The 2002 Hyundai Accent's rear wheel bearings should be replaced every 100,000 miles, but extreme weather conditions can cause them to fail prematurely. You can tell when the rear wheel bearings must be replaced when you hear any noise coming from the rear wheels when turning corners. The procedure for replacing the rear wheel bearings is the same for both rear wheels.
Use a jack to raise the rear driver's side of your vehicle. Secure the car with a jack stand and then raise the passenger side with a jack -- secure the passenger side with another jack stand and make sure that the rear of the vehicle is secure.
Loosen and remove the lug nuts and then pull the wheel away from the car´s frame and set it aside. With the wheel removed, set the emergency brake and then use an impact wrench to remove the center bolt from the wheel mount.
Use a socket wrench to remove the brake caliper mounting bolts -- this will allow you to pull the brake pads off of the caliper mount. Set the brake pads aside and then use a socket wrench to remove the two caliper mounting bolts. Once the caliper is released, tie it to the wheel coilspring with a piece of wire.
Release the emergency brake and then use an impact screwdriver to remove the two bolts that secure the brake rotor. This will allow you to pull the rotor from the mount. With the rotor removed, use a two-arm puller to remove the wheel hub (center the puller on the axle shaft). Use a socket wrench to remove the bolts that secure the heater supply tube and then remove the tube from the frame and set it aside.
Locate the CV joint and use a socket wrench to remove the eight bolts that surround it (these bolts are close to the vehicle's transmission). With these bolts removed, pull the axle off of the frame. On the outside of the axle housing, locate and remove the four mounting bolts with a socket wrench. Removing these bolts will give you access to the axle housing bearings.
Use a bearing tool to remove the bearings from the axle housing and then insert the new bearing in place of the old ones (apply a thin layer of engine grease to the bearing before installing them). Tighten the new bearings into the axle housing with the bearing tool and then reattach the axle to the housing and secure it in place with the four mounting bolts. Reattach the eight bolts surrounding the CV joint.
Reinstall the heater tube to the wheel mount and secure it with the bolts that were previously removed. Reattach the wheel hub to the wheel mount (use the bearing tool to press the hub back into place) and then reinstall the brake rotor and secure it in place with two bolts.
Untie the brake caliper and reinstall it to the caliper mount with the two caliper mounting bolts. Put the brake pads back onto the caliper mount and secure them with the brake caliper mounting bolts.
Position the wheel back onto the frame, tighten the lug nuts in a crisscross pattern and then lower the vehicle from the jack stands.
