The short version
- There is no single rear procedure. Four completely different layouts use the same words.
- On a front-wheel-drive car the rear is usually the easiest bearing on the vehicle. Four bolts and no driveshaft.
- On a solid rear axle with C-clips, the differential cover has to come off before the axle will move.
- On those axles the bearing runs directly on the shaft, so a failed bearing often means a new shaft.
A rear wheel bearing replacement can be forty minutes or an entire Saturday. The difference is not age or condition. It is which of four layouts you happen to have.
Work out which one first. Everything after that follows.
Rear wheel bearing replacement: identify the layout first
| Layout | Typical vehicle | What the job involves |
|---|---|---|
| Bolt-on hub, non-driven | Most front-wheel-drive cars | Four bolts, no press, no driveshaft |
| Independent rear, driven | Rear and all-wheel drive cars | Like a front corner, with a driveshaft |
| Solid axle, C-clip | Many domestic trucks and older RWD | Differential cover off, cross pin out |
| Solid axle, retainer plate | Trucks, vans, some imports | Slide hammer, then press off the shaft |
A quick check settles it. If the rear wheels are not driven, you have the first. If they are driven and move independently over bumps, you have the second.
If the whole axle is one solid tube that moves as a unit, you have the third or fourth. The way to tell those apart is behind the wheel.
The easy one: a non-driven rear hub
This is the best case on any vehicle and it is genuinely straightforward.
There is no driveshaft through the middle. The hub is a sealed unit bolted to a spindle or trailing arm with four bolts. It comes off as one piece with its ABS ring and studs.
- Loosen the wheel nuts, then chock the front and lift the rear onto stands.
- Remove the wheel, then the caliper and bracket if it has rear discs. Hang the caliper on a wire, never by the hose.
- Remove the rotor or drum. If there are drums, back the adjuster off first so the shoes clear the lip.
- Undo the four bolts from behind and withdraw the hub.
- Clean the mounting face, fit the new unit, torque in sequence.
On a fair number of vehicles those same four bolts also hold the brake backing plate. Undo them and the plate is suddenly loose. It takes the parking brake shoes and their springs with it.
Support it before the last bolt comes out. Rebuilding a parking brake shoe set on the floor is nobody’s idea of an afternoon.
Book time is often under an hour. That is why the rear usually costs less, though not always. The rear cost breakdown works through the exceptions.
The driven independent rear
Mechanically this is a front corner with the steering removed.
There is a driveshaft through the hub and an axle nut that sets preload, exactly as at the front. With no tie rod, one alignment variable disappears.
The sequence is close enough that the front procedure covers it. Two differences are worth noting.
Rear knuckles usually bolt to two or three control arms rather than a strut and a ball joint. Rear toe is also adjustable on most of these. An alignment afterward therefore matters more than at the front.
Solid axle with C-clips
This is the layout that surprises people, and there is no way to shortcut it.
The axle shaft is not held in by the bearing at all. A small C shaped clip retains it at the inner end, inside the differential.
So the differential cover has to come off before the shaft will move. The gear oil comes out with it.
- Drain the differential and remove the cover. Budget for a new gasket and fresh oil.
- Remove the cross pin bolt, then slide the cross pin out of the carrier.
- Push the axle shaft inward a short distance. The C-clip is now free at the inner end.
- Lift the clip out, then withdraw the shaft from the outer end.
- The bearing and seal are now accessible in the axle tube.
On this design the bearing rollers run directly on the machined surface of the axle shaft. There is no inner race.
So a bearing that failed has been grinding a groove into the shaft itself. If you can feel a ridge with a fingernail, the shaft is consumed. A new bearing will chew straight through.
It is a common and genuinely unwelcome surprise. It also explains why an axle bearing and a wheel bearing are not interchangeable ideas, however loosely people use the words.
The bearing itself is pulled from the tube with a slide hammer and a blind bearing puller. The new seal is then driven in square. A cocked seal leaks gear oil onto the brake shoes, which ends with a new set of shoes.
Solid axle with a retainer plate
The other solid axle version, and it is the more forgiving of the two.
Four bolts through a plate behind the backing plate hold the shaft in. Undo those and the shaft pulls out, usually with a slide hammer on the wheel studs.
The bearing is pressed onto the shaft, held by a retaining collar that is also pressed on. Both have to come off, and the collar is the fiddly part.
The collar is an interference fit with nothing to grip. The standard method is to drill part way into it, then split it with a hammer and chisel.
Part way is the operative phrase. Drilling through into the shaft leaves a stress raiser on a part that carries the whole corner.
Pressing the new bearing and collar on needs a press and a tube that bears on the correct surface. That is the same rule as everywhere else, and the reasoning sits on the press-in page.
What is different about the rear generally
Three things, regardless of layout.
The parking brake is here. Drum shoes inside a rotor hat, or the rear pads themselves. Either way it is in the way, and it has to go back together correctly.
Gear oil is involved on solid axles. A new cover gasket and the correct fluid specification are part of the parts list, not an afterthought.
Rear noises travel forward. A rear bearing often sounds like it comes from the middle of the car. That is why a rear wheel bearing replacement lands on the wrong corner more often than a front one does.
Load transfer is the reliable test. A bearing usually gets louder when the vehicle leans onto it, so a noise that grows on a long right hand curve points to the left side. That and the rest of the checks are on the diagnosis page.
Torque and finishing
The same discipline applies as at the front, with one extra item.
Hub bolts, caliper bracket bolts and wheel nuts each have their own figure. On a driven rear the axle nut sets preload. The torque specs page covers why published figures for it are less reliable than they look.
On drum applications, adjust the shoes back up until there is a light drag, then set the parking brake travel. A rear wheel bearing replacement that leaves a long parking brake pedal is not finished.
If a new noise appears after the job, a scrape usually means the dust shield rather than the bearing.
Where a drum sits in front of the bearing, the brake becomes the obstacle, and that is on the drum brake page.
Common questions
How do you replace a rear wheel bearing?
It depends entirely on the layout. A non-driven rear hub is four bolts and under an hour. A C-clip solid axle needs the differential cover off first.
Is the rear easier than the front?
On a front-wheel-drive car, considerably. No driveshaft, no steering, and usually a simple four bolt hub. On a solid axle truck it is often harder than the front.
Why do I have to open the differential?
Because on a C-clip axle the shaft is retained inside the differential rather than at the wheel. The cross pin has to come out before the clip can be released.
How do I know if I have C-clips?
If no bolt-on retainer plate is visible behind the brake backing plate, it is almost certainly a C-clip axle. A service manual for your axle confirms it in seconds.
The axle shaft has a groove worn in it. Can I reuse it?
No. On a C-clip axle the rollers run directly on that surface, so a grooved shaft destroys the new bearing. The shaft is the part that needs replacing.
Do I need an alignment afterward?
Not on a solid axle or a simple bolt-on rear hub. Yes on an independent rear where the knuckle came off, since rear toe is adjustable on most of them.
Can I do the rear at home?
A non-driven bolt-on hub is one of the most approachable jobs on the car. A C-clip axle is doable, but it brings gear oil, a seal and possibly a shaft with it. The replacement overview is worth reading first.