Changing Wheel Bearings

Has anyone done a wheel bearing job? If you have what method did you use and how long did it take you to do it? Also how can you tell if your wheel bearings are going out on you? What kind of noises will it be making, and how can you check without taking the whole wheel apart? All information will be helpful.

What year is it?
Are we talking about front bearings?

The bearings are different from older to newer models. Usually, a press is used to replace the bearings inside the hub. This involves removing the caliper, pads, rotor, tie rod end, axle nut, separating lower ball joint and removing the entire spindle so the bearing can be pressed out depending on the year that is.

Sorry for forgetting to include some of the most important information. I have a 94 and I'm asumming that it is the front bearings but I'm not completely sure that it's the front. It could be the back bearings. How do I figure out which one(s) have the problem and need to be replaced? Is there a simple procedure that I can follow to determine where the problem is?

Also I spoke to a gentleman from Schucks and he said the problem may be that the grease has been completely worn out of the bearings. He also said that if I clean and repack it with grease that there is a possibility that the noise will go away. Is what he told me the truth, or will something bad happen if I do as he says?

Last thing approx. how long should this job take to do? At the moment I only have a weekend to do it before I have to have the car back together so that I can get to work.

Well, bad bearings can be noisy ... usually a growling or grinding noise. You can jack up the car and check for end play in the hub, spin the wheel see if you hear or feel anything.

To change the bearing you'll require a press - although my manual shows bearing being installed with a hammer and special driving tool - my preference is a press. The thought of hammering on bearings makes me cringe :eek:

Thumbnail:
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z17/5_O_Clock_Charlie/Geo%20Metro/Bearings_thumb.jpg (http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z17/5_O_Clock_Charlie/Geo%20Metro/bearings.jpg)
Click for larger image.

When I did mine this was the basic order that I did things in:

-Remove wheel
-Remove Brake caliper ( hang up out of way)
-Remove axle nut ( 30mm socket, unstake nut with a punch)
-Disconnect tie rod ( remove cotter pin spin nut till its flush with the end of threads and use a hammer to pop it free ... the nut prevents you from damaging the threads.)
-Remove 2 strut to spindle bolts ( I broke 1 of mine, so it might be an idea to have new hardware before hand. I got new hardware from Fastenal 12-1.25 x 55 metric bolts. )
-Remove ball joint stud nut and bolt (10-1.25 x 50 metric bolts).
- Remove spindle/hub assembly.
- Press hub from spindle.
- Pull outer bearing from hub. ( needed a 3 jaw puller )
- Drive out inner bearing from spindle with hammer and punch.
- Press new outer bearing onto hub ( ensure outer spacer is installed)
- Press new inner bearing into spindle.
- Press hub into spindle ( ensure inner spacer is installed first, and be careful not to push out inner bearing when installing hub.)
- re-install hub/spindle assembly.
- Install grease seal over inner bearing

My car is a 92, but I think it should be pretty much the same as yours. Start to finish it took me about 3 hours ( with a long pause in the middle while I waited for new hardware :icon16: )
Your mileage may vary depending on what tooling you possess etc. I have a shop press and a large assortment of different sized pressing adapters ... If you don't have the right tools, beg, buy or borrow them cause nothing is more frustrating than having something half apart on a sunday evening before work on monday and finding you don't have a part or tool etc.:runaround:

Here's a slideshow of the pics I took during the job ..... I didn't document every step but it should help !
http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z17/5_O_Clock_Charlie/Geo%20Metro/Wheel%20Bearing%20repacement/th_a1_a.jpg (http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z17/5_O_Clock_Charlie/Geo%20Metro/Wheel%20Bearing%20repacement/?action=view&current=2feb01ed.pbw)

it's been a long time since i did mine ..... 250k miles i'd guess but one thing i remember doing was ... to replace the originals with sealed bearings. there seemed to be no point in allowing grease to possibly escape into the center chamber. i think i did sealed bearings on the rear too.

i first had a shop do the pressing in on one hub ... but they messed up that side [they made good on the replacement]. i saw how straight forward it was so i adapted a large socket and tubing and drove in the second hub bearings myself. i used a hammer carefully but if a press is available use it.

it's been a long time since i did mine ..... 250k miles i'd guess but one thing i remember doing was ... to replace the originals with sealed bearings. there seemed to be no point in allowing grease to possibly escape into the center chamber. i think i did sealed bearings on the rear too.

Yeah, when I purchased my bearings ... all 4 front bearing had the same part number etc.When I got home and opened them, 2 of them were completely sealed bearings and the other 2 were sealed on one side and not the other ( and they came unpacked )

So rather than return them, I packed the bearings that were unsealed and installed them with the open side inward toward the cavity ..... and filled the cavity with grease. So far so good ! :)

I believe that I have determined where the noise is coming from. I was driving around last night and listned closely to the noise when it started. I believe that it is coming from the right rear bearing.

I believe that I have determined where the noise is coming from. I was driving around last night and listned closely to the noise when it started. I believe that it is coming from the right rear bearing.

I almost forgot to ask. Is the back easier to change than the front or are they about the same?

The rear bearings are a lot easier to change, remove wheel, undo nut and remove brake drum. The bearings are pressed into the drum with a spacer between. You can push the spacer to one side and use a hammer and a punch to drive the bearings out. Press the new bearings in, and re-install drum.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z17/5_O_Clock_Charlie/Geo%20Metro/Rear_bearings_thumb.jpg (http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z17/5_O_Clock_Charlie/Geo%20Metro/Rear_bearings.jpg)

When replacing bearings is it best to just replace the one? Or is it better to replace them in pairs like when you do brakes? Only asking so I don't have to worry about them until it's time to do it again.

Thank you for everyone's help. I did this on Saturday and finished the whole job in about 2.5 hrs. That was after going and picking up a couple of tools that I had left at the house.