How difficult is a Wheel Bearing and Control Arm replacement?

[smetzger]

How difficult is it to a Wheel bearing and Control arm replacement?

I already have a slide hammer/hub puller. So, I think I just need a wheel bearing press kit and some snap pliers.

How difficult is it to get the snap ring off?

 

[pcb]

Removing your brake caliper allows you to raise the control arm to line up the bolt without compressing your suspension,..

P

Post in thread 'What have you done to your P5 today?'

Jul 10, 2022

I finally watched the entire video and realized that @katapaltes and the guy in the video connected the ball joint last.
Both @Diamond_Dave and I hooked up the ball joint first and that's why we had to jack up the knuckle.

@Diamond_Dave mentioned that he sees no need to remove the caliper.
I figure the guy in the video removed the caliper to allow for clearance of the LCA to push up until it's horizontal, without hitting anything.


I'd suggest that you remove the caliper on the other side and do it like the guy in the video.

• pcb

• 

 

[pcb]

I made a wheel bearing replacement thread years ago, but photobucket is holding my pictures for ransom.

P

Thread 'Bearing Replacement With Video'

Jun 3, 2013

I made a short video showing the sound my car was making. After doing the steering test, I was 95% sure that it was my bearing that was bad. (note the speedometer is in km/hr)

Just click on the picture below.




I read about bearing replacement on these two threads:

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...tege-Front-Wheel-Bearing-Service-LOTS-OF-PICS
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123746487-How-To-Wheel-Bearing-Replacement

I decided to go...

• pcb

I managed to download a whole bunch of rusty pictures and put them all at the end of my un-build thread,..

P

Post in thread 'PCB's Unbuild Thread'

Feb 5, 2023

I managed to find a bunch of pictures of my car that got lost.

They're in no particular order...

• pcb

 

[smetzger]

Thanks for the video on the control arm. That's better than other ones I watched.

Here is a video on how to put a bearing in without a shop press...

Do you think that will work for Protege's ?

 

[BenjiHoggi]

Rear wheel bearings are cake because you can just replace the hub. Haven't done front bearings but I imagine they're a lot harder. PCB seems to have given good advice above so I'll leave it at that.

As for control arms, I did them for the first time on my P5 and have now done them a second time. They aren't too bad. I think I needed a pickle fork for removing the ball joint where it was mounted to the knuckle, and I did compress the suspension with a floor jack to get everything to line up.

 

[pcb]

Do you think that will work for Protege's ?

I suppose it's possible, but Mazda and Protégés are known for having Really Tight Wheel Bearings !!

I remember mechanics that would include the price of a new CV shaft in their bearing replacement quote.
They wouldn't even try to remove the bearing. They would just cut the drive shaft off at the knuckle and take the entire knuckle to the machine shop to have the bearing pressed out and a new one installed.

I remember Jackie Chan used a ¾" drive socket set (that's what I used too) and a sledge hammer to pound the old bearing out and the socket Exploded and put a chunk of shrapnel in his leg, just missing a major artery.


That bearing press tool in the video looks promising, but that Huge Bolt that does the pulling has a pretty coarse thread.
I'm picturing needing wrenches with two foot handles to get enough torque to push the bearing out.
I'd put some anti-seize on the threads of that bolt too, to help the bolt along.

One guy bought a 5 ton press to press his bearing out. He said it went off like a shotgun blast when the bearing finally released, and Scared the s*** of him.

I had a ¾" socket set to remove the axle nut, and had to put a 4' metal fence post on the handle and jump on it to break the nut free.


So, I'm guessing that the bearing press tool may work, but be prepared to struggle with it.

New CV shafts aren't too much money, and you might want to consider just cutting your shafts and taking the knuckles to a machine shop.
You'll probably save yourself A HUGE Headache.

Don't forget to remove the big C-Clip before you start pounding.
I remember one guy that spent ½ an hour pounding before he remembered to remove the Clip.

 

[pcb]

, and I did compress the suspension with a floor jack to get everything to line up.

Yeah, so did I.
It wasn't until after that I watched that video that I realized that if you remove the brake caliper, you can raise the control arm without hitting anything, so you can line up that bolt.

The guy in the video threads the bolt in by hand.

 

[pcb]

How difficult is it to a Wheel bearing and Control arm replacement?

Make sure that you buy a quality wheel bearing that is properly sealed.

I know SKF is supposed to be good and maybe Timkin?

Check their links to make sure the seals are real.

SKF says "sealed" right in their ad,..

 

[smetzger]

I suppose it's possible, but Mazda and Protégés are known for having Really Tight Wheel Bearings !!

I remember mechanics that would include the price of a new CV shaft in their bearing replacement quote.
They wouldn't even try to remove the bearing. They would just cut the drive shaft off at the knuckle and take the entire knuckle to the machine shop to have the bearing pressed out and a new one installed.

I remember Jackie Chan used a ¾" drive socket set (that's what I used too) and a sledge hammer to pound the old bearing out and the socket Exploded and put a chunk of shrapnel in his leg, just missing a major artery.


That bearing press tool in the video looks promising, but that Huge Bolt that does the pulling has a pretty coarse thread.
I'm picturing needing wrenches with two foot handles to get enough torque to push the bearing out.
I'd put some anti-seize on the threads of that bolt too, to help the bolt along.

One guy bought a 5 ton press to press his bearing out. He said it went off like a shotgun blast when the bearing finally released, and Scared the s*** of him.

I had a ¾" socket set to remove the axle nut, and had to put a 4' metal fence post on the handle and jump on it to break the nut free.


So, I'm guessing that the bearing press tool may work, but be prepared to struggle with it.

New CV shafts aren't too much money, and you might want to consider just cutting your shafts and taking the knuckles to a machine shop.
You'll probably save yourself A HUGE Headache.

Don't forget to remove the big C-Clip before you start pounding.
I remember one guy that spent ½ an hour pounding before he remembered to remove the Clip.

Shouldn't need to cut the shaft to get the knuckle off.

So... parts needed... If I don't want to press anything out
Wheel bearing (sealed)
Wheel Hub
Snap Ring
Knuckle

But... I have ABS on this car (yup a fancy model). Where is the ABS sensor? Is it inside the knuckle? If so... it may be more of a PITA to get out then the bearing out of the knuckle.

 

[BenjiHoggi]

Shouldn't need to cut the shaft to get the knuckle off.

So... parts needed... If I don't want to press anything out
Wheel bearing (sealed)
Wheel Hub
Snap Ring
Knuckle

But... I have ABS on this car (yup a fancy model). Where is the ABS sensor? Is it inside the knuckle? If so... it may be more of a PITA to get out then the bearing out of the knuckle.

Are you doing a rear or front bearing?

 

[smetzger]

Are you doing a rear or front bearing?

Front

 

[pcb]

Shouldn't need to cut the shaft to get the knuckle off.

Sometimes, the axle is REALLY Seized inside the knuckle, the axle threads can get damaged when pounding on it.

So... parts needed... If I don't want to press anything out
Wheel bearing (sealed)
Wheel Hub
Snap Ring
Knuckle

Yeah, if you replace the knuckle then everything should be really easy to replace and install.
(This is CAD, it's cheaper in USD)

But... I have ABS on this car (yup a fancy model). Where is the ABS sensor? Is it inside the knuckle? If so... it may be more of a PITA to get out then the bearing out of the knuckle.

My car has ABS as well.
I had my knuckles in the oven and was pounding the snot out of them, so I must have removed the sensors?
I don't even remember where they are mounted, so I had no problems dealing with them.

I remember breaking the head off the bolt for a rear speed sensor or the wire clamp and had to drill and tap a new hole in the strut for a new bolt.

I remember that the toothed ring is on the axle and most new axles came with that ring.
The sensor and toothed ring aren't used/connected if you don't need them.

 

[smetzger]

I think what I am going to do is try and leave the knuckle on and use a wheel bearing press kit to get it off (Autozone has one that I can borrow at no cost).

If I can't get the bearing out then I'll see about taking the knuckle off and getting a new one.

I am busy this weekend so, may be a little while before I report back on how it goes.