Wheel bearings suck!

[SpecRacer17]

I'm pretty sure my right front wheel bearing has died on me. Did a little research and it seems like something I'd rather not tackle on my own. I've done shocks, brakes, sway bars, headers, etc. but replacing bearings seems like a giant PITA! So I call the dealer and they quoted me $300-350 PER side! They said it take about 4 hours per side too. I just wonder if I should suck it up and do this myself and save $700 bucks or am I right that the pain and suffering of changing the bearings is not worth it. Any advice would be awesome.

 

[MP3Performance]

It definitely should not take 4 hours to do just one bearing. I had one of my bearings replaced at a regular shop and it took the person about 30 min total. It looked pretty simple with the right tools.

1. Jack up the car and take off wheel.
2. Remove brake caliper and rotor.
3. Remove axle nut.
4. Remove the bearing and using extraction tool.
5. Press out old hub on hydraulic press.
6. Press in new hub and reassemble.

The part itself should be no more then $40-50. You might want to try a regular shop (something reputable) instead of a dealer and see what they say. It cost me about a hundred in total together with the part, but I know the guy so he gave me a below normal price. Not saying that it is easy to do by yourself, but definitely not a 4 hr per side job for a decent mechanic.

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

lol. i've replaced dozens of bearings. do it yourself man. i use a deadblowhammer, and guess what, NO ISSUES with any of them. sounds scary, but it works. i'm going to be replacing 4 bearings and hubs on my protege,... just cuz it seems about time.

 

[SpecRacer17]

lol. i've replaced dozens of bearings. do it yourself man. i use a deadblowhammer, and guess what, NO ISSUES with any of them. sounds scary, but it works. i'm going to be replacing 4 bearings and hubs on my protege,... just cuz it seems about time.

What? A deadblowhammer? Is that a real tool? How much? I thought I would need some sort of press to get the old bearings out and the new ones in?

 

[MP3Performance]

What? A deadblowhammer? Is that a real tool? How much? I thought I would need some sort of press to get the old bearings out and the new ones in?

Thats the "extraction tool" I was referring too. You first attach one side with three lugnuts. Then the other side has a handle that slides along the bar. You use your hand to slide and smash the handle outward in order to "rip" or pull the hub out of the assembley. After that you still need a hydraulic press to get the old bearing out, and to install the new one. They might have one of the hammers at a tool rental place, but even buying it shouldn't be too expensive since it looks like a simple tool made of metal.

 

[SpecRacer17]

So let me get this right. The "whamhammer" is used to pull the hub off, then the press is used to get the old wheel bearing out and press the new one in? So I will be needing the extraction tool and press to do this job at home. What about replacing the hub nut or other hardware?

 

[EviLMaN]

the whamhammer real name is a slide hammer, the slide hammer ONLY removed the hub then you have to remove the race from hub (easly with a air hammer), but u also have to removed the bearing from the carrier (easly with a press) wheel bearings aren't the easiest parts to replace (since they are pressed in (need a press or the Mazda tool to install them). with the right tools wheel bearings are fairly easy. with out the right tools they will be a pain but do able.


edit:
the slid hammer to buy with right adapters can cost up to or a lil more then 100$, renting will be best
the deadblow hammer is a rubber style hammer with sand in the top so when you hit something hammer Wont bounce back,

 

[msp5]

call you local machine shop.usually if ya take them the steering knuckle and all the bearing parts,they'll do it.but call first and ask

 

[SpecRacer17]

Found these:

Hub Puller
Slide Hammer
Bearing installer

Is this everything I would need? Some people talk about filling the wheel bearings with grease. Do they all need this or do they come "pregreased".
Thanks.

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

no. not what i was referring to.. i use this hammer, i think it's referred to as a deadblow.. both ends are metal with sand or something in the head, made by snap on(mine is).. and aside from the C clip, i just hammer it all out. it's SOO much easier to replace the hub while replacing the bearing for me.

i just get everything and do it.

but yes, machine shops can do the work.. usually , if you take the knuckle into the machine shop, it'll cost you 60.00 for them to press out everything and press in everything.(per knuckle)

 

[kboutsider]

When I replaced mine I just brought the hub into my buddy at a ford dealership and he charged me $10 to press out the old and press in the new. Also might want some heat to remove the nut on the axle. Mine was held on by some super industrial loc tight or something.

 

[SpecRacer17]

What the hell, I'm gonna give this a shot on my own. The other option I may have after reading about this is replacing both front hubs. If I'm right it looks like new hubs come with the wheel bearings already in them. Hopefully that would simplify things a little, pop old hub off...put new hub on...done! Hammering a new wheel bearing into an old hub sounds dicey. Again, I've never done this but I'd like to do it right and get another 100,000 miles out of the new ones.

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

What the hell, I'm gonna give this a shot on my own. The other option I may have after reading about this is replacing both front hubs. If I'm right it looks like new hubs come with the wheel bearings already in them. Hopefully that would simplify things a little, pop old hub off...put new hub on...done! Hammering a new wheel bearing into an old hub sounds dicey. Again, I've never done this but I'd like to do it right and get another 100,000 miles out of the new ones.

yeah it's not that big of a deal.. like i said, i've done it plenty of times. just take strong, even blows. and it'll work. i usually find something that'll match the width of the bearing, so it distributes the power evenly..

and the axle nut, i have a battery powered impact gun.. works wonders!

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

if you felt inclined couldnt you just take the hub off yourself and go get the bearing pressed out and new one in at most any shop for a minimal charge?

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

if you felt inclined couldnt you just take the hub off yourself and go get the bearing pressed out and new one in at most any shop for a minimal charge?

yes, but minimal charge is roughly like 60.00 each hub...soo it could add up.

 

[SpecRacer17]

I think I'll see how things go first before I take it to a shop. I PM'd Ken from protegegarage about the bearings and possibly the hubs too. I would think if I had a new hub and new wheel bearing with a little grease that baby would just slide right in. It looks like if I just replace the bearings you just need to clean out the hub really well, then grease up the hub and the wheel bearing and slide it in. Its going to be a long weekend...

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

good luck with sliding.. they wont just slide..as the whole idea for it is that you're putting the bearing, which is slightly larger than the hole on the hub, into the hub, which is smaller.. so it won't just FALL out..

 

[SpecRacer17]

good luck with sliding.. they wont just slide..as the whole idea for it is that you're putting the bearing, which is slightly larger than the hole on the hub, into the hub, which is smaller.. so it won't just FALL out..

That is exactly why I'm going to just take them in to a shop to get pressed instead of screwing with them. Just got back from renting a hub puller from Advanced Autoparts and there was a meineke shop attached so I figured I'd go see what they had to say. They said I could bring the bearings in and have them pressed for $75 per side. I'm cool with that. Much better than a $750 dealer bill.

 

[MS3_KIDD]

i just returned a rear hub and bearing ass'y to the dealer on saturday cuz my noise ended up being brake related

cost me $162 for the part (one rear ass'y for the MSP)

 

[SpecRacer17]

Boostd, I nominate you to do a "How to replace wheel bearings" the next time you do it! I may try to make one up until the point where I get the new ones pressed. Having never done this I had to look up a lot of diagrams to see what parts were what. I'm sure a how to with pictured would help a lot of people out in the future.