On the subject of wheel bearings I can tell you that the rainy weather of this weekend prompted me to change one at the front of my Fulvia Zagato in preparation for the trip to Gap. To do this I use the method of the late Harry Manning who was my Fulvia mentor and dear friend. That means you don't remove the suspension swivel from the car (to press out the bearing) with a number of advantages I will not list here. It is however necessary to have all the correct special tools and a couple of strong friends because the inner bearing retainer nut is originally torqued to more than 30 Kgm (200 lft) and after years it becomes very hard to release it.

Hence, after removing the brake caliper and the axle retaining nut (muscles required here!), undo the bolts fixing the inner CV joint to the gearbox flange but leave them finger-tight. Then with a good hub puller extract the disc plus hub and hub cone. Now you can completely disconnect the inner CV joint and remove the driveshaft from the car. Apply plenty of releasing fluid to the bearing outer surface and around the retaining nut. Remove the large circlip. Remove the inner retaining nut with the help of a long scaffolding pole and some pretty strong friends (somebody must hold the tool tight inside the nut slots). With a 38 mm socket drift out the bearing and clean meticulously the bearing housing with alcohol.

Apply plenty of grease to it and use the old bearing to drift the new one in place. It is a very snugly fit and it needs care to avoid damage to the new bearing. Make sure that the bearing is straight inside its housing once you finished drifting it home. The rest is just reassembly in reverse order of dismantling (don't forget the hub cone!) but remember that it might be helpful to gently jack up the suspension at the level of the bottom balljoint to make easier the realignement of the inner CV joint to the gearbox flange to place the bolts in position.
- Andrea -