Let's all give GM a round of applause for the Aveo; not so much for building a popular, inexpensive, efficient little car with partner Daewoo, but for building a car that's almost impossible to service without a shop-full of GM specialty tools. Take a hub bearing replacement, for example: replacing the hub bearing requires no less than six different specialty tools, any two or three of which would cost more than an entirely new steering hub-and-knuckle assembly. So, the smart route here is to replace the entire knuckle -- any other approach would end up costing twice as much. Well played, General. Well played.
Loosen the lug nuts on the affected wheel, lift the front of the car and support it with jack stands. Remove the lugs and the wheel to expose the brake rotor. Remove the two bolts that secure the brake caliper to the steering knuckle, and hang the caliper from the frame using heavy-duty wire. Next, remove the "caulking nut" from the end of the axle -- in the center of the hub -- and un-bolt the lower ball joint and tie-rod end from the knuckle.
Pull the brake rotor from the wheel hub. Use your lower ball-joint separator -- if necessary -- to separate the steering knuckle from the control arm. Unbolt the ABS wheel-speed sensor (if equipped), and then remove the backing plate. Remove the bolts that secure the knuckle to the strut, and then pull the entire knuckle assembly downward and out of the car.
Reinstall the new knuckle/bearing assembly in the reverse order of removal. Push the knuckle up into the strut, and tighten its bolts to 74 foot-pounds. Reinstall the backing plate, and tighten the screws to 35 inch-pounds. Reinstall the ABS wheel speed sensor, the disc brake and the caliper. Tighten the caliper bolts to 27 foot-pounds, the lower ball joint nut to 40 foot-pounds and the tie-rod lock nut to 40 foot-pounds. Torque the axle nut to 221 foot-pounds, and use your chisel to stake the metal sleeve around the nut downward and into the detente on the axle shaft.
