Hey Guys,
I think I saw this posted somewhere but.....

I have a '98 LS and the Acura Dealer is saying that I need to replace the left wheel bearing. I figure it would be a easier job for me just to replace the whole hub instead. Exactly how hard of a job is it? The dealer wants $350 just to replace the bearing. I'm a mid-range mechanic but I don't have any air tools.
thanks for any help that is provided

 

By hub do you mean upper and lower control arms and all that stuff?

 

I've never tried myself to remove the wheel bearing since you probably need a press and there's a collar piece that gets left behind on the hub and it needs to be removed by pressing it off. I always just let the machine shop take care of it. $20 a side and I give them the knuckle and the new wheel bearing.

 

On a scale of 1 - 10, how difficult of a job would this be?

 

To simply pop the knuckle off of the upper and lower control arms....probably a 3 or 4. I can usually have both off the car in under an hour.

Driving the knuckles and wheel bearings to the machine shop - difficulty level of 1.

 

I actually just replaced my wheel bearings last weekend. Getting the knuckles off is pretty easy as long as the ball joints cooperate and separate easily.

I went to get the bearings pressed out and the new ones pressed back in because there is no way you can do it without a press. It cost me $70 to get it done, but it was mainly because the shop was open on Saturday and I was their last client of the day.

The wheel bearings are quite expensive at $65 a piece, but I recommend you do both sides while you are at it.

 

What brand of bearings do you guys recommend? I talked to the dealer and they wanted about $90 (not sure if that was for 1 or 2). checked on Checker Auto parts and they have Beck/Arnley brand for about $55 and a BCA brand for about $75. Any recommendations? Did you guys need any special tools?

 

You can order them cheaper at www.acuraautomotiveparts.org.

I get a discount at the dealership, so they weren't quite that expensive, but I recommend OEM. Do it right the first time and pay the extra money for the trusted quality.