Front Wheel bearing. How to change?

[Wildfire]

Is this an easy change or do I need a press?

I take it is a whole hub off job?

Cheers

Chris

[Simon Says]

As i remember you will need a 41mm socket(yes its a hub off car job)the last sierra i did i put the hub face down in the vice with soft jaws clamping all 4 wheel studs(no b/disc)remove the dust cap,if a new one is not in the kit then this is still available from Ford dealers you may be able to reuse the old one with care then use a long breaker bar and suitable socket on the nut(bloody tight)slide the hub stub through you can then drift the wheel bearing cups out with a suitable punch and hammer,do remember never to mix the cups from one race to another this is most important grease and fit the new bearings and seal refit the hub nut this should be torqued to 310 to 350nm or 230 to 260 ibf ft and refit the hub making sure any spacers etc are put back where they came from,providing you mark the position of the bolts before removal you will not upset any geo settings if i have missed anything then please feel free to correct my post it's been ages since i did this job,years infact

Edited by Simon Says on Tuesday 30th March 14:20

[BliarOut]

Pop the hub out and take the whole lot down to your local 'proper' garage and let them do it. Mine was £40 including the bearing and they swore at me when I popped back to pick it up

[Simon Says]

BliarOut said:

Pop the hub out and take the whole lot down to your local 'proper' garage and let them do it. Mine was £40 including the bearing and they swore at me when I popped back to pick it up

Good advice

[clive f]

BliarOut said:

Pop the hub out and take the whole lot down to your local 'proper' garage and let them do it. Mine was £40 including the bearing and they swore at me when I popped back to pick it up

out of interest, what did they call you??

[BliarOut]

Think there was an ef in c involved

"Bloody thing pulled our bench off the wall" Forty quid well spent

[Simon Says]

Ingersoll 3/4" air wrench would have saved that bench

[Barkychoc]

Come on girls its not that difficult

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Wildfire]

Ok, so I'm attempting the front wheel bearing change tomorrow. I have gotten a new kit with a new hub nut.

I've done a mini wheel bearing loads of times, so don't expect it to be too much difference.

Does anyone have a picture of the hub still on the wishbones, so I can prep today?

I believe the procedure is going to be something like this (I'm going on my mini experience here):

Remove Caliper
Remove Disc
Remove Hub Nut
Split Ball joints
Split track rod ends.
Remove hub
Knock out old bearing + Races
Replace with new bearing.

Refit

Somehow torque up to to 238lbs/ft?

Is this about right?

I don't have a manual or anything to go on, so I'll be taking it apart and having a go.

Anybody got a list of tools I may need?

[450Nick]

big hammer!

[Barkychoc]

Off the top of my head

Ball joint seperator.
1 metre breaker bar (I bought a 3/4" drive one)
41mm hub nut socket (look on ebay about £7)
Torque wrench if you're going to get scientific.
Some threadlock for when you replace the brake caliper mounting bolts.
Some plasters for your grazed knuckles.

If you haven't already got a breaker bar etc then removing the hub and taking it to your local garage is probably a good option.

[Wildfire]

Ok, done a bit of research, so it's going to be:

Caliper off
Disc off
Split ball joint
Split track rod end.

Undo hub nut and attempt not to destroy my dad's workbench.

Replace bearing - I think this will be the easy part.

Put hub nut back on - as above.

Fit carrier back on.

Nick - Are you about tomorrow?

[450Nick]

Sorry bud, going to Bedford to get the Chim back from Mr Hillis, then spending the rest of the day up that way with Kim. I might be able to pop down late afternoon if you need a hand slinging it back together?

[Wildfire]

Give me a shout, as you never know what may happen. I'm going to start early in the morning, as I need to switch out the wheel studs as well. But Finn and I are out in the late evening.

Got MOT the day after I get back from Dorset. I had slight play in the NS front wheelbearing in the last one. I've only done around 800 miles since, but better to be safe.

[spend]

Especially if you don't have air tools, always keep some some strong tube to extend your leverage.. Commonly Scaffold poles are used

You may find it easier to break the torgue with someone sat in the car with foot on the brakes... bit of a faff to organise but that is the only show stopper of the procedure..

[Wildfire]

Ok, 238lbs/ft is a horriffic amount of torque!!:eek

I have the aid of my father, a 2hp compressor and airtools, and a selection of very large scaffold poles.

Hoping it should only take a couple of hours.

Derek: I'll try and remember to take some pics.

I'll also be inspecting my coil-overs for damage, since the pothole.

[spend]

Wildfire said:

Ok, 238lbs/ft is a horriffic amount of torque!!:eek

It's a fair bit more when trying to release an old one, you commonly start lifting the car and have to shake the bloomin thing when doing it manually... but I did witness Neill Anderson release them with just his hands (no vice) and a good air impact wrench

Crack that & it's plain sailing though

[Wildfire]

Best to leave it on the car to get the old one off?

[spend]

If in doubt I would say yes I know I have a monster impact wrench, but I'd still think twice if I had to do it again. Sometimes slow tried tested is the quickest

You always have to be careful of the 'Oh mine was easy' reports, assume the worst case to start with and you'll not get stuck would be my approach?

[Wildfire]

Right I'll give it a go on the car first then.

Yes, famous last words:

Mate: "Are you coing round?"
WF: "As soon as I've changed the shocks over."
Mate: "Ok, how long?"
WF: "Well, it's only 8 bolts, so I'll leave in an hour and a half."

21 hours later (including overnight soaking in penetrationg oil.

Finally managed to get it all back together.