QuestionMy 91 323 Protege needs a front drivers side wheel bearing. Could you please help me with the procedure?
AnswerWell, are you able to perform such procedures as ball joints, tie rod ends, CV shafts, and caliper removal?
Do you have a fairly comprehensive set of tools?
If you do not have the following tools you should contact various shops and inquire on cost for replacement.
3/8" metric ratchet set
Metric combination wrenches
Vise grips and pliers of various types
Pry bars of various sizes
Ball joint separator
Floor jack
Jack stands
3/4" or 1" drive socket set with breaker bar or large ratchet.
1 lb sledge hammer
10 lb sledge hammer
Large tapered drift
6" C clamp
Wheel chocks
Soft blow hammer
Wheel bearings are not easy and the tool required to fit a wheel bearing is expensive and large. It requires a 20 ton or better shop press.
I would call around to a few machine shops and see if they will press in a bearing for you without having to bring them the car. Some machine shops will, some won't.
Unlike wheel bearings of old, your wheel bearing is what’s known as a unit bearing. Unit bearings are a one piece assembly that is assembled and sealed at the factory. It requires no greasing and can last thousands of miles. It is press fit into the spindle assembly and a wheel hub is then pressed into the center onto which you mount your wheel. The press required to remove and replace this bearing is a 20 ton H frame arbor press. First things first, using a large breaker bar and a 3/4" or 1" drive metric socket, you will remove your hubcap and remove the large nut in the center of the wheel. If you are under 200lbs body weight this will be difficult. In order for you to have the bearing pressed out you will need to jack the car up and support it by the body jack points with jack stands in the front. You will then need to remove the wheel on that side and remove the caliper and the caliper bracket. Do not unhook the hose going to the caliper. Use a bit of wire coat hanger to hook the caliper to a part of the body; I prefer using the strut coil spring. Once the caliper is supported you can remove the brake rotor by whacking on it with a hammer until it can be pulled off from the hub. Do not worry about breaking the rotor; they are only $15 - $20 at any NAPA. Now that you are looking at the hub, you must remove the tie rod end from the spindle. Remove the cotter pin from the castle nut and then unbolt the end of the tie rod. Then, hit the ear that the tie rod goes through with a hammer a few times to release the tapered stub from the ear. Then, turn your attention to the lower ball joint. Remove the pinch bolt from the lower ball joint and using a ball joint separator, pry the lower ball joint from the spindle. Then unbolt the struts retaining bolts and remove the spindle from the car. The stub end of the CV shaft will slide out and leave you with the spindle assembly. Go to NAPA or Car Quest and buy a bearing for it. Then take it to a machine shop and have the new bearing pressed in. Reinstallation is the reverse of the disassembly and takes on average 6 hours for someone with minimal experience. If you are wondering if their is a need to remove the spindle if it goes to the shop I assure you that they will do the same thing as their is no tool made that will press and refit bearings on the car. The force used to press a bearing in and out is so great that routinely a bearing will shatter as it is being pressed out of the spindle to be replaced. The hardened steel fragments have been known to lodge themselves in flesh and eyeglasses when this happens as well as providing a startling bang when it lets go. I use a 1" thick Plexiglas guard on my press and it has many pieces of bearing deeply embedded in its surface. This steel is so hard that repeated hammer blows will barely mar the surface of them. This is why they last so long and why it is so aggravating to replace them.
Regards,
John
