chrispy

hey guys, ive got a funny noise from my front end, kinda a grinding roaring type noise when i turn, no clicking or anything prominant

i was thinking wheel bearings but wanted soem opinions, that and where can i get em installed i think it require a press, i dont have one of those obviously.

thanks
chris

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

yup.. requires a press to do. a BIG one. my 12 ton hydraulic in the garage creaks and groans when I press them in.

your noise is possibly a wheel bearing, but there's so many parts down there it's hard to tell by a description like that. it's pretty hard to tell even if the car was there, until you've got everything torn apart.


BTW.. I highly suggest buying a new wheel hub before you start the job. two of the bearings I've replaced were so bad that they ruined the hub also. When you get it apart and find out it's good, simply return the hub to the dealer and get your money back. it's better than having the car sit on jackstands for a week while they order one.

chrispy

wow, thanks for the info, i have a 12 ton hydraulic jack, for when i jacked up my house, but i dont have a press to do it on, ohh well

good to know about the hub,

dont suppose you live anywhere near terre haute in

Thanks
Chris

chrispy

well, i may have found a press to work, but being as i havnt ever replaced a hub/or even rotor, i dont know exactly what is goign to be necessary,

does anyone have any pictures, or diagrams, or just a good explanation

specifically, am i pressing the bearing onto the axle, or onto the hub, or is it what

thanks for any help


chris

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

Nope.. I used to go to school at Rose-Hulman, but that was quite a few years ago.

you're going to have to remove the spindle form the car, then you knock the hub out with a hammer.. press the old bearing out of the spindle, then do it all backwards to get everything back in. it's not too difficult, but you do have to pay attention to which order you do things. don't forget the dust seals also. (you'll see what I'm talking about when you get there)

chrispy

thats very cool, my roomate goes to rose, thats where the hydraulic press we can borrow is

Chris

subs1000w

i was under the impression that there are 2 dust seals per hub is this correct because im going to be attempting this very soon and i must say a factory service manual has a step by step procedure of how to do this so if you dont have one it is a great help

chrispy

so, one quicky, once i remove the assembly, before i punch out the old bearing, how can i tell if it is trashed


i tried the move the wheel up down thingy, no luck

ok, i liked, 2 quicky's, those dust covers,are they available at advanced auto etc??

thanks guys

Tim93se5sp

iTrader: (1)

Are the dust seals included if you buy a new hub? I believe that I have a bad front wheel bearing also... About how much are the hubs from a dealer? (Im guessing theyre not cheap.) Thanks!
-Tim

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

main thing to check the bearing is to see if it turns smoothly and freely. if there's any roughness or noise or binding, it must be replaced.

there are two dust seals. one on the front and rear of the bearing.

the hub is about $130 from a dealer. usually I just buy a whole spindle from the junkyard for $40, pull pull the hub out of it and hope it's in good condition. it's a crapshoot.

Dust covers are possibly available at parts stores, but I can't tell you for sure. I don't even know where to tell you to look, as it's been about 6 years since I've been in Terre Haute and I dunno what parts places are there.

shavedmax

iTrader: (6)

i had to do mine and i bought a junk yard one, re-bearinged it and swapped them out, this way your car doesnt need to be layd up waiting for a press. hardest part is getting the adapters for the press to hold the hub as the splash shield is welded in place. you have to bend the crap out of it, straighten it out and paint it when youre done. i got the bearing and the seals at autozone.bearing was about 30-40. seal was 5-10 a piece. the splash shield if you are inclined to cut it out and get a new one is a dealer only item

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

splash shield is pressed on, not welded. I had to remove them for the brake conversion, and simply used tin snips to cut it off. otherwise, you can pop the hub out of the spindle, then use a screwdriver to pry the thing off and set it aside while you're doing the rest of the work.

shavedmax

iTrader: (6)

huh, ok, i didnt look really close , where does it press onto though? wouldnt that have to be a part of the process of pressing on the hub? just wondering in case i have to do it again

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

once you get the hub off, you'll see where the shield goes. it'll have to be pressed on between the hub and spindle parts.

I just cut mine off and left them that way. much easier to work around now.

Tim93se5sp

iTrader: (1)

I gotta be a pain in the ***, and jump in with one more q:

Are hubs model specific? Axles are, obviously, but are the differences only on the tranny end? (Eg, will I need to find a VE max exactly like mine, with 5sp/lsd, no abs, or are all 3rd gen hubs interchangable?)

Thanks alot!
-Tim

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

yeah, that'll help.

it's VG/VE specific, but auto/stick doesn't matter.

the axles on the VE are just slightly larger than VG ones, so they won't swap. (don't ask how I found out!)

chrispy

good news

i spent quite a bit of time, learned some new stuff

i just took my bearing and spindle to a shop, 40 bucks they took out the old and put in the new for both front's

no more noise, i am pretty much exstatic

cept now i know my tierod end ball joints need replacement, not today 120 bucks


Chris