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wheel bearings.......

I

imnotacop420

Squire of Awesome
Joined
Jul 14, 2003
Messages
2,901
Location
brunswick OH
Well, the drivers side wheel bearing is making quite a bit of noise. I plan on replacing both sides. I was searching for the bearings online at www.carparts.com, and was wondering if anybody has used the sealed bearings?

If so, are they any better than the standard bearings? Will they last longer? Any input would be appreciated, thanks in advance!

I searched around the forum, but didnt really find anything in regards to the sealed bearings.
 
SVT3391 said:
You may as well contact Stazi for his service.
Click to expand...

yeah I was thinking about that, but I cant really afford to be without my car for more than a weekend. After searching, it doesnt really sound like this is going to be a fun job either.........
 
I had his service last October. I was lucked out because at that time he had a spare pair so he sent that to me first with $250 safe deposit. After I swapped that pair and sent him back my original, he promptly refunded the deposit.

Contact him. Maybe he still have something in his hands, you never know.

If you have posted this one week before, then in the Classified Auto-X-Fil was selling his very low mileage knuckles+bearings+hub for $180.
 
imnotacop420 said:
I was searching for the bearings online at www.carparts.com, and was wondering if anybody has used the sealed bearings?

If so, are they any better than the standard bearings? Will they last longer? Any input would be appreciated, thanks in advance!
Click to expand...


the front wheel bearing is a sealed bearing and that is why they fail, the seal fails and the inside begins to rust ....

you can get them at your local parts store, I would go with a SKQ or Timken bearing, afterall Timken supports many manufacturers with there OE bearings ...
 
BrApple said:
the front wheel bearing is a sealed bearing and that is why they fail, the seal fails and the inside begins to rust ....

you can get them at your local parts store, I would go with a SKQ or Timken bearing, afterall Timken supports many manufacturers with there OE bearings ...
Click to expand...

I saw the timken ones, they were a pretty reasonable price too.

From what I have read NAPA will press them for me, but do you think they will give me a hard time if I dont buy the bearings from them?
 
I bought mine from Ford for $25 for one and they hip me up $25 tp oress it in to my knuckle. It was not that bad of a job to do. Course I had the engine and trans pulled for a 3.0 swap, but still a weekend project.
 
well I am looking at these

http://wrenchead.carparts.com/servlets/WebEPC35?ns=WHEEL%20BEARING%20Front+Wheel+Bearing%20&cl=jcw-carparts35&vc=1998|28|SVT|22217&st=WHEEL%20BEARING&JCWRETURN=store.carparts.com&storeId=10401&catalogId=10101&pt=2256&ptd=Front+Wheel+Bearing

i personally like the first ones on the list (SKF Chicago Rawhide), if you look at some of the other pics the bearings are exposed where these are not. unfortunately they didnt have a pic of what the Timken ones looked like.....has anyone used the SKF bearings before?
 
The pictures of the ACDelco bearings are not of the actual bearing for our cars, the one of the SKFand BCA are what our bearings look like...Chances are any bearing you buy will look the same on the outside. I would try to stick to the SKF's or the Timkens, the others are cheaper China made versions.

I did my bearings a couple of weeks ago and it wasn't too hard as long as you have a press and know how to use it. If you press on the wrong part of the bearing, you can easily damage it while installing it.

I pressed the hub out of the center of the bearing, then removed the c-clips and pressed the whole bearing out. Then I put the c-clip that goes on the inboard side back in and pressed the bearing in from the outboard side using the old bearings outer race to make sure I pressed on only the outer race of the new bearing. Then, I pressed the spindle and bearing down onto the hub by pressing on the inner race of the new bearing. Note: I did not reinstall the outboard side c-clip (Stazi explained to me that it is not needed and Ford actually deleted it on later models). I had to use some serious force to get the bearings in and out, they are definitely in there tight.
 
Stazi

Stazi

SVT3391 said:
I had his service last October. I was lucked out because at that time he had a spare pair so he sent that to me first with $250 safe deposit. After I swapped that pair and sent him back my original, he promptly refunded the deposit.

Contact him. Maybe he still have something in his hands, you never know.

If you have posted this one week before, then in the Classified Auto-X-Fil was selling his very low mileage knuckles+bearings+hub for $180.
Click to expand...

I just did this job last weekend. I contacted Stazi and he did not have any spares...but I would certainly check with him again. Pressing them out and back in takes a bit of work for someone not used to using a press.

Its not a fun job, especially if everything has not been apart in a long while.

PB blaster and heat are your friends!

If NAPA will press them for you...let em. Their bearings are what I used...went economy for like 25 per bearing. Also...they give a discount if you have AAA.
 
well i ordered the timken ones from carparts.com.
$11.99 for shipping and they said it will take 6 days to get them, seems like a lot of money for shipping considering its taking that long to get them.

i had everything apart about a year ago when i lowered and replaced the struts, so hopefully its not too bad.
 
Quick tip...

Quick tip...

Both times when I've done the bearings...the ball joint did not want to come out of its home.

No sort of prying was working...the angle of tapered shaft was binding and it would not come out. Finally grabbed a spoon pry bar and tapped the shaft until angle was better while my brother pryed down. Finally popped out.

If your a big guy...you might be able to stand/jump and free it as the FAQ indicates. My bro and I are both only around 160-ish.

FAQ is very good btw...if you havent already printed it out.
 
kgetchmystique said:
Both times when I've done the bearings...the ball joint did not want to come out of its home.

No sort of prying was working...the angle of tapered shaft was binding and it would not come out. Finally grabbed a spoon pry bar and tapped the shaft until angle was better while my brother pryed down. Finally popped out.

If your a big guy...you might be able to stand/jump and free it as the FAQ indicates. My bro and I are both only around 160-ish.

FAQ is very good btw...if you havent already printed it out.
Click to expand...

thanks for the heads up! Well I'm not a very big guy, 145lbs hahahaha but Im sure Ill figure it out. Hopefully it warms up a little bit, its not going to be fun in the cold
 
I have to do this job as well. I got the bearing at Murry's Auto Parts. It was a BCA brand but when I opened the box it had SKF marked on the bearing and it was made in Spain. I paid $35 & change, tax included. I plan on doing it myself as I have a home made press. I just need to make the tool/die to press the bearing out & the new one in. That I will do that tonite.

I have to do the same thing to a set of VW hubs from a 87" 16V Scriocco that I am tuining into an ITA race car. The're the original ones and they are really in there!
 
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