August 2002 - CrisBrady.Net

Home > Speed > Vehicles > 2002 pages > August 2008

[ Click on any pic for a high rez version ]

Send mail to with questions or comments about this web site.

Ever since I bought the car, I've been flogging it on the local roads, getting in touch with my inner Bimmer. I applied to the state of PA for antique tags. That way I wouldn't have to have it inspected every year, it's a permanent tag. But it takes 2-3 weeks to get the tag, especially if the application gets rejected by some bureaucrat in Harrisburg: I'm sorry Mr. Brady, but that sticker on the car (a BMWCCA decal) is not original and didn't come with the car. You'll need to remove it and submit new photographs before we can approve your application. Okayyyy, deep breath, that's my tax dollars paying for this agravation. I must've run over a groundhog or other creature while "flogging the car" and this is my karma payback.

Not that I was really worried. I still had the original VA tags on it, paid up for a year, and a copy of the PA app and all PA taxes paid, so I figured if I get pulled over my defense would be: 1) This is a 40 year old car, it couldn't have been going that fast! It only has 45 hp! and 2) playing stupid - Ah gee officer, I applied for my new tag, see here's the app and sales tax receipt. Ah, you mean I can't still use the VA tags. Oh, I'm very sorry officer, I didn't know. I'm going to go right home. Yessir!

Anyhow, the fine day came when I got the call: Your tags are in. I fired up the '02 and headed to the DMV. On the way back (Legal at Last!) - taking the nice country roads and yes, flogging it a bit - all of a sudden I hear a nasty, loud grinding noise from the left rear corner. Yikes! I slow down and listen: nothing. Back up to speed, and CRUNCH - a torqued scream of metal. I find a spot to pull over - no mean feat on twisty 2 lane country roads with no shoulders. A lot of inspection, pulling on the wheel, and general head scratching, and nothing comes to light. My guess is a wheel bearing going bad. Nothing I can do here in the woods. Luckily it's a lightly traveled road and I'm only 4 miles from home, so I tip toe back at 5-10 mph with the flashers going and make it safely home.

Fire up the brower and turn to my new best friend www.bmw2002faq.com - Many hours of diving into the archives and the likely culprit is the rear wheel bearings and stub axle. At $400 for parts (ouch!) the bimmer gets pushed out into the driveway. I've got a racecar to repair and a championship to fight for. We'll be back!

Finally the parts arrived. The 944 is done and prepped for racing at Summit on the 23rd, so it was time to work on the bimmer.

First need to pull the hub with my brand new 8" Harbor Freight hub puller.

Next, remove the stub axle. then stand back and admire the drum brakes. That's something you don't see every day. Unless you own a General Motors vehicle ...

That came out pretty easy whacking it with a plastic hammer. Of course to get to that point required soaking the cv joint bolts and nuts with PB Blaster and wrenching on them for a 1/2 hour to unbolt the CV joint.

So let's take a closer look at things. Check out the wheel bearings still in place. Notice anything?

Yuck! The outside bearings weren't too happy and have given up working. That was the loud metallic screeching sound coming from the rear axle. And they probably took out the stub axle and hub (matched set). No problem, I bought all the parts.

Lets just remove the wheel bearings and pop in the new parts. Inside bearing came out in 2 minutes.

3 hours of labor over several days, consisting of tediously banging on the outside wheel bearing flange finally got it out of the hub and we ended up with this: A nice clean hub ready for another 200K kilometers.

Using my special bearing insert tool SP-1000, aka known as a 1 1/2 inch PVC pipe connector, I got the new bearings, seals installed and the new stub axle going in. Plenty of Mobil 1 was used in the this operation. My pappy alway said: Spare the lube and spoil the axle! My pappy had some issues, shall we say.

Another hour's work had the CV joint attached, new hub attached, new axle bolt torqued to 200+ ft/lbs, brake drum reinstalled and ready for a test drive - driving to the beer store.

Success! And the beer (a nice Saranac Lake caramel Porter) was good too.