356 rear axle bearing removal

[roy mawbey]

I have made an extractor that works so well for removing the rear swing axle bearing from its casing. The original special VW extractor is no longer available and every extractor I have or my friends have is too short and the jaws too clumsy. I attach a photo hoping this process will work as postimage.org doesn't seem possible anymore?
The metal bar I fabricated could be a wood as I think that would would fine too.

[img]2018_1156023jpg[img][/img]

I don't think this photo will display but have to try it.

Roy

[neilbardsley]

Sorry Roy I was trying to get your photo to work but didn't!

[roy mawbey]

Thanks for trying Neil I might try other avenues to do it.
Roy

[roy mawbey]

Trying another site to place the pic of the extractor.
<a href="http://www.freeimagehosting.net/commerc ... phy/"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/EFBl1dr.jpg" alt="Commercial Photography"></a>

Roy

[Lightweight_911]

Here you go Roy (I re-sized it for you):

[Lightweight_911]

<a href="http://www.freeimagehosting.net/commerc ... phy/"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/EFBl1dr.jpg" alt="Commercial Photography"></a>


In the code you posted (above) you just need the part I've highlighted in red & then put that (once you've selected a suitable size of image - your original is much too large) in between [img ]
& [/img ] tags (without the spaces before the closing brackets)...

[roy mawbey]

Andy you are a star!! Thanks so much for doing that ! I must say the process foxed me. I was okay with photobucket until it stopped being free and www.freeimagehosting.net seems fine to upload to but so far need to establish how I can set the size etc.

I can say the pic above shows a 25mm hole in the thick steel brace and 2 off 10mm slots either side of the 25mm hole. The 2 off extractor arms I made from buying coach bolts with domed ends from B&Q which I hacksawed and filed the gripper jaws from. Then the 10mm threaded portion can swivel in the slots to allow the arms to move into position for the jaws to enter the bearing track. As the axle shaft has a threaded end ( where the split pin goes through ) the 25mm hole allows the brace to pass over it up to the larger spline diameter. This then keeps the extractor level and free from twisting.

Once the jaws are in contact you can evenly turn each nut to slowly extract the axle bearing.

I am sure that the steel brace could be made from 2x1" thick WOOD and it would still work well.

The extractor from VW seems impossible to get and most extractors will not have the length and the jaws will be to large. Stoddard have one apparently for around $300- the one I made cost me about £6-00. I just thought anyone else with a leaking oil seal or as I found a damaged bearing might be interested to know what I did.

Thanks again Andy

Roy

[Mike Smith]

Very simple effective looking bit of kit

Nice one - Roy

[Winston Teague]

I need to tackle the growly bearing and leaky seal in my nearside rear hub. Thanks for the information here. Very useful. All the best, W

[roy mawbey]

Winston,

There is a lot to read on google if you enter replacing rear axle bearing or oil seal on a Porsche 356.
Mike has also contributed some valuable information on the info copied from I think the registry forum.

But.. a few points if don't find these pages:

1). If the seal is dripping for some time then probably your shoes might have oil on them !
2). After removing the drum best to remove the brake parts, hydraulic line and unhook the handbrake. When the time comes to pull the large diameter back plate off on the T2 there is enough room to get it to pass off the end of the axle with the handbrake cable still in place.
3). The 4 bolts that hold the bearing half case and oil seal have 10k bolts on the T2 (42 ft-lb torque.)
When the car is jacked up, I found it best to also jack up under the shock absorber to bring the axle horizontal. The reason is because when you remove the bearing itself from the casing the axle half shaft is really easy to move out of position!! A slight pull and the axle shaft will move towards you and you do not want that to happen!! the end of the axle into the transmission has 2 plates that might drop if you pull it out say more than 15 mm or so.

The 'O' rings on my car. axle large and small ones were badly worn and the bearing cage had broken in pieces. So apart from the those items the spacer the lip seal rests on, was grooved and the washer and shims were worn too. So.. you need to establish what you need by inspection before you buy. As Mike points out the washer that sits up against the bearing needs to be hard not soft. It is clear some people have fitted VW kits and this is not correct.

4). The split bearing case when torqued has to have a certain compression to allow the case halves to grip the brake backing plate The compression is 0.004"m(0.1 mm ) when you first remove the oil seal half of the bearing case be careful to look for the shims that will fall out with it inside. If your new bearing is installed to the correct position against the face of the remaining bearing case and if all the parts have not been interchanged then the shims you find when dismantling should be correct. I though measured the width of the backing plate, read the factory manual and Elfrink book to follow their instruction on how to arrive at the correct number of shims. Mine was exactly correct to when it was fitted in 1959. Do not take chances here Micrometers etc are very useful !

5). Oil the bearing and the resting distance spacer for the new oil ring seal with SAE 80/90 oil.

6). I made sure the axle shaft would stay in place when I fitted the new bearing on the shaft. So I uses an ally drift about 6" long to evenly tap the lower diameter of the bearing in place. I could not use a tube as the axle was held in place on the end and the tube could not be passed over.

Finally to hold the brake backing PLATE IN POSTION when you are inserting the large 50mm 'O' ring I found a piece of string passed through the holes that are used to fix the shoes in place very useful. Tie one to the exhaust pipe the other around the torsion arm plate.

Sorry for this extended information. Read the manuals of course but this might be of some help.

Roy

[Winston Teague]

Hello Roy, that is all extremely helpful, when the time comes to tackle it i shall print that! Brakes, front and rear, and n/s rear wheel bearing are at the top of my winter jobs list. All the best, W