Just had the 84 up in the air and noticed there was alot of play in the rear tires. Seems to be coming from the bearing. Is there anything special to replace this bearing? I know on the c3's, it is pressed in. Is the c4 stuff the same?

 

Well, I did one and am planning on doing the other one soon. It's not hard, just a bit time consuming. Check the tech write-ups on this site and you'll find a great how-to written by one of our own. Essentially, jack up both sides, support safely on stands, remove both tires, put jack under end of spring and raise it up to remove tension, measure or count number of exposed threads on spring bolt before removing so you can put it back correctly, remove nut and bolt and slowly drop spring back down, remove toe rod end from rear knuckle, reference mark the cam bolt on the inner lower arm for reinstallation, remove the cam bolt and slide the inner lower arm out of the center section below the differential, unbolt the rear axle shaft u-joints and remove the shaft (some say you can get the bearing out without doing this, but I couldn't see how you can get to the bolts with the shaft in place), remove the brake pads and caliper and caliper bracket along with the wheel sensor, get the correct (#45 or 55 torx?) bit and remove the three bolts holding the bearing on, slide bearing off the spindle, coat inner splines of new bearing with anti-seize and reinstallation is the reverse of removal. I may have missed something here, so please check the how-to for the full-meal-deal on this, ok? You will likely want to press in new rear axle u-joints while you are in there. The rest of the group can jump in there and correct or add as necessary. It took me a full day (9-10 hours) to do this as I had other distractions during the removal and install that took time away from it.. and I work slow too! Enjoy and welcome to the fun world of c4 rear bearing replacement. Not hard, just time consuming. At least no puller is needed as on the C3. Good luck!
Brad

 

Thank you for the information, how much play is considered excessive? Are worn bearings likely to sieze up? The wheel spun nice and smoothly, no gritty feel. I was surprised to see there was play in the wheel, I couldnt feel anything odd coming from the rear when driving like I could in the c3.

 

There is no wheel sensor on an '84. The two hardest parts of the project are loosening the large spindle nut, which I didn't see addressed above, and the three T55 headed Torx bolts that retain the hub/bearing assembly to the knuckle. I have done this, twice, on my car and I didn't disassemble any of the rear suspension components, either time.

RACE ON!!!

 

You don't have to take any of that stuff apart. You will need a long "wobbly" extension and a good T55 Torx. If you have a "Helms" ( you should) look in there, it's a very easy repair. There should also be NO play in the wheels and they can come apart if they are bad enough.

 

The problem is that the HELMS advises to take it all a part. After reading the procedure, I thought to myself that there HAS to be a better way. There was. The Helms will give you a good insight as to how it's put together.

RACE ON!!!