C5 Rear Arm Bearings

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hamster99
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C5 Rear Arm Bearings

Post by hamster99 »

Finally got the time to do these and have all the bits to hand.

Just realised that, unlike the front callipers, the rear ones don't appear to be removable in a single piece but are split in the middle with the bolts running through and attaching to the trailing arm.

Is there any way to avoid having to split the callipers to get them off as I'd rather not have to bleed the brakes.

Is it better to take the hub off or leave it attached to the arm?

Finally, what grease should I use for the new rear arm bearings?

Thanks

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Re: C5 Rear Arm Bearings

Post by Xantidote »

hamster99 wrote:the rear ones don't appear to be removable in a single piece but are split in the middle with the bolts running through and attaching to the trailing arm.
I've never seen C5 rear brake assembly, but assumed from the forum that the set up is the same as the Xantia. If that's the case, then as well as the 2 bolts which go right through the 2 caliper parts & screw into the trailing arm, there should also be a small (3mm dia?) bolt which holds the dust shield on, which also serves to clamp the 2 caliper halves together. This small dia bolt holds the 2 halves together and avoids disturbing the seal between the 2 halves.
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Re: C5 Rear Arm Bearings

Post by Stickyfinger »

LOTS of Plus gas....micro blow torch the bolts, then more plus gas and leave for 12 hours applying lots more plus gas.
It is always a good thing to bleed the system as the rears are a "dead" end...well slow return.
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Re: C5 Rear Arm Bearings

Post by RichardW »

Given the well documented problems with removing the caliper bolts, if there is no sign of corrosion twisting the caliper, you may be well advised to leave alone and split the brake pipe at the flexi. No need to remove the hub.
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Re: C5 Rear Arm Bearings

Post by Peter.N. »

If you take the callipers apart don't loose the 'O' rings - like I did. :oops:

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Re: C5 Rear Arm Bearings

Post by myglaren »

Have you seen Ben's thread on calliper removal etc?

here.
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Re: C5 Rear Arm Bearings

Post by elma »

Xantidote wrote:
hamster99 wrote:the rear ones don't appear to be removable in a single piece but are split in the middle with the bolts running through and attaching to the trailing arm.
I've never seen C5 rear brake assembly, but assumed from the forum that the set up is the same as the Xantia. If that's the case, then as well as the 2 bolts which go right through the 2 caliper parts & screw into the trailing arm, there should also be a small (3mm dia?) bolt which holds the dust shield on, which also serves to clamp the 2 caliper halves together. This small dia bolt holds the 2 halves together and avoids disturbing the seal between the 2 halves.
This is correct, if you leave the shield/pad retaining bolt on the callipers don't split. Stickys comments about the blow torch and plus gas are spot on as well, I'd add an impact wrench as essential myself. C5 calliper retaining bolts were greased with thread lock and are a dissimilar metal to the calliper. As such there is often galvanic corrosion the along a lot of the length of them causing the nightmare of removal.

I'm not sure if I'd leave them or be more inclined to remove them and get painted for preservation, could be a can of worms.
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Re: C5 Rear Arm Bearings

Post by Old-Guy »

Complete instructions for removing Xantia rear calipers in the wiki.
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Re: C5 Rear Arm Bearings

Post by hamster99 »

Right.....
In spite of expecting issues with the callipers, the bolts undid incredibly easy :-D :-D and i could then just hook the calipers to one side without disconnecting the brake pipes.
With arm off I have removed the outer seals and the inner part of the bearings. All good so far.
Now i cannot seem to find how to remove the outer part of each bearing, the bit that sits in the arm. I saw a diagram online a few weeks ago which showed you being able to drift it out from the opposite end but this seems impossible as there is a plastic tube inside (its called a seal protector on the service site diagram) [not sure how to include pics!!]

So, how do i get the bearing shells out....... :? :?

........or can i leave the outer bits in the arm and just change the inner bearing parts and reassemble..????

Oh, and I presume its ok to use lithium-molybdenum grease for the bearings

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Re: C5 Rear Arm Bearings

Post by lexi »

Take a few pics Hamster. Load to Photobucket then link to here.
I will end up doing these sometime :lol:
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Re: C5 Rear Arm Bearings

Post by Ben82 »

hamster99 wrote:Right.....
In spite of expecting issues with the callipers, the bolts undid incredibly easy :-D :-D
.
Hazard a guess that since that since it's done 250K that they've potentially been changed before (maybe the discs were changed at some stage?, which would have been a caliper off job).
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Re: C5 Rear Arm Bearings

Post by RichardW »

I believe the bit in the middle is just plastic, so you just need to attack it with a screwdriver till it comes out - in pieces. Easiest way to get the inner races out is to run a bead of weld around them.
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Re: C5 Rear Arm Bearings

Post by Xantidote »

RichardW wrote:I believe the bit in the middle is just plastic
Well, it certainly is on the Xantia. Doubt you can get it out without destroying it, so hope you have a replacement. Once removed, and you inspect the race remaining in the arm, you will see a tiny lip (less than 1mm) where it projects, and with care and persistence with a heavy hammer and some form of drift to engage with the lip (small cold chisel with a sharp end?), work at intervals but at opposite points all round the circumference (if you get my drift :-D ), and there you go :)

As Richard says, there's also the method of running a bead of weld all round, mentioned elsewhere on the forum - OK if you have a welder
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Re: C5 Rear Arm Bearings

Post by hamster99 »

What is the plastic tube in the middle for? Doesn't seem to serve any purpose as far as I can tell, other than to make it more difficult to drift the bearings out.
The service citroen site calls it a seal protector but the seals are on the outside, not inside the arm!!
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Re: C5 Rear Arm Bearings

Post by Old-Guy »

hamster99 wrote:What is the plastic tube in the middle for? Doesn't seem to serve any purpose as far as I can tell, other than to make it more difficult to drift the bearings out.
The service citroen site calls it a seal protector but the seals are on the outside, not inside the arm!!
Could it just be a cheap/lightweight method of filling the space to reduce the volume of grease needed to pack the bearings adequately?
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