Gears & Axles - Replacing front tie-rod ends and rear wheel bearings

I can move all four wheels side to side when the car is up the air, and when I hit the rear wheel I hear the clunking sound indicative of a bad wheel bearing. I know the front tie-rod ends are not hard to replace and will require an alignment afterwards, but how bad is it to replace the rear wheel bearings? I searched but couldn't find any good posts with helpful info.

Anybody got any helpful words of advice?

nobody has answer for those question i been tryin to get an answer myself with like other ten ppl

lol...

I'd be quite amazed to see your rear wheels move side to side being that your car has a solid rearend in the back. You have axles and axle bearings...no wheel bearings or hub assembies in the rear.

More than likely if you're hitting the rear wheels outward, you're just feeling/hearing the slight play in the axle bc of the C-clip. Its normal.

If the front moves side to side, more than likely your outer tie rods are loose. If they move up and down..more than likely your wheel bearings are loose and you'll have to put a new hub on it.

Is your car making noise in the rear while driving? I know a lot of cars the driveshaft will hit the exhaust(if aftermarket), so it's hard to drive a car on a rack to listen for rearend noise.

No my rear end doesn't make noise while driving, and I'll have to re-check as to which way the front wheel moves. But when we had it on the rack we saw the tie rod ends give alot of play in the linkage. I'm pretty sure they do move side to side and not up and down. The tie-rod ends are definitely shot though, the dust cover is all ripped and torn

Yeah my tie rods are shot as well. Need to get to it ...

I had the rear end of my 1998 car completely rebuilt. I watched the whole process. I ended up needing a new carrier, which came out easy with a lock pin. New bearings went on a used 2002 Z28 carrier with about 20,000 miles on it. Once you take out the carrier, there are a couple of clips that hold the 2 axles in place. A vice grip on the disk break area may release pressure to allow an easier removal of the axles. Make sure you put the 2 clips back in the same sides of the car too. I also had new Pinion bearings and a "crush sleeve" and a pinion seal replaced. When the rear end oil goes back in, you have to get a special "limited slip" addative also. This quiets the clutch sounds a little and is important as you could burn up the rear end without it. It is good to have a dowel indicator when putting everything back together and know your torques on things like the driveshaft seal. My car almost sounds Lexis quiet (Except for the exhaust!).

ninjavenom
Great advise on the rear end install.