Originally Posted by
neilpaku
Just did mine. Things to note:
- do NOT use a wedge (chisel, screwdriver) between the bearing housing and spindle in an attempt to drive a stuck housing out. Use the technique below instead
- if your bearing housings are corroded and stuck to the spindle, loosen off the four bolts about a 1/4", turn the steering so the bolt heads face as far forward as possible, then using your long breaker bar (e.g. 3') and the twelve-pt bit, place the bit into the bolt heat, straighten the breaker bar out as straight as you can get it (pass it between the torsion bar and frame for example) and then whack it hard with a 10# or better hammer. Work opposite bolt heads so that you drive the bearing hub out reasonably straight so it doesn't bind too much. I only used the two opposite bolts that I could get a reasonably straight line on and did not need the other two bolts. As it drives out, loosen off the bolts some more so you have more slack to whack out.
Do NOT try to drive a wedge in between the bearing housing and the spindle (chisel, screwdriver, etc.). You will only end up damaging the spindle. Use this technique above and it'll come out no problem. Mine's a snow region car so was well corroded in there. I think the bearings may be original (135k). Driver's side was dang near falling off. Can't believe I didn't notice it as I'm normally pretty tuned to bad bearings...
After getting it out, clean up the spindle opening with a wire brush, and judicious scraping of the corroded alloy in the socket that receives the bearing housing. Shine up all the bolts on your wire wheel buffer, and then apply antiseize to them and to the inside of the spindle opening, the ABS sensor bolt, etc. Also take the opportunity to hit all the bolt/stud ends with some penetrating oil even if not undoing them. It will help next time.
When I pressed out the passenger side wheel hub, the bearing collapsed, even though that was not the "bad" one. Picked up two new from Autozone for 89 ea and a 1-yr warranty. When back together very easily after everything was cleaned up.
I don't want to discount what the OP wrote, but I am going to safely assume that about 90% of people that will DIY this job will have bearings stuck inside the spindle. I am doing this job currently, and I do have quite a collection of tools (minus a Quickjack and Press - Afraid to get the China Freight Press because of the horror stories of the bottle jacks randomly springing a leak, or the support beam always bends when you add more than 2T of pressure on their 10T rated H Press). These are areas to pay attention to (IMHO):
1.) Carrier Bolts - if you don't have an impact wrench, these can be a pain. If you live in winter areas with salt all over the road, these can be especially painful. I have a Husky breaker bar that works great, that I got from Home Depot.
2.) The Axles are not tough at all. I find that spraying PB Blaster or WD-40 works great. My method is to liberally spray the axle inside the bearing, wait 5 - 10 minutes or go grab a beer, come back, and light wack from a hammer jars it free. Once the axle is out, just set it aside. Just be mindful of the location of the axle. Now is a good time to replace the boot as well if it is frayed.
3.) REMOVE the speed sensor. Don't risk it and it's not painful to remove. Just remove the allen bolt, and set it out of the way.
4.) The Bearing Carrier Bolts are a MASSIVE pain in the ass. T55 Torx bit (not T60) fits, but is risky if the bolts are seized in, which they most likely are in rust country. Spend the money and get a -DECENT- Triple-Square/12Pt 12MM bit, 3/8" with 1/2" STEP or 1/2" Socket, and be very careful. DO NOT get the long 12MM 12Pt/Triple Square socket. Too wobbly, and does not transfer as much torque as the shorter bits do. These can be found at NAPA, some AAP, and some Pep Boys. I was not having any luck in my area finding these. But I know NAPA always have them in stock and their CARLYLE brand tools are REALLY good quality, sometimes better than Husky/Craftsman in terms of rigidity and longevity. But they do cost a little extra.
5.) Now comes the pain in the butt part - removing the bearing housing assembly from the knuckle. This can be done as NEILPAKU wrote above. It can be done with an 8 lbs, 10 lbs, or 12 lbs sledge hammer, but an airhammer will make quick work of this in seconds. They are found everywhere and usually range in the $60 - $80 range, depending on where you live and how much price gouging Lowes, AAP, Pep Girls, AutoZone, O'Reilly, Rock Auto, NAPA, or Home Depot does.
The other pain in the butt is removing the 4 12MM 12Pt/Triple-Square bolts from the housing. If you can tie the axle up and out of the way, or remove the axle completely (not necessary at all), you will have plenty of room with a breaker bar. It helps to wrap some painters tape around the tip of the bit for extra bite. An impact wrench makes the job helluva easy, but make sure you have a good impact bit or set your impact wrench to a low setting and work slowly to back the bolts out. If you strip out one or two of the bolts, here's what you can do -WITHOUT- removing the knuckle from the control arms:
A.) Get an angle grinder, die grinder, or dremel with a good cut off wheel and cut the bolt as close to the knuckle as you can. BE PATIENT!! It's going to make the job longer, but you don't screw anything up. If you grind into the knuckle a little, don't worry about it. There's plenty of integrity on the knuckle for a good 100K+ more miles. YOU'RE FINE!! But don't go ham and grind into the knuckle and then keep grinding more notches. The goal of this job is to make it easier to punch the bolt out or screw the bolt out with a lager 12Pt/Torx bit with barely any strength. Literally. Less threads to back out, less work, less stress, more beer and laughs!
B.) DRILL the bolt out. This method is what I used, regrettably, before I went with the above method (Method A). I went through a couple cobalt tips trying to get the bolt out, no avail. It wasn't until I finally grinded the bolt and punched it out that I saw I dug into the seat on the knuckle, where the bolt sits. If this happens to you, IT'S FINE! Don't stress about it, don't go crying about buying another knuckle. You can grind off about half of the seat of the bolt and it will still torque and sit in the seat perfectly fine. The other drawback to this method is it will take a LOOOONG time. I don't know what kind of bolts these are, but they are STRONG!!
And the final pain in the butt: removing the hub from the bearing. I'm at the point where I think it is better to just buy a new hub and have a shop or the dealer press it in the bearing for you (warning: they may charge you $50 to $100 - I have no idea why for 5 minutes of work at best...). ECS Tuning, FCP Euro, JHM, Pelican Parts, all have great prices versus the dealer.
The best part about this work is that it's far easier to put everything back together than it is to take it apart. Make sure to use anti-seize grease on the pinch bolts, axle, hub, and bearing housing when assembling things back together again. Trust me, it's WELL worth it when you have to do this job again, if you keep the car that long.
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