That Wasn't So Hard...

This is how I spent most of the last three days. It was nice of VW to make the wheel wells fit me.

Here's a photo of the right side finished. Of course, after I mounted the disk, I discovered the wheel bearing on this side is bad so I had to take it apart again. I am currently waiting for a new bearing.

Best. Tool. Ever.

Evan loaned me his air-hammer. I would still be trying to take the suspension apart if I didn't have this. I also borrowed an impact wrench from Jim. That tool saved me a lot of time and effort, that's for sure.

This the right side with all the suspension components removed. The brake caliper is hanging by a wire.

Nice!

Right side hub.

Left side hub.

The center hub bolts on the right and left of the Passat are different. The 24mm bolt on the driver's side wasn't a big deal, Evan had a socket I could borrow. The 14mm hex on the right side was a different story. I finally tracked one down at "cough, cough" Harbor Freight. Of course I had to buy a set of 10 assorted sizes, but after visiting Sears, O'Reilly's and two different AutoZone's, I was willin'.

The bolts came loose a lot easier than I thought they would. The shop manual (yes I bought one) says always loosen these bolts while the car is standing on all four wheels, serious injury is possible! They came out fairly easily with my 3 foot bar.

I got the car up on jackstands. This is always harder than I think it should be. The jack I use to lift the car is always where I want to put my jackstands. Then I unbolted the wheels and gave all the bolts and fasteners a shot of PB Blaster.

Kathy and Sam are in Colorado with Sam's Girl Scout troop for a river rafting adventure, so I selected this weekend to work on her car. It looks like the weather is going to cooperate, cooler temps are predicted. Yippee.