Front Wheel Bearings

No need to be apprehensive, they are no problem at all. The outer bearing in each wheel is smaller than the inner bearing so can't be put in wrong, and if you don't need to replace the outer races then the inners will go in only one way - the right way (if you do need to replace the outer races they knock out of the drum from the opposite side and the new ones just tap into place...just make sure they are the right way round so you can see the face of the ball race -- so that the bearing itself will slip inside the outer race). The grease seal at the inner end of the spindle just presses into the drum and the nut on the outer end is tightened until it starts to bind, loosened and then finger tightened before the grub screw it tightened to lock the nut in place. The big washer under the nut should have a "key" which fits into a slot cut through the threads on the spindle - so it won't spin under the nut.

This morning I went out and lifted the front the of the car and pulled both front wheels off. I figured I might as well re-pack the front wheel bearings, since I had to take the outer race out to get the right drum off anyway, so I went ahead and repacked the bearings with lithium grease before putting the drum back on.

The outer races looked really good, so I repacked them and just smeared a new layer of grease over the inner ones with my finger and let them go at that. It's been many years since I've done that little job.

It looks to me like the only thing that holds the wheel on is that center nut with which you adjust the wheel bearing. That seems way insufficient -- can you enlighten me?

The bearings are tapered so they take the side loads of cornering. Same deal on the disc brake models. Now I think of it -- removing the discs DOES involve the outer bearing races coming off with the wheel -- in fact I think I have to remove bearing cage of the smaller bearing before I can remove the disc from the axle (don't do it too often to remember exactly you understand.) So the whole drum (or disc) is held in by the one locking nut on the axle. I guess that's why it's a substantial lock on it (I'm assuming it's similar to mine -- a grub screw arrangment through the split nut so when tightened, the grub screw clamps the nut to the axle threads.

And subsequent to that thought, I just remembered why the larger bearing comes off with the drum -- there is (on the discs, and I'm assuming on the drums too), a grease seal which holds the larger bearing cage in place. You can replace the grease seal by tapping from through the drum with a piece of hardwood and a hammer (see more detail below). You work round and round, moving the seal a mm at a time.

If there is any evident of grease getting past this seal, or the soft lip of it looks worn/damaged, it's a good plan to replace it. The bearings (races and cages) are original on my car, and the outer races ARE very tight in there.

I'm thinking seriously about replacing the brake drums, which I suppose also means I will have to replace the front wheel bearings.

You don't necessarily have to replace the bearings at the same time as the drums. My bearings are all original -- even after 245,000 miles. I just clean them out about every 5 years and repack with Castrol LMM (Lithium) grease (the nearly empty 1-lb grease pot is about 15 years old!) Then once a year I adjust the front bearings to check for any looseness (snug the lockable nut tight, then loosen it a little until the wheel spins without dragging).

If I replace the brake drums, will I need to take the new drums to a shop to have the new bearing races pressed into the hub? I suspect so -- the Book says the larger inner bearing races and the small outer bearing races must be pressed into the new hubs.

They have fixed it so that it takes a special press tool to do this job. Any hydraulic press will do it, but if you don't have one, you certainly need to take it to a shop. They usually use a special puller which makes the job easier. So pay them and thank them nicely, then go home and start below.

Muir doesn't say anything about the grease seal. Once the inboard inner race is pressed into place, a new grease seal must be pressed in.

This you CAN do yourself. The grease seal is rubber coated, and has a spiral spring around a groove in the seal. This spring keeps the inner sealing lip in contact with the axle as the wheel and seal rotate. This spring must face the inside of the bearing, so you only see the back of the seal when you install it. Place the drum on a clean flat surface, then smear a thin coat of grease on the seal where is will slide into the drum, place it on the drum and place a piece of smooth flat wood over the back of the seal. Now tap the wood with a mallet or hammer, gently working around the perimeter of the seal so it goes in a little at a time. It doesn't take a lot of force, but must be done evenly around the perimeter of the seal so it doesn't end up distorted.

The VW people have an odd idea about packing wheel bearings and it is their car, so we go with them. They pack the hub full, as you probably discovered when you cleaned it. In the American cars the bearings are packed, not the hub. The Type I ... take(s) 50 grams of wheel bearing grease, a small handful ... then it'll last 30,000 miles.

The bearings are not sealed themselves, so the hub needs to be packed with grease. This supplies a very large quantity of grease to the bearings, and so they last a long time. If the grease is renewed about every 30,000 miles (the grease seal too) the bearings will last forever.

Start jambing wheel bearing grease into the outboard end of the drum hub. Fill the whole hub with your other hand covering the inboard hole. Push the grease in really well, think of the 30,000 miles and smile. Untangle yourself from this situation long enough to pack the outboard bearing the same way, then put it in an unsullied place, ready to hand. Wipe your greasy hands clean again, grab the (brake drum) and push it onto the axle.

Help is nice at this point as you are trying to put the wheel on the axle while keeping grease in the hub with your third and fourth hands.

Any grease which get pushed out as the axle comes through is easy to push back in by running a finger round and round the axle.

As soon as the axle appear out the hub, pick up the outboard bearing and push it on, as it helps to hold the grease in. Don't be so enthusiastic about shoving grease back that you push it out the back hole. Just use all that it will hold.

If this process is done right, you'll probably find that the NEXT time you do it there will be a small ridge of grease around the inside of the end (bearing) cap, close to the bearing. This means that the hub was nice and full, as when it got warm and expanded, a little was pushed out past the outer bearing and the spinning wheel stuck it to the inside of the bearing cap.

When the axle is out as far as it will come, tap the outboard bearing into its race and the hammer and dull chisel.

The race has been fitted previously of course, so this just means inserting the bearing cage over the axle.

Lift the wheel straight up with your foot so you can tap the bearing in. Clean up around the place with a little rag or rags, then go to the next step and adjust the bearings.

Put the washer on the axle, then the ... nut (left axle has left hand threads).

Good point that one. Designed so that if the allen key is not tight enough, the rolling wheel/drum will tend to do the nut up, rather than loosen it.

Use the crescent wrench to run this nut up pretty tight (7 ft-lb) while you hand turn the drum.

Nice and snug -- as I've mentioned before. You should feel the drum start to bind. Keep turning the wheel/drum as you do this to help the bearing seat all the way in.)

This turning will take the slack out of the bearings. Now loosen the nut with the crescent a little at a time until you can just move the washer under the nut with the big screwdriver. Tighten it again, then loosen it until you can just move the washer. When that washer first moves upon prying it, this is the point that gives the wheen about .001" of end play.

I haven't done it exactly this way -- just tightened it up till it started to bind, loosened it until the binding was free, then HAND (or a very light hand on a wrench) tightened it until it was just touching against the washer, then grab the upper and lower edges of the drum and push pull to check for any play (look closely at the grease around the small bearing/washer/nut to see if it "bulges" as you push pull). Re do the tightening sequence if necessary. If it's loose the wheel will wobble -- even if you can't feel it -- and wear the bearings out, and if it's too tight, there will be insufficient grease between each roller and the race, so the bearing will run hot.

I've been hearing some noise coming out of my rear passenger side wheel. It doesn't quite squeal but sort of a grinding noise and it doesn't sound like a brake problem.

I can think of two possibilities here - 1. The wheel bearing is worn out; 2. The brake drum is not tight and is moving slightly causing the brake shoes to rub a little.

1. Wheel bearing. I don't know if your bug has the IRS (double joint) axle, or the older swing axle (both types were used in various parts of the world in 1970, and I don't know what country you are in). With the car jacked up and in neutral, and the brake drum removed, you may be able to feel the axle turning smoothly or roughly and get an idea if the bearing is worn out. After removing the bearing cover plate (inside the brake assembly) you might also be able to see enough of the ball bearings themselves to see if they are shiny bright or pitted/cracked (on the swing axles models).

   If your's has the IRS suspension, then changing the wheel bearing should be a fairly straight forward process. These bearings are sealed and use grease. You have to take care that when reassembling them that the wheel is correctly aligned (you can adjust the toe-in on the rear wheels of beetles), so take care when taking it apart and mark the hub assembly against the mounting plates so you can get it lined up properly afterwards.

   If you have a swing axle, the bearings are harder to get out as you need and "inside" puller to grab the inside of the outer bearing race (after removing the cover plate inside the brake assembly of course). The only other way to get this off is to remove the whole axle and axle-tube from the car and tap the gearbox end of the axle so it pushes the bearing out of the outer end (using the axle itself to push the bearing out). The bearings are not really tight in the tube - just nothing to grab on to to help remove them. Once again, when taking the brake assembly off the spring plate - make sure you mark them so you can re-align them on re-assembly. There is a "v" notch in the top of the brake hub assembly to help you with this - just make a mark on the spring plate next to it.

   These bearings use oil from the gearbox which sloshes up the axle tubes and sits behind the bearing. Low oil in the gearbox can therefore cause dry wheel bearings (the gearbox must be filled with 80w90 or 85w90 Hypoid Gear Oil until it runs out the filler plug in the left side of the gearbox).

   If you do top up the gearbox oil, make sure the hypoid oil you use is GL4 standard, not the newer GL5 (look for the specifications on the pack). GL5 will cause corrosion of the bronze synchromesh rings inside the gearbox.

2. If the axle nut is not done up hard (217 ft/lbs is correct) it can allow the whole brake drum to move a little on the axle and you will hear it rubbing on the brake shoes or the backing plate - probably mostly in corners. So check that the axle nuts are tightened correctly. If you don't have a tool for it yet - you will need a 36mm socket (1 7/8" SAE will work too) and a 3/4" drive bar - the 1/2" bars will break too easily. It's useful to have a piece of steel tube about 4 feet long to put over the drive bar as a "cheater bar" to help get the force you need.

As of late, I've been hearing something like a wobbling noise, as if a tire were unbalanced, at high speed (over 30mph).

If the sound is coming from the same wheel, it could be the wheel moving because of either 1. or 2. above. If it's from another wheel, it could be 1. Tyre out of balance, 2. tyre out or round, 3 rim out of round (damaged). I would try to fix the bearing/drum problem (if that's what it is) first and then see if the tyre noise disappears. If it doesn't - take the car to a tyre place and have the tyre and wheel checked out. You don't want to be driving a dangerous car for the sake of a few dollars.

If the bearings fail and a wheel falls off, it will cost you a LOT more than getting it fixed before it breaks.