JamesAtthews
New member
Hi I have been faced with replacing the rear swingarm bearing of my Multi for the last few weeks, and yesterday I finally plucked up courage to attack it. Having read about on the forum, I have seen what a pig of a job this is/ can be, and that you've got to remove the swingarm from the car. This entails removing the hand brake cable, brake shoes, brake cylinder, rear shock absorber and the coli spring, which from experience with other cars is a real swine. Initially I didn't believe that you have to remove the swingarm from the car, and I can confirm that this is the case.
If you remove the swingarm bolt and knock it through, with the car on stands, you can then put the trolley jack under the cup of the spring and jack away, slowly until it starts to move. Once it moved, I got the trolley jack handle and levered under the anti roll bar, and the swingarm popped out, giving enough space to get at the bearings etc. I supported the other end of the trolley jack with an axle stand which held in place.
Now you need to drift the old outer races out with a screwdriver. You need to remove the plastic inner liner (heat gun!) and you then need to clean up the whole joint before you start again. I would recommend greasing/ oiling the bearing races to enable them to slide better, and also to sand the mating faces slightly to remove corrosion and other rough edges. The outside race fitted easily enough, I used a 32mm socket which fitted perfectly onto the race and into the swingarm. Using a copper mallet, hammer this until the race is fully seated.
As the inner side was corroded slightly more ( I only found 4 bearings, 2 races and fragments of the cage) I had to use some all thread, and assorted washers to pull the 32mm socket and the race into its seat. This was more laborious than the description makes it sound! Once both races are in (with the plastic sleeve in between) you can then heavily grease the bearings and the inner axle and fit them into the joint. Then fit the rubber bearing covers and the metal end caps, and then you can refit the joint into the car.
You need to remove the trolley handle from the axle stand, and the joint will partly resit into its home. You might need to use a hammer, or get away with the jack to press it into place. You then need to put the axle through and tighten the nut to stupid tight ( couldn't find a torque detail, but I put it back as I found it).
That's it, job done, total time 4 hours, but with what I've learnt, e.g. how to separate the joint, then I would say 3 hours for the other side.
Hope this helps for anyone in a similar position.
If you remove the swingarm bolt and knock it through, with the car on stands, you can then put the trolley jack under the cup of the spring and jack away, slowly until it starts to move. Once it moved, I got the trolley jack handle and levered under the anti roll bar, and the swingarm popped out, giving enough space to get at the bearings etc. I supported the other end of the trolley jack with an axle stand which held in place.
Now you need to drift the old outer races out with a screwdriver. You need to remove the plastic inner liner (heat gun!) and you then need to clean up the whole joint before you start again. I would recommend greasing/ oiling the bearing races to enable them to slide better, and also to sand the mating faces slightly to remove corrosion and other rough edges. The outside race fitted easily enough, I used a 32mm socket which fitted perfectly onto the race and into the swingarm. Using a copper mallet, hammer this until the race is fully seated.
As the inner side was corroded slightly more ( I only found 4 bearings, 2 races and fragments of the cage) I had to use some all thread, and assorted washers to pull the 32mm socket and the race into its seat. This was more laborious than the description makes it sound! Once both races are in (with the plastic sleeve in between) you can then heavily grease the bearings and the inner axle and fit them into the joint. Then fit the rubber bearing covers and the metal end caps, and then you can refit the joint into the car.
You need to remove the trolley handle from the axle stand, and the joint will partly resit into its home. You might need to use a hammer, or get away with the jack to press it into place. You then need to put the axle through and tighten the nut to stupid tight ( couldn't find a torque detail, but I put it back as I found it).
That's it, job done, total time 4 hours, but with what I've learnt, e.g. how to separate the joint, then I would say 3 hours for the other side.
Hope this helps for anyone in a similar position.
