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Old 11-04-2006, 06:14 AM
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richtazz richtazz is offline
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Re: 2004 Impala Front Hub Bearing

Welcome to AF Mountain Top.

A hub bearing change is a DIY job with the right tools (hub puller, axle nut socket, torque wrench, etc...). If you have the mechanical ability to do your own brakes, you can do a hub. The most important things to remember are:

1. Don't buy the cheapo, whitebox Chinese A-Z brand hubs, you get what you pay for.
2. Don't even look at an air impact wrench. The hammering action will damage the hub and it's wheel speed sensor, leading to premature failure.
3. Follow the repair manuals instructions, including cleaning the rust/dirt off the hub mounting surface and using a torque wrench to tighten the bolts and axle nut (this is the MOST important step) as axle nut torque pre-loads the hub and failure to do so will cause the hub to growl and fail.

If the new hub contains a torque spec in the box that differs from your repair manual, use the torque spec with the new hub. Changes in hub design sometimes necessitates a change in the torque spec, so don't use the repair manual spec if the hub says differently. Good Luck.
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