Wheel bearings are components that allow the wheels of your car to spin freely and as little friction as feasible. A wheel bearing is a metal container with steel balls inside it known as a race that is bolted into place within the centre of the wheel’s hub. If you hear moaning or buzzing noise while driving, one of your vehicle’s wheel bearings is failing. We recommend visiting CVHub to order your hub kits.
Changing your wheel bearings is a more difficult task that may be done at home, but it will need specialized mechanic tools. The steps outlined below are intended to serve as a general guide for replacing three of the most frequent types of wheel bearings found in automobiles. Before you start the repair, make sure you have your vehicle’s service manual and know what type of wheel bearing your car uses.
Part 1 of 3: Prepare your Vehicle
Step 1: Put chocks behind your wheels. Park the car on a level and flat surface. To block the tire on the other side of the wheel you will be working on, use a wheel chock.
Step 2: Loosen the lug nuts. Get a ½ inch ratchet with the right size socket for your lug nuts. Remove the tires from the vehicle, but don’t remove them entirely just yet.
Step 3: Lift the vehicle. To ease the job of lowering your car, use a floor jack and two pairs of the safety jack stand. You may now safely remove the tire using this method.
Step 4: Remove the lug nuts. Remove the lug nuts and then remove the tire after you’ve lowered the car.
Part 2 of 3: Install new wheel bearings
Step 1: Remove the brake calliper and bracket. Use your ratchet and ⅜ socket set to unbolt the disc brake calliper and bracket from the spindle. Use a screwdriver to remove the calliper itself.
Step 2: Remove the outer wheel bearing. To remove the cotter pin and retaining nut, pry off the centre dust cap to expose them if they are housed within your disc brake rotor, as is frequent in trucks.
To do this, remove the cotter pin and retaining nut from the outer wheel bearing (smaller wheel bearing) using your pliers. Slide the rotor forward to release the larger wheel bearing (bigger wheel bearing).
Step 3: Remove the rotor and inner wheel bearing. Remove the spindle retaining nut and grab the rotor with both hands. Remove the rotor from the spindle, freeing up space for the larger inner bearing on the retaining nut, and withdraw it.
Step 4: Rub bearing grease into the casing. Turn the rotor upside down on the floor with the rear surface up. Insert the new larger bearing into the casing and apply some bearing grease to it.
Step 5: Install the new bearing. Install the replacement bearing into the rear of the rotor, then grease the inner bearing pit. Slide the rotor back onto the spindle after replacing the new bigger bearing with a new bearing seal.
To replace the bearing, carefully remove the rotor from the hub and fill it with grease before installing a new smaller ball bearing. Install a thrust washer and retaining nut on the spindle.
Step 6: Install a new cotter pin. Tighten the retaining nut until it is secure, then turn the rotor counterclockwise at the same time. Install a new cotter pin after tightening the retaining nut by a quarter of a turn past tight.
Step 7: Unbolt and replace the hub. Some vehicles come standard with permanently sealed front wheel bearings, as seen in the illustration above. The rotor is affixed to a hub that contains the pressed-in wheel bearing.
For a wheel hub and simple spindle shaft, bearing assemblies are installed between the wheel hub and a front or rear non-driven axle.
Step 8: Remove the spindle if needed. If your bearing is pressed into the spindle, you should remove the spindle and replace both the wheel bearing and the spindle at a specialist shop.
In most situations, this service may be accomplished at a low cost. The spindle can then be reattached to the car once the new bearing has been pressed into place.
Part 3 of 3: Reassembly
Step 1: Put the brake rotor and calliper back on. It’s time to install the new bearing again. Using a ratchet and matching sockets, replace the brake rotor and calliper on your vehicle.
Step 2: Install the tire. Replace the wheel by hand and tighten the lug nuts. Raise the car using a floor jack and remove the safety jack stand. Allow the automobile to drop until its tires are just touching the ground.
Step 3: Complete the installation. Use a torque wrench to tighten the lug nuts to manufacturer recommendations. Remove the floor jack and lower the car entirely.
Congratulations on having successfully replaced your vehicle’s wheel bearing. After replacing the wheel bearings, it is critical to do a test drive to ensure that the work is finished properly.
If youre looking to change your HGV hubs, why not contact CVHubs. There warehouse is stocked with more than 200 different new and remanufactured wheel hub products, all of which are available on an exchange service.
