I was told by Firestone that I had a hub bearing that was going bad and it needed to be replaced. The quoted me $350 and said that the suspension and the 18's rims w/ no tire cushion is causing the problem. Is this B/S? Can i fix the problem myself?

He's referring to the wheel bearing. Parts to fix it are around $45 for the bearing and roughly $12/each for two seals. If it needs a new hub (like mine did) that will cost another $110 once you pay tax or shipping. The rest of his price is labor. It takes a moderate amount of mechanical skills, as well as a moderate amount of special tools. www.motorvate.ca.com has a write-up on replacing wheel bearings.... but the last pages are missing.

Good Luck!

My mechanic basically told me the same thing. The parts are fairly cheap but the install is rather involved compared to other cars. He told me that the labor would take about 5-6 hours to do.

I had the same problem about 6 months ago. At the time, my 1999 was running ground control with tokico shocks probably with a 3" drop. He told me my left hub was about to go and would be extremely dangerous driving. Other parts were replaced along with the hub for about $300-350

http://www.motorvate.ca