jbreit

My wife tells me the other day that the car's been making a bad humm for a couple days (she tells me this friday night besides)....took me 30 feet down the road to know a rear wheel bearing was bad....really, really bad...the tire didn't spin a whole turn bad...women... Looks like water got in it (some drops of water in the dust cap) and the inner bearings was turning rough.

Anyway, turns out to be a dealer only part. So I tried sourcing the bearing from a local bearing supply company...no dice..NTN doesn't sell the part commertially...great! Here's where it gets interesting. I called a buddy that works at a big local garage. He find there's a service bulletin on the bearing/hub, a very recent one I guess, and this used to be a big enough issue and commonly used automotive part that they stocked that bearing. Anyway, he tells me I need to by a new hub, dust cap, and ABS sensor (cause the abs ring is bigger on the new hub)....$210 in parts plus frieght and tax and three days. The part I am thinking is i can probably expect this to happen to the otherside before too long....and cost another $210

Questions....anyone run into this yet know if i can replace just one side or if i need to do both because of the sensor ABS ring change? Anyone know if the design is the same on all 4th gens? I think I might be better off to buy an entire rear axle assembly from the salvage yard and grab the parts I need off it....any other thoughts.....???

Thanks,
John