rear trailing arm bearings

steve1965 · Post by **steve1965** » 12 Mar 2010, 10:49

hi,has any body changed the above bearings,recentley changed all spheres resulting in a miles better drive but still have annoying occasional noise,seems to be coming from the rear drivers wheel area,had the car on the ramp and found nothing,apart from the rear wheels sometimes lean outwards,im told this is a sign that the above bearings need replacing,ive got access to a friends garage,ramp ect,had a look but it doesnt look an easy job,ive done the clutch,fuel pump and other jobs myself,im not bad on the spanners,any advice guys?

Post by **CitroJim** » 12 Mar 2010, 11:19

Welcome to the forum Steve!

The normal sign that rear arm bearings have failed is that the wheels lean inward at the top (negative camber) and you'll hear creaks and groans and possibly knocks.

If you don't see appreciable negative camber, likely, they're OK and it'll be something else causing the problem. Main wheel bears maybe.

If they are duff, the job is not too bad generally and it's one of those that looks a lot more difficult thatn it is.

However, there is a big trap to be aware of.

The rear suspension cylinders must be removed and to do this you firstly need to disconnect the hydraulic feed pipes and this can present some fun. use an 8mm flarenut spanner for non-hydractibe or a 17mm one on hydractives. Disconnect the two leakage return pipes on each cylinder and then.... remove the "R" clips that secure the cylinder to the subframe and trailing arm respectively. The latter is likely to be rusted solid and may well need punching out. It can be a devil.

Once the cylinder is out, unbolt the anti-roll bar bolts and undo the long trailing arm through-bolt (24mm). Then it's all over bar the shouting. Replace bearings and job's a good 'un. The bearings can be punched/drifted out. It's a bit tricky.

Be careful not to damage the ABS sensors during the process.

Dommo · Post by **Dommo** » 12 Mar 2010, 11:28

Jim.

I know on 306 rear beams that the 'tube' the outer race of the bearings sit in, as well as the bar the inner race sits in (trailing arm shaft - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Peugeot-306-Rear- ... 335a4ab56c) can be damaged if the bearings become too damaged, is this not an issue with Xantia's?

Thanks, Dom.

Post by **CitroJim** » 12 Mar 2010, 12:29

It can be Dom, if the problem has been allowed to become very bad but generally, if caught in time, the trailing arms survive.

The Xantia setup is very different to the 306. It uses proper bearings rather than the needle rollers as found in the 306 and thesre is no tube. The bearings are entirely contained in the trailing arms and at worst, it's just a written-off trailing arm.

rory_perrett · Post by **rory_perrett** » 12 Mar 2010, 12:33

Rear Arm bearings are not too bad - running a bead of weld round to get the bearing race out is a great tip.

I had a set of rear arm bearings wear out on a Xantia but with no appreciable sign of "lean" on the wheels unlike my BX where you could see it a mile off. First indication on the Xantia was a very strange wear pattern on the rear tyre like you would get with a faulty shock absorber.

I would recommend you don't try and get the ABS sensor out of the arm but disconnect it at the connector on top of the subframe. A bit awkward but if you try and get them out of the arm you are more than likely to damage one or both making it a very expensive job. In non ideal working conditions (no hydraulic lift, garage etc) you should get a side done in 2 1/2 3 hours max.

TopDonkey · Post by **TopDonkey** » 12 Mar 2010, 14:25

You dont say what Citroen it is, but if its a C5, you dont need to remove the hydraulic cylinders, just undo the r clip and punch the pin out and leave the hydraulics on the subframe.

As citrojim says, its not a difficult job, you just work through it and get it done, make sure you get it shimmed correctly when you reassemble it though otherwise it will wear out rather quickly again

Dommo · Post by **Dommo** » 12 Mar 2010, 16:50

Where is the best/cheapest place to get the rear arm bearings? Sounds an easier job than on a 306, might get it done!

Cheers.

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 12 Mar 2010, 17:35

Thinking about this theres NO need to remove the cylinders on Xantias either!

The SOD of a job bit is getting the R clip out at the base of the strut!

They will either simply pull out! Or will be corroded into place!

Accessing the ABS Sensor plug on top of the subframe is not too bad if are brave enough to support the car under neath on the chassis, and lower the subframe down - its only two 18mm bolts, it will lower on one side so you can get to the ABS plug... assuming you have it fitted..

Dommo, dont assume you need to get them done! Do them if there is lean, or strange noises at the rear when the body is moving - or if you have fitted new spheres and the rear is still a little stiff..

Paul

Post by **CitroJim** » 12 Mar 2010, 18:26

Yes, I agree, don't do them for the sake of it!!!

GSF do the bearing kits that include new bearings, seals, spacer, nut, bolt and axle. Expensive though.

I believe the bearings can be bought on their own at considerable savings.

Dommo · Post by **Dommo** » 12 Mar 2010, 19:41

Is there a better way to test them? Other than just by wheel angle and stiffness, as the bearings would have to be really damaged to show that sort of problem surely?

The back is quite stiff to be honest on mine, although I will be doing the spheres one day when I can be bothered.

Post by **CitroJim** » 12 Mar 2010, 20:15

Dom,

They're hard to check but one way is to support the rear, remove the wheels and the corner spheres. The rear suspension will then be nice and floppy and any play or wear should then be easier to detect.

Generally, if the bearings are shot, you'll hear groans and creaks as the suspension rises and falls and there may be areas where the movement is jerky and rough.

If you were really keen you could disconnect the ARB at the trailing arms and at the height corrector and then you could swing the arms up and down more or less in complete isolation.

Dommo · Post by **Dommo** » 12 Mar 2010, 20:21

That's a point actually...

When the car was on stands for 2 or so weeks being repaired (quite slowly clearly

) the rear end was floppy and totally depressurised, and I don't remember the trailing arms feeling rough, although I only remember lifting the offside, can't remember trying the nearside.

Anyway, once again I've made a topic go off topic..

Cheers Jim. Dom.

Post by **CitroJim** » 12 Mar 2010, 20:29

Dommo wrote: Anyway, once again I've made a topic go off topic..

Not at all Dom. That's not off-topic by FCF standards

After all, we were still talking about trailing arm bearings and how to check them. Now if the topic had drifted to why ducks quack then I'd agree it had drifted a tad off topic...

fred1 · Post by **fred1** » 12 Mar 2010, 20:55

Hi,

Not sure if GSF do C5 kits, they did not last year when I did my C5. They do xantia kits and the bearings and seals and the plastic centre tube are the same but the spacers and bolt are different.

However, I found the cheapest way was still to buy a xantia kit from GSF and get the C5 spacers ans bolt from Citroen.

If you look on citroen service at xantia and C5 rear arms you will see which parts are the same (number) and which are different.

regards

John

bxman · Post by **bxman** » 12 Mar 2010, 21:11

Jim
That pesky R clip when you have nothing left to pull on will it punch on through with a pin punch?

I have done several BX's but cannot remember how I did it {old age I suppose } but though I have dropped the xantia sub frame which was a doodle compared to the bx.

BUT those R clips even after being soaked for days would not move. hence my question.
thanks Patrick

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