Front Wheel Bearing -- DIY Walkthrough

From my knowledge these are just hub/bearing assemblies. Why are you trying to just change bearings?

 

You originally stated that you couldnt get the hub off.... I'd have used that first, then when broken free that way, I would have used a mini sludge on the back side of the hub and beat it on both sides to go back and forth till it broke free from the knuckle. (is what I did.)

 

I misspoke in my last quote and was too lazy to go back and change my post. Sorry for the confusion. I meant to say it's not a tool for getting the hub out of the steering knuckle. I didn't try to just change the bearing. I've done this before, I know the setup. And I did beat that thing to death with a five pound maul, using a can of PB Blaster and then tried it with a torch and it was not budging out of the knuckle. Even after I changed the knuckle I continued to fight it until eventually the bearing itself fell apart and all the balls fell out. It was just just totally frozen in the knuckle. 180K of Maryland winters will (apparently) do that. I have one original bearing left on this car.

Edited August 23, 2014 by itzed

Sorry for the question, but want to make sure I have understood all the talk on here. OEM or Moog for the bearings?

 

Thanks,

 

Schmidtty

Only OEM for the front.

 

Moog will work on the rears.

So, it looks like I'm going to need to do this, but the dealer quoted me $265 for each assembly!! How the hell has the price gone up so much from the OP's $140?? I know it was a few years ago, but come on, almost double the cost? Does anyone have any good leads on where to get OEM for a reasonable price? Thanks.

http://www.subarupartsforyou.com

So, it looks like I'm going to need to do this, but the dealer quoted me $265 for each assembly!! How the hell has the price gone up so much from the OP's $140?? I know it was a few years ago, but come on, almost double the cost? Does anyone have any good leads on where to get OEM for a reasonable price? Thanks.

 

 

Where in MA are you ? I get 25% off at my local dealer in Manchester CT. You may want to see if "underdog" can get you one cheaper, PM him.

Check http://www.rockauto.com

 

The Timkens I put in looked considerably better made than the OEM's that came out. These were the warrantied OEM's that lasted about 60k... All 4 of them.

Thanks for the help everyone

 

Well, I found these OEM on Ebay. Seller says they are legit and it's a good price. Anyone have experience with this seller?

 

Or do I go with the Timkens that asa suggested?

I'm not a big fan of ebay. Your in MA, PM underdog see what he can do for you, he's in MA too.

I have 40k on timken front hubs with no cel or anything. Rears are moog with like 20k.

Napa fronts here without issues, ymmv.

I've got a question about the OP. Where exactly should we lubricate with the silicon? The OP just said something about wiping off the rust and putting silicon lubricant on the surface. Sorry if it's a dumb question or already asked, I'm a little out of it after spending all day inhaling PBB and wrestling that 32mm off.

I've got a question about the OP. Where exactly should we lubricate with the silicon? The OP just said something about wiping off the rust and putting silicon lubricant on the surface. Sorry if it's a dumb question or already asked, I'm a little out of it after spending all day inhaling PBB and wrestling that 32mm off.

 

 

inside where the bearing race sits, use a silicon lubricant to coat the surface and evenly tighten the hub bolts

 

 

When you get the old hub off the spindle, clean that area well. Make sure you use anti-sieze compound on all the threads going back together, yes even the lug nuts.

Just spent 7 hours working on both my fronts. Drivers side hub bolts broke free fairly "easily" but fought with the hub being seized onto the knuckle for an hour or two. Even with a hub puller, I ended up resorting to smacking the ever living shite out of it with a chisel.

 

Passenger side, spent way too much time trying to get the rotor off without destroying it. 10mm bolts stripped immediately trying to pop it off. THEN, I only got 1 hub bolt off. The other 3 are seized something fierce. Let PB soak for an hour or two, wire brushed what I could of the ends sticking through, even heated with a torch. Not a budge. Coming back today with a more diesel impact gun and hope the PB worked its magic.

 

The problem is the working space for those bolts. Can't get a breaker on them cause of the wheel well and the axle is in the way as well!

 

Definitely budget a good chunk of time for this if your car has some good mileage on it. Mine has 221k.

Done. Had to remove the strut bolts to swing the knuckle down to have room to blast then off with a 500 ft-lb impact. Car felt fantastic, so quiet. Cruise worked fine so far, fingers crossed. Used Timken's.

Good to hear you got them replaced. Yep, let the PB Blaster do its thing.

 

Oh, 8mm X 1.25 bolts pull the rotors off.

 

I have learned to coat them with anti-sieze before I thread them into the rotors. Learned that the easy way.

^ Ive been using the bolt for the ABS as it seems to do the job for me nicely

The bolts I've taken off the radiator have stripped immediately. :/

Done. Had to remove the strut bolts to swing the knuckle down to have room to blast then off with a 500 ft-lb impact. Car felt fantastic, so quiet. Cruise worked fine so far, fingers crossed. Used Timken's.

 

Looks like I'll be tackling these soon too - not looking forward to fighting the inevitable rust!

 

I'm getting two part numbers for the Timken's: HA590315 and HA590118. Which one am I looking for? If the pictures are accurate, the second looks much beefier and is priced accordingly so.

Looks like I'll be tackling these soon too - not looking forward to fighting the inevitable rust!

 

I'm getting two part numbers for the Timken's: HA590315 and HA590118. Which one am I looking for? If the pictures are accurate, the second looks much beefier and is priced accordingly so.

 

Let the PB Blaster do its thing. If you don't have impact gun, you can hit the end of a 1/2" breaker bar with a hammer while your trying to loosen the bolts. That's the poor man's impact tool.

I just gave up at this - hub bolts are so rusted on I cannot remove them with an 18" breaker bar (which I can use to break off the axle nut) using a floor jack to try to rotate the bar. I let PB sit overnight and nothing.

 

I'm taking it to a local mechanic here - all in, its still going to be cheaper than just the part would be at the dealer - $350 for the OEM wheelbearing here, and $120 off rockauto + 200 for the labour at the local garage. I should've just let them do it from the beginning.

 

If you live in canada/a salt using state and dont have any air driven impact tools, just pay for someone else to do this for you. (car has 100k miles on it). Fronts look original.

 

:mad:

^ You need one of these

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/ingersoll-rand-w7150-beast-228167.html

I just gave up at this - hub bolts are so rusted on I cannot remove them with an 18" breaker bar (which I can use to break off the axle nut) using a floor jack to try to rotate the bar. I let PB sit overnight and nothing.

 

I'm taking it to a local mechanic here - all in, its still going to be cheaper than just the part would be at the dealer - $350 for the OEM wheelbearing here, and $120 off rockauto + 200 for the labour at the local garage. I should've just let them do it from the beginning.

 

If you live in canada/a salt using state and dont have any air driven impact tools, just pay for someone else to do this for you. (car has 100k miles on it). Fronts look original.

 

:mad:

 

 

Did you spray the bolts with PB Blaster and let it sit for a few minutes to do its thing ?

 

Also read post 321 above, try that.

I do need one of those. I don't know if it would fit in the wheel well though? And $350 is a lot of money right now not guaranteeing that it'll work.

 

I left the pb blaster on overnight. And I did hit the breaker bar and nothing.