Riley's A4

I am going to be replacing the rear bearings next weekend so I figured while I was in there, maybe I should also replace the boots and pack in some new grease.

All the boots feel firm when squeezed but you never know...

I have a 2001 with 90K, New England winters...

Yes/No?

OldSkewS4

might as well.

Riley's A4

That's my thought but no ever mentions it in the write-ups.

JHam_CT

so even if you skip it for now, it's an easy enough job to do it seperately.

How are you going to change the bearing? Do you have a press or a hub tamer? Just asking because I changed my right rear bearing this past weekend ; )

Riley's A4

I saw your post but you didn't say what you used.

Jretal

rears don't wear out nearly as readily as the fronts... I'd say unless you see any signs of cracking on the boot to just leave it be.

JHam_CT

But I have a 1200 pound impact wrench. You need a mega-impact wrench to move the bearing. It's easy to get the hub off, but very difficult to pull the inner bearing out.

Be careful when pressing in the hub after the new bearing is in. The inner race of the bearing must be supported - the inner ring of the bearing. The outer edge of the bearing is pressed against a lip, and won't move any further, but you can blow the bearing apart when pressing in the hub if you don't support the inside bearing race. The cup that the Hub Tamer instructions say to use is the right one.

As far as the outside 'cup' that you need to use - you're going to want to use the one stamped 311883. You want that outer cup to be wider than the inside diameter of where the bearing presses into the knuckle..

Good luck - feel free to email me if you want any more info ; )

Riley's A4

Thanks..