Well this is tomorrow's job. Not a ford but an Audi A3. Finally been brought to me now that the noise is unbearable when driving. It also has a broken handbrake csble too. Needless to say this is a wheel bearing that's very near disintegrated! 

 

whats wrong with that, loads of life left in that bearing. lol

just hope those spline bolts come out easy!! 

Well the spline heads are unrecognisable! So it'll be plenty heat and some extractors or a grinder lol . 

ive done a few audi a3 wheel bearings, ive been lucky with them with a bit of patience , from what i remember, isnt the driveshaft in the way of getting squarley on to the spline bolts? or it could be another vehicle. 

2 minutes ago, iantt said:

ive done a few audi a3 wheel bearings, ive been lucky with them with a bit of patience , from what i remember, isnt the driveshaft in the way of getting squarley on to the spline bolts? or it could be another vehicle. 

Nah looks like it will be ok to be honest although I'll find out lol. Once its removed from the hub and held to the side It looks like there will be enough clearance. 

The number one thing I hate about Vag stuff.. exposed spline head bolts on the suspension! 

If all else fails Ian, there's always the plasma cutter option! 

i dont just hate exposed spline head bolts on suspension, the whole vw cars comes in to my hate list

5 minutes ago, iantt said:

i dont just hate exposed spline head bolts on suspension, the whole vw cars comes in to my hate list

haha, well yes I would agree but I'd rather work on a VW than a fiat lol 

I like VAG cars tbh, easiest car to work on that I've owned was the mk4 Golf.

About the only car I've had where changing suspension didn't result in gear oil all over the floor, bolted shafts ftw!!

Plenty of access space, nothing was seized, easy to service, easy to remove the EGR for cleaning or straight piping...  Easy to prime the fuel filter.  Ah those were the days!  Too bad it ended up being stripped to a bare shell after the engine ate itself. 

 

What were you changing on the suspension that you had to remove the driveshaft? Why not just leave it bolted in 

Usually fitting lowering springs or wishbones.  The short shaft doesn't need to come out, but falls out no matter how careful I am on the Peugeots lol.  Then that disturbs the oil seal which leaks forever afterwards.

4 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Usually fitting lowering springs or wishbones.  The short shaft doesn't need to come out, but falls out no matter how careful I am on the Peugeots lol.  Then that disturbs the oil seal which leaks forever afterwards.

are you rougher than me Tom  

14 hours ago, stef123 said:

are you rougher than me Tom  

I'm just a constant **** up tbh!   

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

I'm just a constant **** up tbh!   

Pmsl, I have those days too! 

So far I'm having a pig of a day, this Audi ain't been apart ever I don't think.. The 21mm headed bolts for the brake caliper carrier, my milwauke m18 1/2 wouldn't even shift them! Argh..

when i read the thread title  i thought you were talking about my other half

Well the job is done. Started with a wheel bearing replacement, turned out to be a spring and drop link too lol. 

Many seized nuts/bolts later it's all done and also 2 new handbrake cables. 

Dont know why the forum always messes up the rotation of my photos! 

Looks like a rusty POS!!  How many miles has it done lol??

At least you've got proper spring compressors, I hate those deathy manual ones with little hooks!  

It's a 2004 car so seen a few winters and a lot of salt lol. 

Its got 120k miles on the clock. 

Yes, wouldn't be seen dead with a set of suicide clamps now! Had that Spring compressor a few years now, hydraulic is the way to go! 

Thats all?  I thought the rust was bad from the salty sea air here, glad I don't live in Scotland!!

I've seen a lot worse on newer cars lol.