wheel bearing

[RatLabGuy]

I'm about 90% sure my front D-side wheel bearing is getting bad, have vibes at high speed, the steering wheel shakes, and there is very slight wiggle up-down when grabbing the tire - but it's not the hub moving.

FSM calls for a SST to get the bearings out... basically looks like a press.
Is there any magic trick to doing this yourself, or is having a machine shop press/replace the bearings inevitable?
I know on some cars a perfectly placed peice of PVC pipe and BFH can do the trick.

And, I assume there's nothing special to removing the whole spindle to do this, right? Does it disconnect at the lower ball joint?

 

[Reitrof]

I would get a proper shop to press the old one out and the new one in. I can't answer the 2nd part

 

[dmention7]

Here's an excellent writeup with lots of pics: http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...tege-Front-Wheel-Bearing-Service-LOTS-OF-PICS

I'm in the middle of the job myself. Went out and picked up a 12-ton shop press at Harbor Freight for just over $100, and it's worked great for removing the old bearings and pressing in the new ones. It's kind of a PITA to have to cut the inner bearing races off the hubs.... but a dremel with a metal cutting wheel does the job well.


But your symptoms honestly sound more like a tie-rod end or something like that. Wheel bearings usually manifest themselves as grinding/pulsating noises, kind of like having rocks in your brakes.

 

[BoostedPR5]

The movement up and down sounds like it could be the bearing, or a ball joint depending how you have the car set up, but neither of those typically cause a highway vibration. Have you checked the tire(s) for strange wear that could be causing the vibration? Or checked the balancing? It sounds more like that then a wheel bearing and it always sucks to replace something and still have the same problem persist.

 

[RatLabGuy]

Thanks for the input.

Been eyeing that 12 ton press, but don't have the space right now...

The vibes manifest in 2 ways.
1 - on highway, a little wobble. Can feel it in te hsteering wheel. If I have to brake heard, you can REALLY feel it.
2 - rolling somewhat slowly down the road, can feel the steering wheel tug back and forth a bit. In fact, if I remove my hands from te hwheel I can see the steering wheel moving left and right. But, it tracks straight, no pulls - even when braking.

W/ the front end jacked up and wheel off the ground, if I grab the tire and push it, I can't feel wobble left-right, but can up-down. the caliper/hub isn't moving.

My assumption was, well, in order to take the spindle out I have to disconnect the tie rod - so I'll see right then if it's toast. Plus then, once the big nut is removed and teh axle is free, IIRC the only thing holding it in place is the bearing - right? If it's bad, wouldn't it be really floppy at that point?

 

[bschatz2]

I just had to have my wheel bearing replaced. If yours is in fact shot, you should definately hear a loud grinding noise which would definatively point to the bearing being bad. Everytime I was driving over 40-50 mph, you would hear it grind getting louder the faster i went so check for that.

 

[slotege5]

i just bought a new hub with a bearing already inplace.. 100 bucks but i save the headache

 

[BoostedPR5]

Thanks for the input.

Been eyeing that 12 ton press, but don't have the space right now...

The vibes manifest in 2 ways.
1 - on highway, a little wobble. Can feel it in te hsteering wheel. If I have to brake heard, you can REALLY feel it.
2 - rolling somewhat slowly down the road, can feel the steering wheel tug back and forth a bit. In fact, if I remove my hands from te hwheel I can see the steering wheel moving left and right. But, it tracks straight, no pulls - even when braking.

W/ the front end jacked up and wheel off the ground, if I grab the tire and push it, I can't feel wobble left-right, but can up-down. the caliper/hub isn't moving.

My assumption was, well, in order to take the spindle out I have to disconnect the tie rod - so I'll see right then if it's toast. Plus then, once the big nut is removed and teh axle is free, IIRC the only thing holding it in place is the bearing - right? If it's bad, wouldn't it be really floppy at that point?

It sounds more like a bad tire honestly, or something else like that. Not really symptoms of a wheel bearing. It's hard to tell without looking at it of course, but might be worth it to see if you can get a free eval done somewhere. I hate throwing money away so I can imagine most people do haha don't wanna be wrong!

 

[Reitrof]

Agreed. Broken belt? Should be visible when you spin the tire.

 

[RatLabGuy]

Ok, I don't mean to be difficult - but could you explain how a "bad tire" or a broken belt in it would allow the whole wheel and hub assembly to wobble as a whole, relative to the outer spindle, when I put my hands on it and shake it/
The movement is small, but requires no rotation.

 

[Reitrof]

So can you you see what is moving when you shake the tire? Can you get someone else to move it while you look underneath? Is the movement when you grab the tire at 12 and 6 positions or at 9 and 3 positions or both?

 

[RatLabGuy]

More at 12 and 6 than 9 and 3.

After taking off the wheel, brake caliper, and tierod end, if I grab the hub with one hand and put the other on the back side whre the CV is sticking out. and wiggle the hub, i can feel the back of the CV move relative to the spindle body. it's small, but there.

On the tierod end, teh boot is torn is torn too, and the stud will rotate in the balljoint socket if you pull hard enough. It's not floppy loose like I've seen them, but for the price i'll probably go ahead and replace that too. just have to be reeeeal careful measuring teh lengt hso teh alignment dosn't get screwed up.

 

[RatLabGuy]

Wher edid you get a whole hub? That's only a slight more than the cost of bearing + shop time.

 

[dmention7]

www.rockauto.com

they've got about everything and it's hard to beat their prices.

 

[RatLabGuy]

OK... so... I got the whole spindle off - but could for the life of me get the damn axle shaft pushed back out of the hub. it's really frozen in there.
I have a set of HF 3-jaw gear pullers... broke 3(!) of them trying. One sheared one of the joint bolts (looks liek a crappy grade 5 or worse bolt), other 2 sheared the lateralarms. POS chinese crap...
But anyway, I ended up pulling the whole thing out w/ the CV still attached, just yanked it form the differential. Of ocurse, I wan't really thinking that through, and now have a huge differential oil slick all overt he garage floor... doh!
guy at the shop said he's seen that before - and often when they're that stuck, even the 20 ton press won't pop it, they get nervous w/ the load... so we'll see...

Oh BTW I know something is up w/ the bearings b/c I put the hub in my vice, clamped by the studs, and could wiggle the spindle. Not, a couple thousandths, but that'd be enough for the wheel wobble I saw.

 

[dmention7]

Thread the axle nut on until it's just extending past the end of the axle, and pound on that ****** with the biggest BFH you can find. It's easiest to do that before you start unbolting the knuckle though.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

i just bought a new hub with a bearing already inplace.. 100 bucks but i save the headache

Where is it on the RockAuto website? Or what's the part number? I can only seem to find the hub with bearing for the rear wheels.

Don't you still need the press to get the hub+bearing into the steering knuckle?

 

[dmention7]

Good point. The only real headache you're saving that way is having to cut off the inner bearing race from the hub. That part only took a couple minutes with a cheap rotary tool and a cutting wheel.

You could probably get the new bearing into the knuckle without a press, but getting that old one out is going to take more than just a BFH.

 

[pizzaroll]

HELP!

I'm new to this forum and know the equivalent of -0- about cars in general. I'm posting in this thread because it's somewhat related to wheel bearings. I have a mazda protege es 01 that's making a grinding noise like a can is dragging when I drive at like 5mi/hr; sounds like it's coming from the rear. I think it may be a wheel bearing and not to do with my brakes. Even if I know how to check the wheel bearing (with ridiculous amount of effort), I simply don't have the tools. I don't think taking the car to car shop for diagnostic is the first step either for someone in my situation, so...is there anyone in Houston, TX reading this that can help me out...!!? Does anyone know someone in Houston,TX that I can go to for competent service and fair price? who can look at my wheel bearing or brake? Help!

-pizzaroll

 

[tweety2300]

$100? I say u got ripped off I went to autozone spent $25 for the bearing and had a shop do it for $110 saved me the hassel of it and btw screw driver and hammer to get it out and wood plus hammer to get the bearing in