hub bearing easy or not

[texasplaya]

how difficult is it to change out a front hub bearing

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by texasplaya

how difficult is it to change out a front hub bearing

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[texasplaya]

how hard is it to change out a front hub bearing on 2000 buick regal and what do u need for the job

[GTP Dad]

The answer to your question is It Depends! You will need a jack, jack stands, a torque wrench, set of hand tools, hub socket and a couple of hours. If the car is fairly new it should be easy. It it is like mine, I couldn't get the hub out with a puller. I had to have a garage change it. They used an air chisel to knock the old hub out. If the hub comes out easily then it isn't a bad job at all.

If you check the Grand Prix forum in the how to section under maintenance you will probably find a thread that will show you how it is done!

[BNaylor]

Lynn he posted this question at another thread so I merged the posts to this new thread. We have a procedure at Buick Tips as he was advised.

Thanks for posting.

[oldblu65]

I think I have a left front hub going bad . There is a " whine " or "humming " sound that increases or decreases with vehicle speed , not engine rpm's . Also , when braking you get the sensation of something rattling but it isn't pulsating like a brake problem . I'm not sure my descriptions are appropriate or descriptive enough for what I'm feeling but hopefully you get the picture of what I'm experiencing ? Would that be the infamous hub problem ?

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by oldblu65

I Would that be the infamous hub problem ?

It sure sounds like it to me. The last bad front hub/bearing I had it would start getting noisy as vehicle speed increased. Mainly about speeds of 30 mph and above. It sounded like an prop driven airplane. Does the noise change when you move steering left or right?

[richtazz]

I agree with Bnaylor. It definitely sounds like a hub to me also. Many times you'll also get ABS and Trac-off lights coming on due to the ABS wheel speed sensor being an integral part of the hub, but not always.

[idjikaity]

Originally Posted by HotZ28

Original length studs will not fit without removing the hub, (which you do not want to do)

Could you please give me some advice on how to replace the hub/bearing assy ? I would like to replace the wheel bearing, but as far as I understand (according to Haynes manual) it constitutes a single unit "hub/bearing". I removed the steering knuckle with the hub/bearing, but I do not know how to separate the knuckle and the hub/bearing. It seems that it is impossible to do that without a hydraulic press or something like that. Especially if they come from a 10 year old car...

[idjikaity]

Originally Posted by BNaylor

Visit our Tip & Maintenance subforum. See link.

Click here

I have Regal 1998, and the hub/bearing assy seems very tightly sitting in the steering knuckle. Is there any special tool to separate them ? Tthere is also some rust involved around where they are in contact, so I wonder if a simple prying can help to separate them...
Thanks in advance.

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by idjikaity

Could you please give me some advice on how to replace the hub/bearing assy ? I would like to replace the wheel bearing, but as far as I understand (according to Haynes manual) it constitutes a single unit "hub/bearing". I removed the steering knuckle with the hub/bearing, but I do not know how to separate the knuckle and the hub/bearing. It seems that it is impossible to do that without a hydraulic press or something like that. Especially if they come from a 10 year old car...

To start try some PBBlaster and let it settle in for a few hours. Depending on how bad the hub is stuck you may need a hub puller which is a special tool. Also, it will get the axle shaft out from the hub at the same time.

The hardest part depending on much much rust and/or corrosion will be getting the three hub to steering knuckle bolts which hold the hub on to the steering knuckle.

[idjikaity]

Originally Posted by BNaylor

To start try some PBBlaster and let it settle in for a few hours. .....
The hardest part depending on much much rust and/or corrosion will be getting the three hub to steering knuckle bolts which hold the hub on to the steering knuckle.

Thank you for a quick reply! I will try PBBlaster. By the way, I did not have any particular problem in removing those three hub-to-knuckle bolts. I removed them but was frightened by the the rust between the hub and the knuckle. Hope PBBlaster will help.

By the way, there is some kind of a "bearing cover" (made of metal) on the back of the hub/bearing where the ABS sensor wire comes out from between hub and knuckle. the cover turns along with the hub, so it is apparently connected to the inner ring of the bearing. On the other hand it cannot come out with the hub because it has a slightly larger diameter than the hole in the knuckle. Should I remove it first before I try to pry out the hub? If so, how should I do it, - just by prying it with a flat screwdriver, for example, or somehow else ? I am kind of hesitant to go by trials and errors to avoid damaging the bearing (and ABS sensor)...

Thanks again!
Yuri