wheel bearings... a DIY job?

[BlahBlahYouToo]

mechanic says $300 for driver front wheel. does that sound right?
seems kinda high considering the part itself is only $52
http://www.partsgeek.com/gbproducts...content=YN&utm_campaign=PartsGeek+Google+Base

the extent of my car repair skills: spark plugs/wires, brake pads/rotors, fluids.

 

[Vic Vega]

Yeah, you can definitely do this yourself. All the parts will come off in a logical progression and go back on in the reverse order. Not sure if the bearings are sealed on your car, if not, you'll have to pack them yourself. You can probably find some repair videos out there or pick up a cheap repair manual on DVD.

 

[Squisher]

For normal FWD vehicles.

Break axle nut loose (chances are you don't have a socket this size, so you'll have to buy one along with a breaker bar and make sure you have a large pipe handy) You're probably wondering why I put this first before jacking it up and removing wheel. It is because you're going to want have the set up as solid as possible when you break this nut loose, like someone with their foot on the brake while you break the axle nut loose. And, maybe a jack just under the lower ball joint so you take up the sponginess of the tires. [ask JLee to show you his pics ] And, if you can get to the axle nut through the center of the hub before you take off the wheel it might make it easier.

Jack up car
Remove wheel
caliper and pads
remove caliper holder
remove rotor
remove that axle nut you broke loose and the bolts securing the half shaft
remove half shaft

remove bearing assembly

put it all back together.

 

[marrr]

I'm pretty sure you could find a DIY on one of the honda forums online.. You will need to have the bearings pressed in with a hydraulic press.

 

[Ronstang]

IIRC the Hondas of that generation are not that easy to do front wheel beings. They require special tools and expertise. I remember a buddy of mine who has a shop showing me this about 15 years ago. I could be wrong and remembering something else.

 

[punjabiplaya]

check Honda forums. you might be able to find service manuals and see the whole procedure (as dictated by Honda) yourself.

 

[CraigRT]

Yeah, you can definitely do this yourself. All the parts will come off in a logical progression and go back on in the reverse order. Not sure if the bearings are sealed on your car, if not, you'll have to pack them yourself. You can probably find some repair videos out there or pick up a cheap repair manual on DVD.

You are assuming he doesn't have press fit bearings.
You cannot DIY this on a car like my Saturn.
The knuckle has to be removed, and the bearing has to be pressed out, and back in, by an actual press.

Of course not all cars are the same, but you do have to know what you are dealing with.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

You are assuming he doesn't have press fit bearings.
You cannot DIY this on a car like my Saturn.
The knuckle has to be removed, and the bearing has to be pressed out, and back in, by an actual press.

Of course not all cars are the same, but you do have to know what you are dealing with.

Technically you can still do it yourself. I believe it cost me $10 to have them pressed in/out by a machine shop.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

ughhh... the mere mention of possibly needing a breaker bar scares me. on a car this old in the northeast, it's probably rusted beyond help.

i think i'll let the mechanic handle it.
so $300 is fair?

 

[slag]

I did both fronts on my car a month or so ago. Then again, I have a 20 ton press and the tools to do it. Take everything off and take the knuckle into a shop to do the press work and it shouldn't cost more than an hours worth of labor.

 

[CraigRT]

Technically you can still do it yourself. I believe it cost me $10 to have them pressed in/out by a machine shop.

Absolutely, but don't think you can just spend an hour or 2 in the garage and be done.

Knuckle off, go to shop, pay labour, put in new bearing, come home, finish.

 

[HarryLui]

If the bearing need to be pressed on, you'll probably need an alignment as well.

Year, make, model would really help...

 

[kornphlake]

I did the front wheel bearings in my S-10 blazer, it was pretty simple. The bearing was included in a non-rebuildable hub assembly attached to the knuckle with 4 bolts, once the wheel, rotors and calipers were removed the bolts came right out without any fuss. Each wheel bearing/hub assembly cost nearly $200 though. $300 sounds like a good enough deal for a front wheel drive vehicle with a MacPherson strut suspension especially if an alignment is included, although it's not absolutely necessary it's probably a good idea since the ball joints and tie rods will be separated from the knuckle.

 

[coxmaster]

ughhh... the mere mention of possibly needing a breaker bar scares me.

Wow, really? The whole issue of getting the bearing pressed isnt a big deal, but a breaker bar is? :hmm:

 

[Spicedaddy]

I did the rears on my car when I changed the discs/pads, but took it to a mechanic when one of the fronts was due.

 

[Squisher]

If the bearing need to be pressed on, you'll probably need an alignment as well.

Year, make, model would really help...

I've never heard that. I had to put more than one bearing into my wife's 1980 AMC Eagle with AWD and it had pressed in bearings. The biggest pain was finding a shop that wouldn't want to rape me for pressing them in. Prices ranged for $10 to $50 to press them in and this would have been mid 80s money.

 

[fbrdphreak]

A breaker bar is not a big deal. If you've done brakes, you CAN do this. It WILL be new and you might get stuck at a few points, but you CAN do it.

If you don't have a repair manual (like a Haynes), go get one. It will generally recommend what type of tool you need to pull the bearing. The specialized tools you can usually "rent" from the auto parts store (buy it and you can return it for a full refund).

If you're going to continue doing your own auto repair, you'll need a breaker bar anyway. Find out what size socket you need for your axle nut before hand. If you can't find it locally, which is likely, you can find it reasonably priced at McMaster-Carr (www.mcmaster.com). I would get the impact version, as it will be more durable.

I'd get the breaker bar at Harbor Freight. It will be cheap, so when it breaks you won't be out a lot of money.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Wow, really? The whole issue of getting the bearing pressed isnt a big deal, but a breaker bar is? :hmm:

breaker bar means bolts that are rusted on to the point where i might need a torch.
i actually have neither tool.

 

[fbrdphreak]

breaker bar means bolts that are rusted on to the point where i might need a torch.
i actually have neither tool.

No, breaker bar means that axle nuts are torqued on and staked in so you need a lot of leverage. When you reinstall the axle nut, you'll need to stake the nut in place with a screw driver or or something of the sort.

 

[HarryLui]

I've never heard that.

I guess you never deal with cars with strut and adjust the camber at where the strut bolt to the knuckle.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

so what's the word on the price my mechanic quoted?
$300 fair or rip off?

 

[fbrdphreak]

Depends on his labor rate. Even if the bearing runs $50 and his labor rate is $50/hr, that's 5 hours of labor which seems like a lot to me. But it depends on how much of a PITA your car is.

 

[exdeath]

I guess you never deal with cars with strut and adjust the camber at where the strut bolt to the knuckle.

No alignment needed if you mark the eccentric bolt before removing it.

 

[kornphlake]

I think it's a pretty good price, I'd probably do the job myself because my time isn't usually worth $100/hr, or $50/hr, if I can get the job done myself in less than 8 hours I'm saving money. Once you figure in the price of buying tools you didn't know you'd need and the cost of missing a day of work if something goes wrong $300 seems pretty reasonable though.

 

[bruceb]

The price, depending on the city/state is reasonable. Especially if they will check the alignment. As mentioned, if properly marked, you may not need one. But personally, I would have it checked just to be sure. Also, remember, the $50 is what you can buy the part for. Mechanic will buy it at about the same cost, then he marks it up 10%-20% for his profit.