Hello All. A few days ago I posted about a noise I was hearing from rear of my '86 240 DL sedan. After some listening further and thinking about it I think noise is from drivers side rear wheel which leads me to think wheel bearing needs replacement. What else could it be ? Bushings, shocks & springs were just done as were brakes. Driveshaft & its support are fine. Noise is definiteley from drivers side rear wheel. Makes most noise when taking off quickly & least noise when taking off slowly. Question is : How difficult is it to replace wheel bearing ? Should I do both sides or just the bad/noisy side ?? Thanks in advance for advice/info on this matter.

As you havent decribed what this noise sounds like--I have to ask if you have ruled out an exhaust related-Iv had a few instances over the years where a section of the exhaust was rubbing under acceleration-looking at the exhaust while idling--no noise- then noticed the rear axle pipe section was rubbing on the inner rear qtr panel-that of course was on the pass side in my case due to a broken hanger and excessive play in the exhaust.

No it is not exhaust system related. I very thouroughly checked that. It is either wheel bearing or as I spoke to mechanic yesterday perhaps the upper/pan rod bushing which was not changed when I had trailing arm bushings done last month. I am bringing car in to mechanic this friday to determine.

Can you feel the noise when you jack the wheel and spin it? Does the bearing feel rough? Is there much end-play on the shaft?
It is quite easy to get the whole axle/bearing assembly out - remove the disk/rotor, hang the caliper on a bit of wire without straining the brake pipes, undo the 4 securing bolts, and pull it out.
The easiest thing is just to swap the lot with another one. Getting the bearing off and pressing on a new one is really a job for a proper machine shop. I have heard of people cutting off the locking ring with a grinder, pulling off the bearing,and then hammering on a new bearing with a long tube over the axle shaft.

The outer bearing shell is just a push fit in the end of the axle casing, and usually pulls out with fingers alone. If you need to use a puller it will damage the oil seal, but having got that far it's a good idea to replace it anyway.