couple questions on wheel bearing replacement

I'm thinking of replacing my front driver side wheel bearing soon on my own, and by that I mean removing the steering knuckle and hub and dropping it off at a shop to press the old bearing out and new one in.

 

My first question is when I get to unbolting the axle nut does the hub slide right off the axle or will there be any resistance requiring special technique or tools to get it off?

 

My other question is when torquing down the axle nut after installing the new bearing, is there anything I need to be careful of or do I just torque it down like you would any other bolt?

The axle may spin.

1. Lift car.

2. Remove wheel.

3. Jam a screwdriver through the brake caliper & lock it through the cooling ports in the brake disc.

4. Use a breaker bar & a 32mm socket to remove the axle nut.

5. Remove tie rod (you can get a small press to remove it or you can twist the axle nut to the top without taking it off. & you can deliver a few very hard strikes to it to knock it out).

6. Remove the lower ball joint castle nut.

7. Unbolt the shock/strut w/19mm or 3/4 socket.

8. Turn the hub in the direction you need for it to be to take out the C/V Joint (you will tussle a little bit with it but it will come off).

 

I just got this done 2 days ago with this on my GT.

 

DO NOT torque the nut down with the wheel still installed. You must do it when the car is in the air without pressure on the hub.

Have someone hold the brakes when you loosen the axle nut and when you tighten it. I use an impact to remove mine. You will also want to mark the location of the cam bolt on the strut so you dont mess up the alignment.

a couple of tips i learned the hard way.

 

1/ disconnect the sway bar sooner rather than later, it helps when removing the ball joint from control arm.

 

2/ DO NOT mess with the ball joint pinch bolt unless the ball joint is bad. if it busts, and they do a lot, you are in for a head ache. or the shop bill goes up.

 

3/ leave the strut bolts for last. you do not want the knuckle flopping around on the ball joint, you can mess it up. cheap ball joints are a bout 20$, but i have no idea if they are worth it.

Does anyone know if the bearing tool from harbor freight will work on our cars? I figure that even with buying the tool the job will still be less than half the cost of paying someone to do the job.

 

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/fwd-front-wheel-bearing-adapters-66829.html

You need a press harbor freight has a 20 ton that works ok.

i dont see why not, if it doesnt just bring it back

the tool will work on our cars to remove and install the bearing.

but it is not the only tool needed to do the job.

you also need a puller or slide hammer to remove the hub.

if the bearing separates you need a way to remove the race from the hub.

then use the tool to install the bearing in the knuckle housing.

 

having not done it, i'm not clear on what it takes to re-install the hub in the bearing after the bearing is in the knuckle housing.

if you plan on doing more than one wheel bearing the tool is a good idea.

 

but if you only want to save money, remove the hub and take it to a good shop / machine shop and have them press the old out and the new in.

 

i did this at a machine shop associated with a parts store. i paid $50 for the bearing and $50 for the labor. i did it all before lunch one day.

so keep this in mind.

You can get a 20 ton press for less than 200 and do all the bearings you want on multiple cars. Thats up to you though and how comfortable you feel doing the job.

My first question is when I get to unbolting the axle nut does the hub slide right off the axle or will there be any resistance requiring special technique or tools to get it off?

 

When I replaced my driver side axle six months ago,the axle came right out of the hub by hand with no extra work needed.

 

When I replaced my passenger side axle three weeks ago, I hammered it with a sledge for two hours and only managed to deform the tip of the axle. Had to remove the entire hub along with the axle and bring it to a shop where their industrial air hammer banged away for a good minute straight before it slowly came off.

 

So maybe, and maybe not, lol.

 

And the axle puller tool from Advance Auto Parts does not work on our cars. The tool is too big and doesn't fit over the studs on the hub (seemed more like it was geared towards SUVs and trucks.)

This is what I use to pull the axles on all my Subes. Worth it IMO as it makes the job quick and easy.

I have that tool from Harbor Freight and it works great. Used it over 20 times and the tools still working great. The plus side is your alignment won't be affected and you won't run into breaking bolts. You'll need a slide hammer to remove the hub from the bearing. This can be challenging but it will come out. With the tool make sure you put grease on the threads so it works better. I wish someone would make a wheel bearing that doesn't have a plastic cage. I've tried a bearing shop locally and the replacement bearing had the plastic cage. What a dumb design for a bearing.

For those who don't know, the bearings fail so often on Subarus due to the plastic cages in the bearings.

I'm still going to press out the bearings in my two OEM hubs that I replaced, and see if I can't fit them with some better bearings - sans plastic cages.

Yeah if anyone comes up with a part number for a bearing that will work that is a full metal design please post the p/n. Thx in advance.

Just to give this thread closure on my part I ended up having to pay to have my wheel bearing replaced. Out of all the problems I ran into it was the abs sensor bolt. The bolt would not break free and it got to the point where I was just rounding it off and couldn't get the grip I needed. I also broke my socket wrench which didn't help. So I was over it. The new bearing is nice though now the car rides like new.

How much did it end up costing if you don't mind me asking? I have a knuckle already removed and it may have a bad wheel bearing.

cheap ball joints are a bout 20$, but i have no idea if they are worth it.

 

Nope, definitely not. The original ball joint on my car was probably the original from the factory ball joint. The boot wasn't torn, but the joint was quite loose. I installed a cheap one from Advanced Auto for about an hour on my 98 LGT. Steering feel was no tighter than before. I then upgraded to a Moog ball joint and my steering was instantly tighter, with more weight and feel. I ended up getting a second one because the first was so good. The difference was surprising to say the least.

It cost about 420 not including the bearing I purchased which was about 60, that cost also included an alignment. Seems 500 is about the average.

Thanks. However I am more interested in the cost of just replacing the bearing when the hub is not attached to the vehicle. So was the bearing $60 by itself, or does that include removal and installation?

I'm thinking about changing mine out on the 98 BD when I do the DS Axle, and I have a 60 ton press in my garage, so, the only cost is going to be the parts (and the paltry amount I charge myself for labor - usually a beer, or two)

 

@Monkey - If you take it to a machine shop and have them press it out and back in again, then, you're likely looking at $20-$30 labor. So I'd imagine total you're looking at $100.00 or less with parts, labor and tax.

Yeah the bearing by itself was about 60 dollars. This is what I used.

 

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?R=ATM2123002_0257304142

but if you only want to save money, remove the hub and take it to a good shop / machine shop and have them press the old out and the new in.

 

i did this at a machine shop associated with a parts store. i paid $50 for the bearing and $50 for the labor. i did it all before lunch one day.

so keep this in mind.

 

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I'm taking my hub off to have the bearing (and new wheel hub) pressed in, but I'm stuck. I have off the sway bar, strut, and ball joint (it came apart kinda funny, I think it's $@#^ed). So all I have left is the axle and the tie rod end. I'm having trouble getting either one off. My book says to loosen the tie rod end and then pull it off, but I can't get it loose without twisting it more than I'd like to. Going to soak it in penetrate all day and see if that helps. I wonder if I can just whack it out from the hub? The joint needs replaced anyway.