Hey everybody,

all my wheel bearings are shot and I called the Chevy dealer how much it would cost to have them done. He said it would be around 500-600 Dollars. Wow. :eek: Ok, this is Germany, but still it is expensive.

Is it that hard to install the bearings? :confused:

Can you give me a detailed instruction of what I have to do and what tools I will need for it. Also I'd be interested in knowing how long it will take per wheel. If it's a pita to do I will take it to the dealer.

Thanks,
Olli

P.S: If somebody nows an instruction with pictures somewhere on the net, that would be great too.

The front bearings are easy to replace. Knock them out with a drift pin made of brass or aluminium. Drive new races into place with the same tool. Just be more careful when installing the new pieces. Add grease and new seals and re-assemble.
The rear bearings will be more difficult. And if the axle shafts are worn you will need "axle saver" or repair bearings that relocate the rollers to a non-worn position on the shaft. Or you could use the normal bearings and new axle shafts. Worn axle shafts are not rare, so be prepared. Removing the rear bearings will require a puller or (so I have been told) a long piece of pipe that can be inserted into the axle housing to knock out a left side bearing from the right side of the car. Did that make any sense? Driving in new bearings usually requires a piece of thick metal plate placed on the end of the bearing and knock it in by hammering on the plate. Be sure to put some sealant on the outside of the bearing to prevent oil leaks. This job can be done easily in one day if you already have the parts and tools.

Are we talking about the front or rear or both?

Front wheel bearings are a little bit of work but the work is easy (and messy). I would say you could do the front wheel bearings in about 2 hours at the most. The bearings themselves are not that expensive.

Tools: lug wrench, hammer, large steel punch, bearing grease, pliers, channel-lock pliers or large wrenches or sockets.

Jack the front end up and place the car solidly on jack stands. Remove the wheels. If you have drum brakes, remove the drums. If you have disc brakes, remove the calipers from their bracket. DO NOT disconnect the brake hose from the caliper and make sure to support the caliper with a piece of wire so it doesn't hang by the hose.

Remove the dust cap, you can now see the nose of the spindle. Remove the cotter key and then the large castle nut and keyed washer. You will reuse the nut and washer and if it's in good shape you will reuse the dust cap. Clean them up and set them aside. When you reassemble it, use a new cotter key.

With the spindle nut removed, you should be able to pull the entire hub off the spindle. Wipe the spindle clean and cover it to keep it free from dust. The outer bearing can simply be lifted out of the hub (it was right behind the nut and washer). On the back side you will need to remove the seal with a prying tool or a long screwdriver. You should replace the seal when you are done. With the seal removed you can now remove the inner bearing.

The hub still contains the bearing races. If you clean out most of the old grease you will see from the back side of each race, a small notch in the casting of the hub. This allows you to place a punch against it and drive it out of the hub. Tap it loose on one side, then the opposite side an "walk" the race out of the hub. Do this for both races.

Replace the races with the new ones that came with your new bearings. They are different sizes so you shouldn't have any trouble getting the new ones in the proper locations. When driving them in you must place your punch on the outer edge of the race and it can be easy to scratch the new race. Use a brass punch if you have one. Do not drive one edge in too far before you drive the opposite side in a ways to match it. You do not want to get the race cocked in the hole or it will become stuck and you will damage the race or the hub or both. When the races have been driven into place all the way you will feel a difference in the punch hit and in the sound letting you know it has bottomed out against the shoulder in the hub.

Smear a coating of good bearing grease on the races and pack a little extra grease in the area between the races in the hollow area of the hub. You don't have to completely fill this area, just pack a little extra grease to the back side of the races. Now pack the bearings themselves. Get a good sized glob of grease on your palm and push the roller bearing edge into the grease and work it into and around all the rollers and the cages that hold the bearings in place. The idea is to get grease to completely surround each roller and to leave no air bubble behind the rollers or the roller cage. Work the grease in from the top, front and bottom edges to make sure the bearing is fully packed.

Place the inner bearing on the race installed in the hub matching the cone shaped angle properly. Carefully tap in a new seal on the back side, it will hold the bearing in the hub. Place the outer bearing on it's race and then assemble the hub onto the spindle. The spindle may push the outer bearing out but you can just push it back over the nose of the spindle and back in place. Sometimes the inner bearing gets cocked slightly and won't let the hub completely seat on the spindle, just wiggle it around a bit and it should seat fully.

Then place the keyed washer on the spindle nose and push it in to firm up the bearings on their races. Install the nut making sure not to cross thread it. Snug the nut down enough so the hub cannot wiggle in and out or up and down but can still spin freely. Move the nut in or out enough to get the slots to line up with the hole in the spindle and install a new cotter key and bend the tangs to lock it all in place. To repeat, do NOT overtighten the main nut but do make sure to tighten it enough to take out any slop in the hub/spindle relationship.

Replace the dustcap, brake parts and wheel and test spin the wheel. It should spin relatively freely (depending on brake drag) with no discernable wobble or wiggle. If it is too loose, tighten the spindle nut up a bit.

Drive the car gently for a few miles and you should be all set. I should also stress: do NOT install new bearings on old races.

If you have any questions, post them here or e-mail me.

I hope this helps.

Wow. Two posts at 2:01.

Wow, thank you! Yes it's front and rear. I think I'll give it a shot!

Thanks again for the great instructions! graemlins/hurray.gif

Olli

If you are 100% certain you will be replacing the bearings, there is a quick and easy way to remove the inner bearing and the seal. Once the hub is removed, pull out the outer bearing and reinstall the hub on the spindle and reinstall the spindle nut. Then, giving it a good solid tug, pull the hub off the spindle. The nut will catch on the inner bearing set which will catch on the seal and should pop both loose from the hub. Then remove the spindle nut and toss the bearing and the seal and begin the removal and installation of the new bearing races.

If the bearing and seal don't pop out with a couple good tugs, remove the spindle nut and the hub and remove the seal from the hub by hand. You do not want to do and damage to the hub or especially to the spindle and double especially to the threads on the spindle.

Olli,
Are you having a specific problem ? or are you replacing your wheel bearings as a maintenence item? The reason I ask is I've never seen a car that had bearing failure at all 4 wheels.If your car has high mileage replacing them is a good idea.
On my car the bearings were in good shape so I just cleaned them in a parts washer and repacked with new grease and replaced the seal.This is a common maintenence item called a bearing repack.
The rear bearings had no play so other than replacing the rear gear oil no maintenence is required.

I would also recommend replacing the grease seals too when doing this. You will likely ruin them anyways trying to get them off.

Chris.

If you are 100% certain you will be replacing the bearings, there is a quick and easy way to remove the inner bearing and the seal. Once the hub is removed, pull out the outer bearing and reinstall the hub on the spindle and reinstall the spindle nut. Then, giving it a good solid tug, pull the hub off the spindle. The nut will catch on the inner bearing set which will catch on the seal and should pop both loose from the hub. Then remove the spindle nut and toss the bearing and the seal and begin the removal and installation of the new bearing races.

If the bearing and seal don't pop out with a couple good tugs, remove the spindle nut and the hub and remove the seal from the hub by hand. You do not want to do and damage to the hub or especially to the spindle and double especially to the threads on the spindle.

Don't do this at home kids! No doubt many folks have used this technique with success it can also cause damage to perfectly good parts. I just got through scratching my head trying to figure out why I had bent and cracked spindle locknut washers. And then it hit me: some prior clown had done this bearing removal trick and screwed up the washers :-(

Sorry about resurrecting an old post... but after I figured this out I wanted to make sure nobody else tried this without knowing what could or would happen.

Steve, it's the only way I have ever done it. I think it's a more a matter of knowing what you are doing ahead of time. I don't know why the spindle washer would be involved??? I never use the washer, just the nut.

BTW, been awhile. :waving: How ya doin'

I have no doubt this has worked for many. Nonetheless I cannot come up with any other explanation why these washers would be bent and cracked on both sides.

As to what I have been up to, let's just say that the adventure continues... (and that I read a lot more than I post ;-) )

I have had a rumble on left hand turns since I got this thing. Had a very dark and damp right rear drum, which is a shame because the brakes look relatively new. Found it had axle saver bearings and a notched right axle. So new axles and bearings and while I was in the neighborhood a new Eaton posi go into the back. Now I know it is a 3.31 rear end ratio. Still rumbles only it is getting more noticeable.

Must be the front end. So today's adventure was to pull the hub/rotors off and check out the bearings. I had bearings made in Mexico and cups made in China and two bent and cracked spindle locknut washers. Seemed a bit tight on the bearing preload and had a slight score on the right spindle (not the axle but the inside bearing face/seat so it should be ok). Now it is all USA/Poland Timken. I'll find out in the AM if the rumble is gone.

BTW I really do not have *any* bind in my rear suspension 8-) Gonna have to fix that too one of these days.