Replacing the wheel bearings on your Geo Prism does not have to be complicated. The hardest part is to work your way to the actual bearings. Once you have an understanding what you are removing, you will be able to do this task with relative ease. The wheel bearings are virtually the same on every vehicle. The components are all the same, but the size, of course, may differ.
First, jack up the vehicle and remove the wheel. The wheel bearing sits in the rotor along the spline. The spline is the shaft the rotor sits on. Remove the brake calipers first before you attempt to remove the rotor. Remove two bolts to extract the caliper. One is on top and the other is on the bottom. You may need a star-headed torq bit to remove the bolts.
The rotor is simple to extract. Remove the oil seal cap covering the spline and it will expose the lock nut holding in the bearings and holding the rotor assembly around the spline. A cotter pin goes through the nut and tthe spline. The pin must be straightened out and removed so the nut can unscrew with a pair of pliers or a socket wrench. The rotor will slide off and you can access the bearings. The bearings will either be fused to the rotor or stuck on the spline. Clean that off entirely before attempting to install the new bearings.
Two bearings go on the spline. The larger one is going to go back on the spline first. Make sure you soak the bearings in white lithium grease to absorb the grease and lubricate the bearings. The term for lubricating the bearings is actually called "packing". Pack the bearings by plunging them in the grease. Next, install the bearings back on the spline.You can also pack in the grease along the spline once you get the rotor back on. The installation process is the reverse of tearing it down. The most important thing to remember is applying the lock nut. Tighten it until it is snug. As soon as the nut is snug, turn it back a half a turn. Apply the cotter pin back into the hole before applying the dust cover. Bend the end of the cotter pin to keep it from slipping out. End this task by reinstalling the brake calipers, dust cover and the wheel. Repeat for the other wheel.
