Hello,


Sometimes it is a good idea to find out how do do something before you actually try to do it. If you are taking your car to a shop, it’s nice to know what's going on and to be versed in case of any questions. Here you will find instructions on how to install a wheel bearing on a Volvo 240. The model pictured in the photos is a 1977 264 GL. The design changed slightly for the later models, but the concept is generally similar. This is the second of my posts about the subject and the first is about removing the wheel bearing. Good luck and have fun!!!

It’s kind of interesting, for a job so messy you have to be so clean! There are a few tools that you’ll need, all are pretty basic. Really, if you still have the tools you used to remove the wheel bearings (pliers, punch, hammer, wrench) you have all the tools you need to install it. For supplies, I like to have some butcher paper and nitrile gloves. You’ll need some rags, but what I like to use the most are white cotton handkerchiefs. They are great because they clean quick and leave no lint, unlike those red Chinese rags.

The grease I used and prefer is the Mobil 1 Synthetic cartridge. It’s about ten dollars and the grease is nice and thick, and I can unravel the cartridge case for clean and fresh product.


1. Clean the hub and install the outer race. I figured that it’d be neat to have a clean part to work and picture, I don’t like solvents and I took my hubs to the car wash to blow them out with the high pressure spray nozzle. This left them clean, but it left them wet. The one thing about steel parts, and especially bearings is that you don’t want them to rust. As soon as I got home from the car wash, I dried the hubs and set them in the sun to dry. Make certain that the hub is clean where the race sits. Any dirt will cause angular contact of the bearing surfaces, resulting in rapid wear over time. To install, using the old bearing race, I knocked the new one in. Make sure that you install the race in the correct orientation with the angle facing outward to receive the bearing cone. Strike in a alternating pattern, ensuring that the race does not cock in the hub.

http://www.unm.edu/~goatman/bearing/racedriver.jpg


2. Install the outer race. Flip the hub over and position the outer race on on the hub. You can use an old race to start drifting in the new part. but be careful not to knock the old race in with the new one, as the depth of the shelf is more then one width. After starting the race into the hub, I finished the fitting using a pin punch. My punch was softer then the hardened steel, so I used it. Make sure that the tool you select will not mar the bearing surface. Once the race is fully seated in the hub, the sound it makes when struck will change noticeably.

http://www.unm.edu/~goatman/bearing/drift.jpg


3. Prepare the workspace and clean the hub. I found some large pieces of paper in my shipping from FCP Groton. I laid them out over the ground where I would be working. This makes for a clean job and fast cleanup. After setting my parts, cleaned tools, and supplies on the paper, I began to install the hub on the spindle. The first step is to clean the hub and make sure that no particles remain on the bearing surfaces.

http://www.unm.edu/~goatman/bearing/cleanhub.jpg


4. Clean the spindle and install the grease seal. Make sure that no dirt or old grease remains on the spindle. Install the seal with the lip facing outward. Grease the lip of the seal.]

http://www.unm.edu/~goatman/bearing/seal.jpg


5. Pack the inner bearing and install the seal runner. Donn some disposable gloves and place a glob of grease into your palm. smack the bearing into the grease until it streams out the opposite side. Place the bearing into the spindle. Replace your gloves and install the metal seal runner ring.

http://www.unm.edu/~goatman/bearing/sealrunner.jpg


6. Set the hub onto the spindle, pack the outer bearing, and place it on the spindle. Replace your gloves.

http://www.unm.edu/~goatman/bearing/outerbearing.jpg


7. Install the retaining washer. Place the large washer onto the spindle taking care to note that the side with the machined relief faces the bearing.

http://www.unm.edu/~goatman/bearing/washer.jpg


8. Adjust the wheel bearings. Install the castle nut with the notches facing outward, and using a 15/16" socket or offset wrench, tighten the nut. Once the nut is tightened down, rotate the hub ten rotations. Tighten the bearing again. Rotate the hub ten more times and observe that the nut tightens no further, then loosen the nut until there is no load on the bearing.

http://www.unm.edu/~goatman/bearing/wrench.jpg


9. Install a new cotter pin. I purchased a bag of 100 cotter pins at Grainger for $2. The size is 1/8" by 1". Although you may not be able to purchase from them, I’m sure that you can buy them at your local hardware store. This part is essential to holding your wheel on, so just pay the 2 cents for a new one! If the slot in the castle nut does not correlate with the hole in the spindle, turn the nut left to the next position and install the pin.

http://www.unm.edu/~goatman/bearing/cotter.jpg


10. Bend half of the pin upward using pliers.

http://www.unm.edu/~goatman/bearing/pliers.jpg


11. Lock the pin using a hammer. Using a hammer tamp the upward bent half of the pin into the spindle.

http://www.unm.edu/~goatman/bearing/tamp.jpg


12. Install the grease cap. Tap the cap onto the spindle using a hammer.

http://www.unm.edu/~goatman/bearing/cap.jpg


13. Install the brake rotor onto the hub. Place the rotor onto the hub taking care to note the position of the one or two locating screws. Tighten them using a open end wrench against one of the lugs as a counterhold. These do screws do not need to be superman tight, they are only locating the rotor.

http://www.unm.edu/~goatman/bearing/pins.jpg


14. Install the brake caliper. Using one hand to hold the outer pad forward, place the caliper onto the rotor and install the bolts holding the caliper. Don’t mangle the soft nickel lines.

http://www.unm.edu/~goatman/bearing/caliperscrew.jpg


15. Install the wheel. Your done!!!

http://www.unm.edu/~goatman/bearing/done.jpg


Goatman


References:

SKF Wheel end bearing and seal installation guide

Timken Wheel Bearing Replacement - Automotive