, but what should I do about this stuff? How would I even treat/remove it without getting rust flakes everywhere? Should I leave it? Try to scrape it out? Look for a new rear end?




Here's the housing cleaned as best as I could get it.




And the bearing assembly cleaned just so I could check for wear and "bluing". To me it doesn't look like the bearings have "blued", but the collar appears "blued" if that's possible. More significantly though, the bearing cage seems awfully loose, and I'm not sure they're supposed to be this way. I have new sets of SKF rear bearings on the way so I can compare. I will probably replace them anyway.




Incidentally, I also managed to drain the diff oil. The filler bolt was pretty stuck, but the rubber mallet helped and got it to unscrew. The lower drain bolt was actually very easy. I don't think the diff oil had ever been changed. It had at least been many years and a hundred thousand miles. Fortunately I did not see any metal chunks - in fact no debris at all. But it was a very dark brown and smelled disgusting. I hope the wagon appreciates all of this long-overdue attention.

As for the bearings, I've done some research online and plan to remove/install them myself. It seems like a pretty straight-forward process if done with care and the right tools. I have the press to do it, so I'm going to take it on. I'll take photos and document that process as well.

Finally, I just want to say that although this has been a daunting and seemingly never-ending saga, I've learned an incredible amount and have found myself doing jobs I never imagined I'd be taking on. It's been a challenge, but also rewarding and a real boost to my confidence. Thanks to everyone here for the encouragement and guidance. It would not be possible without brickboard!

Hi 83GLT (1983 Volvo 245 GLT Turbo?),

Oh my. No. Latte's are disallowed from Volvo hubs n' axles!

You had a mix of differential fluid, what remained of the hub grease, and you had some water in there, also, it seems.

With the loss of grease, so accelerates the bearing wear. So, the axle sort of moves around, wandering, and no longer concentric within tolerance.

So, the inner bearing seat was not affixed to the axle tube. Should have made a sound of sorts.

This ultimately allowed oil to seep through the outer seal:

Yeah, and the wander and increased end float, out of spec, ruins the outer seal, too.

Here's the inner seal after picking it out. I actually ended up using the same hammer claw method I saw elsewhere online. Crude but effective. Just be careful!

And don't scratch a surface any seal contacts! Actually, try no to scratch anything!


The bearing race was quite loose in the axle housing. It was thoroughly coated in oil on both sides and would spin inside the housing. Is it supposed to be that loose? I was able to pull it out with my fingers.

No. The bearing seat is pressed in. Probably using a hydraulic press on the rear axle, before integration to the auto body assembly. You may have to use a slide hammer to pound the new one back in.

The issue is material loss where the inner seal sets, or seats(?).

The fitting is one of interference or on-dimension. The rear axle, rear wheel hub assembly inner bearing seat is a pressed fitting. So, you may have a material loss issue, certainly if the bearing seat has been loose for much time.

SO, I trust positioning the inner bearing seat of your replacement rear wheel bearing assembly kit does not fit so easily.

Remember, be clean about. Clean hands. Nitrile gloves can help protect your hands.

TIMKEN USA in case anyone's wondering:

Indeed, TIMKEN is one of the OEMs. I forgot the name, before and could only recall SKF. AT times the front and rear wheel bearings on all Volvo was SKF. Volvo Cars AB was born out of SKF bearing, as we know.

UH-OH!!! This has me concerned. There is some pretty nasty looking corrosion on the INSIDE of the axle housing! I've read at least one other post here talking about this situation on an 1800. Apparently this can be caused by a blocked axle vent? I'll check mine, but what should I do about this stuff? How would I even treat/remove it without getting rust flakes everywhere? Should I leave it? Try to scrape it out? Look for a new rear end?

Ambient heating and cooling can cause repeated condensation. The high-carbon steel material of the rear axle tube can rust.

While sometime ago, I'd not seen it so heavy.

The water droplets suggest water intrusion. If your Volvo encounters pooled water on roads, in in periods of heavy rain, or if you'd been checking the myth that all Volvos float like the originally VW Bugs, well ... (ha-ha funny).

Check the vent tube on the differential pumpkin.

I'd only worry about the condition of the differential gear assembly bearings, the step or toe alignment of the differential gear. (If we can find useful Volvo 240 green manuals, or the big blue (or red or maroon in hardcover) Bentley bible, you can find spec values to check on tolerances.

Also, how's the pinion bearing.

Here's the housing cleaned as best as I could get it.

This looks good. Maybe clean out the recessed groove external to where the inner seal sets.

And the bearing assembly cleaned just so I could check for wear and "bluing". To me it doesn't look like the bearings have "blued", but the collar appears "blued" if that's possible. More significantly though, the bearing cage seems awfully loose, and I'm not sure they're supposed to be this way. I have new sets of SKF rear bearings on the way so I can compare. I will probably replace them anyway.

I'm sorry. The roller bearings are scored and rather heavily. I'd seen worse.

You also must replace the outer seal.

That bluing stripe you see is a result of the shaft play from worn bearings.

Call around for machinist that actually CAN remove and replace the seal, outer seat, and roller bearing assembly. You don't have to do this, and it may be cheaper and certainly keep you gyrating with the slide hammer.

If we had a comprehensive 240/260 series FAQ, and we don't, the first half of your work is entry-worthy.

The seals were originally blue.

One should change the transmission and all drive line fluid, using quality lubricants per manufacturer specification.

The differential lubricants are full of compounds that give off a sulfur smell. If it smelled burnt, the fluid was in too long.

I imagine, with new bearing seats, new bearings, and new seals, a quality NLGI-2 wheel bearing grease, and all new differential fluid, you may be okay.

I'd look at the differential gearing and the pinion bearing if the exhibit wear. The Dayna differentials are strong, yet never changing the fluid, or flui too low, or water in the differential fluid (as you have here), can accelerate differential wear.

I hope the right side rear wheel bearing clean up as easily.

Remember, a well equipped machinist of capability (call around), can work with both half-shaft and replace the seals, seats, and press on the roller bearing assemblies.

Thank you.

Your images and work are proof that the RWD Volvo rear wheel hub is not invulnerable, yet is oft neglected.

If you want to keep your Volvo, please do this work, on some sort of schedule, as things can go awry and the repair may take longer to do.

You inspire me to do so. I only need a garage to do it.

I hope and will pull for your immediate success so that your 1983 Volvo 245 GLT returns to the road all rarin' to go!

Please keep us all posted.

Thanks,

Mac Duffy's Tavern.

So the replacement wheel bearings arrived yesterday - SKF Made in Japan. I will get some photos up later today when I find my camera.

They are integrated units, with the outer race not separate from the bearing. I think that's correct based on all of the photos I've seen online and even in the green book. The trouble is, they are nicely packed with grease, but I don't know what kind? I have Mobile 1 synthetic on hand from doing the front wheel bearings and I'll need to coat the seals/housing, etc. with something. Should I assume that these bearings have non-synthetic grease in them, and avoid mixing the two? If I were to clean them out and repack them, I don't think I would be too successful by hand, and would probably have to get a bearing packer. Wonder if I should do that anyway.

I'm going to post some pics later today comparing the new bearing to the old failed one.

"I'm going to post some pics later today comparing the new bearing to the old failed one."

It has been two years. I'm mid process doing what you did without the water factor and wondering what you discovered about the fit of the outer race and how you did installing the new bearing. And how it is doing now, two years later.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference.

Thanks MacDuff. Your guidance and feedback has been most appreciated and very helpful.

I am very lucky to have a garage that can accommodate this job. This is the first place we've lived with such a luxury. Prior to that repairs were undertaken in the open air driveway, and prior to that on the city street while fending off cops trying to issue tickets. So it definitely is a world of difference.

I'll inquire with any local machinists concerning bearing removal/installation, but I'm still inclined to try it myself. I have the shop press and appropriate collars, so I'd really like to give it a try. Breaking the caliper bolt that started this adventure has taught me to take things very slowly when I'm venturing into new territory. Plus I've been doing a lot of research on the subject. Incidentally, the green book you cited at kjet.org does describe the procedure in some detail. The OEM special tool used is actually just a small screw-type press used on the half-shaft while held in a vise.

Tonight I intend to examine the axle vent. I think I'll hold off on pulling the other half-shaft until this one is reinstalled with the new bearings. That way I'll have something to compare to if required.

So the corrosion inside the axle housing should not be of too much concern? I shouldn't try to remove it? Should I try to coat it in oil somehow to try to stabilize it? I guess messing with it might just cause more problems. Maybe this is an opportunity for me to look for an LSD with new axle to install at a later date?

The car itself only has 190k miles, and has been a workhorse. Most of those miles have been long highway trips of several hundred miles at a stretch. Even the "city" driving it has engaged in averaged at least 30 mile trips one way. Very little grocery getting in this car. So, in my opinion it's worth the effort to keep it on the road. Regardless, what I'm learning now will be applicable to the rest of the stable on future repairs.

This btw, is a '92 245. The '83 GLT was my first car - from 15 years ago or so that has long since slept with the angels. If I knew then what I knew now, I would probably still have that car too!

Like Swedish Baklava, use six-point sockets.

Looks like surface rust. I guess you already removed the goo and such.

Replacing the outer seal on the axle half shaft requires bearing seat removal.

Take the half shaft to your machinist that has the tools to pull off the bearing seat, that is, if you need to replace that seal.

To pull out the bearing seat on the axle tube, you use the most miserable tool alive. The Slide Hammer. The slide hammer must have the tines to pulling fingers, and you set it up, and slid and pound it out, and pound the replacement seat back in.

If the roller bearings got to hot, the metal will look like it has blue streak or blue coloring. The carbon-steel actually becomes blue from the heat.

Do you have the Bentley 240 service manual bible? Hayne treats it, briefly.

Did you get to kjet.org? For the green manual info?

http://www.k-jet.org/documents/greenbooks/200-series/

You now can look at the procedure in the green manual. (I presume rear wheel bearing service stuff is in there, I'd not looked yet.)

Maybe Art has some input on these 240 rear wheel bearings, also?

While I need to do these, and do not have facility to do so, it have been quite some time I'd done this.

Good luck.

Also, it may not hurt to take a gander at turbobricks on this procedure. For any gotchas or procedure improvement. The green manuals hosted, thankfully, on kjet.org should treat you completely to the procedure.

Back to what I call a pile of crap. Microsoft Word 2013 on Windows 8.1.

Rather have FrameMaker 3.

As stupid and corrupt and evil as Microsoft has ever been.

cheers,

Dud.

dud.

Here's an interesting method to removing the inner seal?

Oooof, that seal had to go!

No, that's not a slide hammer.

You offer up some really excellent images.

Suggest your rear wheel bearings, at least on this hub, are shot.

Could you offer a garage, please?

I have six rear wheel hubs on my three Volvo 240s. These hubs, they need care, also.

Thank you.

Thanks so much guys. I only used a 12 point because I couldn't find a 6 point that fit. I tried the 17/32 almost as a joke (didn't even realize I had any 32nds sockets!) and it was the tightest fit - also of Bonney loc-rite design which I highly recommend!

I'm yet to pull the shafts. I still have to clean up the area. But can I not use the shop press for removal/installation of the bearing assemblies/seals? I'm going to read through the green book on this procedure. Still waiting for some brake lines to arrive anyway, so I have time to read up! I've read around online (turbobricks, here, matt's volvo site, etc.). Seems everyone either uses hammers or takes them somewhere to get the bearings pressed off/on. And for whatever reason there doesn't seem to be a ton of detailed info on this repair.

Thanks guys. It looks like they're fine. With the opposite side held I can't really hear anything and there is very little play. I would estimate less than 1/16" in either direction.

I appreciate the suggestion to repack the bearings, and although it's tempting, those 4 bolts are pretty rusty - like so much else on this car - and I wouldn't want to come this far only to break one. If they were clean and it was simply a matter of impacting them off I'd probably go for it. But if it's not needed at the moment I'll hold off given the extra work and stress at this point.

I think I'll stick to getting the brakes sorted and just get the car back on the road and return to the bearings later in the summer - or quite possibly swap out the rear altogether for a cleaner version. The car has been in surgery since February, which has left us with 1 road-worthy car. It's been quite inconvenient.

Thanks again so much guys.

Have someone hold the other axle still when rotating. Not doing this you will hear the ring gear moving. If you not seeing any oil leaking behind the wheel flange and the axle doesn't moving up and down or in and out ' your fine. Replace rear axle lube.