Wheel bearing HELP!!
#1
03-13-2006, 09:23 PM
#2
03-13-2006, 10:03 PM
Legend
RE: Wheel bearing HELP!!
if its no good then you can take it out yourself...just take off the caliper and rotor, unbolt the strut, unbolt the lower ball joint, unbolt the sway bar, remove the tie-rod, and take off the big bolt on the half-shaft...that part is easy as long as you have an impact wrench...once the spindle is off remove the bolts that hold in the wheel bearing...you can then take it to a machine shop and have it pressed out or beat it out with a hammer, you will probally need to take the new one to a shop and have pressed back in, but you can try to set it in the spindle, then bolt it in, sometimes it will pull the bearing in.
#3
03-14-2006, 12:15 AM
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RE: Wheel bearing HELP!!
If you can find a shop to do it, you can remove the spindle assembly yourself, and have the shop press out the old bearing and press in a new one. You can do it at home, but it's tougher than it looks... There were shops where I used to live that would do it for $10... Some of the early '95 cars have a snap-ring bearing assembly, not bolted... either way...
Or you can just replace the entire spindle with one from a salvage yard. That's what I did when mine went, and it's been going on for a good 60k miles now, all for $35 and a little elbow grease.
To get the spindle off, you're going to disconnect the sway bar on that side (trust me, it makes it easier...). The tie rod end will have to come out - you'll want a special tool for that, available for rent for free at Autozone (or buy for under $10). The brake caliper will have to be taken off - no special tools, just a coat hanger/wire to hang it up so the hose isn't stressed. You'll have to remove the axle, which is held on with a big (32mm?) nut, think that one ran me $4-5... and you'll need a good size (3 foot is good) breaker bar to get it off... another $5. Hint: get that puppy loose with the wheel on the ground, before you jack up the car... just like lug nuts... Then there's the clevis bolts holding the strut - 2 wrenches per nut/bolt combo, you don't want those bolts rotating. The spindle is held on to the ball joint (bottom, only one) with another bolt assembly. That's it! If the axle isn't so happy about coming out of the hub, DO NOT hit it with a hammer, or you'll be spending time with a Dremel cleaning up the edges so it will come out (guess how I know?...). A 3-jaw 5-ton gear puller works fantastically. After getting the tie rod end and brake caliper off, I took the spindle off the ball joint, then removed the strut clevis bolts, and finally the axle from the hub.
Not as easy as it sounds though... Getting it off isn't so hard. Getting it back on can be a pain... I loosely attached both clevis bolts (strut) AND loosened up the 4 nuts for the strut tower mount to give it some more play, then inserted the axle, then put the spindle on the ball joint (make sure the notch lines up first...). You may find some other combo/order works better for you. Don't forget to hook the brake caliper and sway bar back up...
I can't stress how important it is to use a torque wrench and get the proper torques, particularly with the clevis nuts and the axle nut.
Axle nut - 135 ft-lbs
Brake caliper to spindle bolt - 23 ft-lbs
Ball joint - 70 ft-lbs
Tie rod end - 45 ft-lbs
Sway bar - 21 ft-lbs
Strut to spindle - 40 ft-lbs plus an additional 90 degrees. The bolt is serrated, so DON'T turn the bolt, just the nut (this is why 2 wrenches are needed...).
Best of luck!
Or you can just replace the entire spindle with one from a salvage yard. That's what I did when mine went, and it's been going on for a good 60k miles now, all for $35 and a little elbow grease.
To get the spindle off, you're going to disconnect the sway bar on that side (trust me, it makes it easier...). The tie rod end will have to come out - you'll want a special tool for that, available for rent for free at Autozone (or buy for under $10). The brake caliper will have to be taken off - no special tools, just a coat hanger/wire to hang it up so the hose isn't stressed. You'll have to remove the axle, which is held on with a big (32mm?) nut, think that one ran me $4-5... and you'll need a good size (3 foot is good) breaker bar to get it off... another $5. Hint: get that puppy loose with the wheel on the ground, before you jack up the car... just like lug nuts... Then there's the clevis bolts holding the strut - 2 wrenches per nut/bolt combo, you don't want those bolts rotating. The spindle is held on to the ball joint (bottom, only one) with another bolt assembly. That's it! If the axle isn't so happy about coming out of the hub, DO NOT hit it with a hammer, or you'll be spending time with a Dremel cleaning up the edges so it will come out (guess how I know?...). A 3-jaw 5-ton gear puller works fantastically. After getting the tie rod end and brake caliper off, I took the spindle off the ball joint, then removed the strut clevis bolts, and finally the axle from the hub.
Not as easy as it sounds though... Getting it off isn't so hard. Getting it back on can be a pain... I loosely attached both clevis bolts (strut) AND loosened up the 4 nuts for the strut tower mount to give it some more play, then inserted the axle, then put the spindle on the ball joint (make sure the notch lines up first...). You may find some other combo/order works better for you. Don't forget to hook the brake caliper and sway bar back up...
I can't stress how important it is to use a torque wrench and get the proper torques, particularly with the clevis nuts and the axle nut.
Axle nut - 135 ft-lbs
Brake caliper to spindle bolt - 23 ft-lbs
Ball joint - 70 ft-lbs
Tie rod end - 45 ft-lbs
Sway bar - 21 ft-lbs
Strut to spindle - 40 ft-lbs plus an additional 90 degrees. The bolt is serrated, so DON'T turn the bolt, just the nut (this is why 2 wrenches are needed...).
Best of luck!