2012 RSpec Rear Bearings R Squared

[JacobyDJackson]

Good Evening. My Genny is just shy of 100K miles. I am hearing some rumblings coming from the rear bearings...upon further diagnosis, it’s definitely the bearings. From a topical view, it looks like you have to take the entire rear suspension apart to RSquare (remove and replace) the bearing hub. Does anybody have any pointers before I jump in...specifics, tools, what to take off; what to loosen? Any help would be appreciated!

 

[ktar_Equus]

I have a 14 Equus and I am experiencing some bearing issues too, some rubbing clunking noise at 30mpg and up. It could be wheel bearings or drive shaft.
But isn't the bearing & hub sold as one piece? For rear bearing you need to disconnect the axle but I don't think you need to remove any suspension parts, unless there is clearance issue.

 

[mikec]

Looking at the 2009 "07 Driveshaft and Axle" part of the service manual, it shows the rear bearings inside the hub assembly = piece with the wheel studs; and the rear knuckle = piece with bolts & suspension links attached to it. I suspect 2012 suspensions are fairly similar. The manual does not show anything about removing the bearings themselves; it would likely take a bearing press or machine shop to R^2 the bearing races. Some vehicles have clearance notches in the beefy piece that supports the bearing race so you can pound an old race out with a drift; I have no idea if that is possible on a Genesis rear suspension. When I replaced bearing races previously, I found the easiest way to get the new races installed, without subjecting them to potential damage from pounding or pressing, is to warm up the carrier in an oven to 120 - 150 degrees or so (expands it a little) while the bearing race was put into a sealed plastic bag stuck in the kitchen freezer for an hour. The bag keeps moisture off it; freezing it shrinks it. It would probably be a smart idea to coat the bearing race in the proper oil/lubrication before stuffing it into the bag as a further barrier to moisture. I did this on a differential years ago and the bearing race literally plopped right into position - no force whatsoever - and after a few seconds it warmed up enough to be snug.

The only special service tool referenced in the service manual is Hyundai part number 09568-4A000 which looks like a plain old ball joint separator tool to me.

Have you verified the noises are not from the drive axles (aka half shafts) and CV joints? Eyeball those closely, especially the rubber boots around the CV joints. If those are split/broken, road crud gets into the CVs and kills then quickly. Most auto parts stores sell rebuilt CV + half shaft + boot assemblies.

Suspensions that clunk often have worn rubber bushings, not wheel bearings. Or the shaft passing through the bushing has accumulated rust or road grit jamming it to the bushing. When this happens the bushing becomes a rubber torsion spring rather than allowing parts to pivot freely... and, under certain loads, the rust-jammed area frees up for a moment with a big thud - you can hear and feel it. I've seen this on the lower shock mounts on a different Hyundai automobile. The only way to remove the shock - it couldn't be pulled off the stud - was to use a hole saw in a hand-held drill and cut the rubber apart. Fitting a deep socket onto the rubber remnants and spinning that with an impact driver was enough to free it from the stud.

mike c.