2002 Accord EX. I need to replace the RR splash shield, the one behind the
rotor. It is rusted out. I believe I need to remove the hub/bearing assy to
do this.

My question - am I likely to damage the hub/bearing assy when removing it?

Thanks.

 

On the rear the hub is only held on by the spindle nut, remove the nut and the hub should come off. If the rear bearing is worn, the inner race may stick to the hub and not come off when remove the hub assembly. If it does that replace the hub assembly, its ~$20 from Rock Auto.

 

The inner race did stick to the spindle. I removed it with a chisel. Since I purchased a new hub/bearing
in anticipation of that problem, I used the new one. But the inner race on the old one was still smooth
and shiny and I think I could have reused it if I didn't have a new one.

I also used a new axle nut. Could not unstake the old one, but it turned off
with a breaker bar and pipe.

Pic shows old and new shields.
I believe the rusted out shield allowed salt and dirt to get on the rotor,
resulting in premature wearing out of the rotor and pads. On the left side
the shield is intact and the rotor and pads show little wear after 2 years.

 

When the race stuck, when you pulled the hub off, most likely the oil seal for the bearing was damaged. AFAIK, no one sells just that seal by itself so if you were to reassemble the parts, even with new grease, water/salt/crud would be able to get past the seal and eat the bearing anyway. Thus, you would end up having to replace the bearing down the road.

As for being the right side being worn out, that is most likely due to being the curb side. Car is parked, it rains/snows that is the side that will most likely be inundated in water. Salted water/snow slurry gets shoved or washed off to the side of the road(road crown/plows) thus the passenger side gets a lot more damaged from corrosion. Same with parking cables and calipers locking up on the near side.
Try parking in flat areas or areas that do not have drainage on the kerb side. Same with driving, try to reduce the amount of time you are splashing through puddles/driving next to the curb when there is slush/standing water.