front wheel bearing

#1

i think my RF wheel bearing gave up this weekend at shenandoah, on sun afternoon it started groaning in left hand turns (shen is CCW so lots of lefts including the high load carousel) and i felt a coarse high frequency vibration in the steering wheel. this is the same corner that was damaged in the cmp accident a few weeks ago so it wouldn’t be a major surprise. but i didn’t feel any play when i grabbed the wheel at 12 and 6 oclock, is there any other way i can be sure that’s my problem?

assuming it is bad, it looks like replacement isn’t too difficult, i just need a puller and 36mm socket right? is the puller a standard tool or do i need something special? also, i’ll have to either move my studs (not looking forward to that since i don’t have a torch) or replace them unless i’m reading it wrong.

on the plus side my best lap was only 0.9 sec off cobetto’s lap record :slight_smile:

#2

My wheel bearings howled for several events before they got bad enough for me to feel play in the wheel.

Puller is standard. Go buy a 36mm socket and grind it down to make it’s walls thinner. Buy new wheel studs. Putting new ones into your new hub is easier then pulling the old ones out of the old hub.

Be sure to order a new nut and cap for the new hub. This project is easy with a big impact wrench. It would be tough without one tho.

When you’re bored a month from now, torch and pull a couple of your old studs out of your old/discarded hub and put them in your spares box.

0.9sec off Cobetto? Dang man, that’s awesome.

#3

Go to Home Depo, Lowes, Sears, etc and get a Map gas torch. That is all you need to heat the hub enough to remove the studs. Direct the flame at the hub right where the stud is. About 20-30 seconds is enough to brake the bond of red Locktite. As you applt the heat, use moderate torque on the stud. When the Locktite lets go you can stop heating.

#4

The torch has to be roaring hot. If you torch like a wuss the red locktite will just laugh at you.

#5

If you think you have a bad hub I would replace it or them if they are both old or unknown. If they let go all the way the wheel can come off. Does not happened often but I have seen it before. Not a good ting. A Craftsman 36 mm regular socket will fit. It did for me and only cost 8 or 10 bucks.

Take a crack at removing the studs before you buy new ones. Mine came out w/o heat with my 4.5 yr old son pushing the break pedal and doubling up the nut and cranking it out with a big wrench. Guess the previous owner did not use red locktite. There was something in there but it was not red and the studs never pulled out on me.

Also get a new backing plate (rear bearing dust cover) as it can get bashed up trying to get the inner race off. They stick sometimes. I use a bearing remover to get the inner race off if necessary.

#6

had to pay $20 for a 36mm socket but at least it’s a good six point and i didn’t have to grind it to fit. the bearing came off easily, barely needed to use a puller. the inside race stuck on the axle which is fortunate since that immediately showed the problem:

replacement bearing should arrive on tue, should i keep the cut up heat shield that was there:

or run without it:

#7

delete the heat shield for sure.

#8

I leave the cut up shield on there to block the ABS sensor’s magnet from picking up brake dust and other crud.

#9

Mine are gone as well. No issues to date.

Let me know how the new bearing goes on. My old ones came of pretty easily. The new ones were real hard to get on. I trashed one trying to realign it and pulled the inner race out accidentally. I moved on to other parts of my TO DO list and will tackle that one later when time permits.

Also a perfect time to add cooling ducts if that’s on your upgrade list.

Jason

#10

mahoneyj wrote:

[quote]Mine are gone as well. No issues to date.

Let me know how the new bearing goes on. My old ones came of pretty easily. The new ones were real hard to get on. I trashed one trying to realign it and pulled the inner race out accidentally. I moved on to other parts of my TO DO list and will tackle that one later when time permits.

Also a perfect time to add cooling ducts if that’s on your upgrade list.

Jason[/quote]

yeah installation is my concern (having never done this before). i’ve read to press it on gently and use the 36mm socket to press against the inner race, tapping it lightly with a hammer to get it over the stub. when it’s on far enough use the 36mm nut to finish the job.

#11

Keep the pictures coming. I would say keep the cut shield on for protection unless you plan to add the brake duct baking plates. By the way your brake shield is trimmed much nicer than mine. :smiley:

#12

I ran into my issue before I cold get the nut on. Must have gotten in on just off square and it jammed. No fun at all.

Hope yours goes better then my first.

#13

mahoneyj wrote:

[quote]I ran into my issue before I cold get the nut on. Must have gotten in on just off square and it jammed. No fun at all.

Hope yours goes better then my first.[/quote]

that would be the most compelling reason i can think of to leave the heat shield off - if the bearing gets jammed you can still get behind it and pop it off without damage.

#14

bearing arrived this morning, just installed, piece of cake. keep it square with the stub axle, slowly tap it on using the 36mm socket to press against the bearing race. definitely a tight fit!



#15

I am confused. My front left wheel bearing is toast. I pulled the caliper and grease cover off to find no grease inside, so no surprise the bearing failed. I then realized that I do not own a 36mm socket, so that is on tomorrow’s list of things to get.

That said, what is all the discussion about a puller? Not having the hub off, I do not know what kind of bearing is inside. I assume it has to be packed in grease, but I guess it could also be one of those self-sealing kinds. Is it a cone bearing that you have to be careful not to overtighten, or do you put the hub nut back on and bang away with the air impact for a while.

Also, there is a little safety catch on the big 36mm nut that looks like it wants to self destruct when you remove it. Any comment on that?

What is the issue on reinstall? Perhaps all of this becomes easier once I get the nut off, but I’m trying to envision the problem before I take it apart.

All help is appreciated.

-Scott

#16

The 36mm nut has a flange that gets bent into a corresponding notch so that the nut can’t loosen. Working carefully with a grinder or chisel, remove that piece that is bent in so you can turn the nut off.

Most 36mm sockets won’t fit in there because the socket wall will be a little too thick. Most folks grind down the sides of the socket’s wall a little until it will fit in there and get the nut.

It’ll take a serious impact wrench to get the nut off. I don’t recall the tightening torque spec, but it’s a lot.

A standard 3 leg puller will get the hub/bearing unit off. Harbor Freight has them for beer money. Mine came off really easily.

If you plan to reuse your wheel studs you’ll have to remove them from your hub/bearing. It’ll be a lot easier to simply buy new studs. Removing studs usually requires some torching to burn out the high strength locktite.

When you install the new hub/bearing, gently tap it on square and then put the nut on to the spec torque or as near as you can. Then whack your new nut’s flange into the slot, and put on your new dustcover.

Often when you buy a bearing it doesn’t come with a new nut and dustcover, so make sure you get those. Also, shops have sent me the wrong nut twice, so be prepared for that too.

#17

the bearing is part of the hub for the front. it’s one piece. once you get the nut off you should be able to pull the hub off. if you are lucky, the inner bearing race will come with it and not get stuck on the stub axle as it invariable does when i do it :slight_smile: in which case you need a puller to pull the inner race off. once you clean the stub axle, you push the new hub on, use the 36mm socket to tap it in, once it’s on enough you can thread the nut on and then tighten it down which will push the rest of the way in.

#18

I have aftermarket screw in studs that screw in with an allen wrench, so this shouldn’t be hard. Which vendor do you recommend to have all the parts in stock?

#19

Not to seem cheap, but is a new nut and dustcover really needed? I guess I’m not super afraid of the nut coming loose once I get 150 foot pounds on it, and the dustcover looks pretty good.

#20

Rockauto only seems to sell rear bearings and nothing else.