rear wheel bearings

I have a 95 saturn with 340,000km(I live in canada)I have replaced the
front wheel bearings, tierods, lower control arms,but not the strut
assemblies or the rear wheel bearings.The bearings in the back sound fine
but I don't know how long I should put it off. Also the front right strut
bearing rubber under the damper shaft nut is cracked and half missing.I
know the left strut damper shaft has lost its damper because you can push
it all the way down.Again I'm wondering how long i should procrastinate or
is it worth it to get struts out of the wreckers. Other than that, it's
been a very reliable car. I drive 100km's a day to get back and forth to
work. I only use it for work and the maintenance has been very
reasonable. Occasionally I get parts out of the wreckers.

 

Struts, strut pivot bearings and the like I always buy new. To me, using
used suspension parts is not worth the risk.
On the rear bearings, look at the bearings. If the rolers and races are
still smooth and there is no flaking off of the surface, they are still
good. Give them a good cleaning and re-grease and they should be fine. Nice
thing about tapered bearings is that there is a good deal of adjustment by
tensioning the hub nut. If you do have to change the bearing, do be sure to
drive out the old race and install the new one. I decided to skip that step
once and had to replace the bearing and race again in a few thousand miles.

 

Thank's for the tip. I priced a Monroe strut(without the coil spring and
top bearing plate) at $140.00(can) seems pricey but I'll shop around. I
work for TRW safety systems(manufacturing) but the company won't hand out
any discounts of any kind; different division TRW suspension parts, even
though we stamp tie rod ends for them. I've got some synthetic bearing
grease for the rear bearings I'll try that. Thanks again for your help.

 

Are you talking about the rear wheel "hub"? It is sealed and is
considered a non-servicable part. If it developes play or noise you
replace it. There is no way that I have seen to grease modern wheel
hubs.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Rear Suspension Description and Operation
(S-Series)

A MacPherson strut type rear suspension is used on all Saturn vehicles.
The strut contains an internal damper, much like a conventional shock
absorber. Therefore, strut assemblies consisting of a strut and a coil
spring provide both spring and shock absorber functions. If the strut
becomes damaged or worn, it must be replaced as a unit since it is not
serviceable.

The strut assembly is connected to the vehicle at three locations. The
top of the strut is fastened to the vehicle body by fasteners. The
bottom of the strut is attached to the crossmember through the knuckle
and lateral links, providing side-to-side stability, and to the vehicle
body through a trailing arm, providing front-to-rear stability.

Although the rear suspension components are lubricated for life and
require no routine lubrication, they should be inspected periodically
for damage and wear.

 

The rear hub/bearing assembly cannot be disassembled or greased - it is a
sealed, non-serviceable unit. And I've heard in the past from a Saturn
engineer that when they fail, there is seldom any warning (they don't make
any noise). Best to replace them before that happens.

KYB struts can be had new for around $50 (US) if you shop around on the web.
And by all means, replace the rubber strut mounts at the same time. I
skipped that, and at around 130,000 miles, one of the rear strut rods broke
through the worn top rubber mount and came through the rear deck. All
because I was too cheap to replace them when I did the struts.

My website's faq section covers a good way to remove rusted-on rear hubs, if
you're inclined to do the job yourself.

Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ]

 

Is there any general mileage or age mark by which the Saturn
struts just ought to be replaced? Kind of curious as I'm just
over the 100k mark (and 13 years)and still have the originals.

 

No because the variables involved in wearing out shocks and struts are
to great. (City driving will wear out shocks faster than smooth highway
driving.)

There is a check you can easily do. Put your body weight into pushing up
and down the front end of your car to get it bouncing. Then jump back
and count how many times it continues to bob. If its more than 3 times
then they most certainly need to be replaced. Repeat for the rear. You
should probably do this after the car has been driven as well because
when the struts warm up they are usually less effective.