well, after another unsuccessful go at it (i broke my breaker bar and my favorite ratchet) i decided to bring the car to a local shop tomorrow morning! i've had the car for nearly 6 years (120k miles) and never have had to leave it anywhere to be worked on! needless to say i'm expecting to get ripped off, but i need to get this done asap! from reading all the posts on here i'm thinking $100 each side is kinda-sorta fair. i'm supplying the parts (bearings, seals and new axle nuts). we'll see what happens... wheel bearings seems to be a popular topic on here, so i'll post the results when the job is complete!
btw: after years of bent alloy rims, bubbles in my tires, and going through 3 or 4 sets of tires, i decided to pick up a set of steel rims from the local junkyard ($25 each). they're 14" from a '95 eclipse. once the bearings are replaced i'll throw some 185/65/14 or 185/70/14 on there and attack the crappy roads of new york with confidence for a change!
