Hello all,

Finally was able to get the front bearing dust cap off today so I could remove the hub.

The outer bearing came right off but the inner bearing is not...do I just pound on it from the other side with a flat screwdriver? Or is there a better way of going at this?

Also, how do I go about removing the outer bearing race? I've seen some hubs where there are notches to pound the race out but no such thing on our hubs...do I once again pound on them from the other side with a flat screwdriver? I am afraid of damaging the hub...

Any help and insight greatly appreciated!

 

I think that Turbomar just did his bearings. Send him a pm and maybe he'll be able to help you out.

 

I have sent him a PM, thanks for the help!

 

You got the jist of it pretty well. Use a steel punch with a sharp square edge to punch the races from the other side. Indeed, very little surface to punch against and no notches built into the hub to help! It's a good practice to use a brass punch or the proper size race installer when pressing new ones in

 

Thank you for your help!

What about removing the inner bearing, any tips for that?

 

Use a seal puller(hook on the end of a screwdriver handle). If you don't have one, just punch the inner bearing with a brass punch, being carefull that you don't punch against the bearing cage. Pressure from the bearing against the seal will cause it to pop out

 

Thank you very much for all of your help!

 

I used a 27mm socket (the largest one I had that would fit in the wheel hub from the other side) with the socket extension attached to pound out the inner bearing. The seal must come out before the bearing.

 

Now that you have it apart use the best synthetic bearing grease you can find. I used Amsoil myself but the brand name isn't what matters. I melted the stock grease with my racing and had to replace my front wheel bearings. The synthetic has lasted and protected my "new" bearings for years now with no signs of fatigue. No blueing from heat and no grease weeping from the cap like before. Do it once and do it right.

Les

 

I have bought the mobil 1 synthetic bearing grease, I hope this will be good enough.

Though the stock grease inside the hub looked just fine.

 

Grease seal part number: 0199978847

 

Why did you replace the bearings? Mine dried out from the heat and grease leaking out. Moibil 1 is good. I have cheap Mustang II bearings with stock grease seals. In my mind, the grease is more important than the bearings used. Well, it really depends on the abuse. For a daily, it really doesn't matter much. My stock bearings were blued from the heat. A little loose too. Perhaps repacking with good grease would have been enough but I changed them to be on the safe side.

Les

 

I tried getting a wheel alignment and was told I needed new bearings. I'm beginning to doubt whether that is actually true but its not too late and the bearings are quite cheap to replace so no big deal.

 

Maybe the bearings just need to be tightened?

 

Does anyone have bearing numbers? I was working on my rear emerg shoes and when that was all done, I noticed squealing from the front. Drivers side outer bearing is TOAST with only 130K km. Now I need a puller to get that sucker off. Bad bearings never happened on my Honda with 370K km, or my Ford truck, or my BMW Z3, or my 1934 Chev for that matter. PS those caliper bolts are 18mm, you need a long breaker bar for those guys.

 

Your car appears not to have been looked after too well, you have had nothing but trouble.
130K km and it is worn out, get a better one.

 

You are correct, even though the car looks like new in every other respect, apparently the previous owners did not service regularly. Continuing the saga, the hub would not come off even with a good slide hammer, so I ended up weakening the race by drilling small holes 180 apart. Then it came off. There is slight damage to the hub as the outer race had apparently turned in the hub (thus the squeal) and so I ventured out to replace the hub. Chrysler Stealer Dealer quotes $642. Cdn plus tax, nothing available through the salvage yard network, and I ended up buying a spindle/ hub assembly on e-bay. It has not arrived, but I will update when it does. PS new bearings and seal I got from the local parts store no problem. So a word of caution. Check those bearings once in a while!

 

Here is the update. Spindle/hub assembly came in the mail today, it was the correct one. Just a few notes; 1) the ball joints/ tie rod ends all have different size nuts. 2) The ABS connector is paired with the pad sensor at the point where they go through the body, there is a very small spring clip which is very hard to see. Once you get the clip off the sensor plugs just pull out. 3) There are no cotter pins, just lock nuts. 4) The brake line must be disconnected to route the flex hose through the assembly. Other than that, everything was straightforward. Still dont know why the bearing would fail and take out the spindle and the hub. My xfire is no longer a lawn ornament!!

 

Good job, sadly just in time for the bad weather.
Although bearings have the long life that we expect, the life can be much shorter due to little problems that grow into big problems, a tiny piece of grit, the wheel gets immersed in water one time and a bit of rust develops, all will shorten the life. Even when slightly damaged the bearing will slowly ruin itself.