Trailing arm bearing prevention replacement

106XS1998 · Post by **106XS1998** » 25 Aug 2005, 16:26

My trailing arm bearings are showiung forst signs of going, There is no play in the wheel, or no /-----\. but there is occasionaly a squeeking coming from the back! is there a way of preventing them going, or how much will a garage charge to change them?

Post by **Peter.N.** » 25 Aug 2005, 18:07

If they have started squeaking it may be to late. What causes them to go is lack of lubrication, when replacing them, fill the inside of the arm with grease and they wont go again.
You could try drilling a small hole in the side of the arm between the two bearings and squirting in some thick oil, gear oil would suit, this should at least prolong their life.

wrinklet1 · Post by **wrinklet1** » 25 Aug 2005, 18:10

Hi, I just did my rear arm bearings. Creaking sounds is a good sign of bearing collapse. If you are a capeable DIY'er you should be able to do the job yourself. Parts from GSF are about £25 for one side. Big tip though, have a dremmal tool with a cutting disc handy, you will need it to cut the old bearing shell away, otherwise you will either not get the shells out, or you will damage the rear arm where the bearings fit.
Haynes gives good details about removing the arm, but no need to remove any brake parts apart from undoing the brake supply pipe and disconnecting the ABS sensor cable (if you have ABS).
A Citroen garage would charge you at least £200 to do the bearings or a Citroen specialist around £150.
Paul

Post by **Peter.N.** » 25 Aug 2005, 20:58

You can get the outer shell of the bearing out by running a ring of weld around the inside of it, when it cools the shell will shrink and you can get it out with a couple of screwdrivers. This is pre supposing of course that you have access to a welder!

Post by **RichardW** » 25 Aug 2005, 21:23

I think this post is about a 106, in which case rear arm bearings are somewhat of a more difficult proposition. The usual 306 / ZX advice is to replace the rear subframe with either a known good one or rebuilt one. There's a company mentioned here somewhere that offers rebuilt ones - do a search and see what you can find - Around £350 for the frame, plus fitting springs to mind. If it's only a bit of squeaking, and there's no obvious camber problems I'd live with it I think!

Post by **Peter.N.** » 26 Aug 2005, 04:06

Sorry! for some reason I assumed it was a Xantia.