My old Excel has been absolutely eating wheel bearings. The originals
lasted for 125K miles, but I've had both sides done three times in the
following 55K miles. I only paid for it once and the dealer has covered
the rework under their service warranty. I'm not sure if the dealer's
mechanics are screwing up or if something else is wrong, but the left
side needs to be done again. This time, I'm going to do it myself, since
this is now my "beater" and I don't want to dump a bunch of money into it.

Any ideas as to why the bearings are failing as such a rapid rate? Any
pitfalls to look out for when doing the job? I know enough to keep
things clean, use the right grease and not pound on the bearings. ;-)

 

Check the surfaces the races are pressed into in the knuckle and make sure
they aren't damaged. I've seen a couple cars have this problem, but I
never found out why -- someone else was doing the work on them. Make sure
the seals don't get damaged on installation and don't overtighten the axle
nut, etc., etc., etc. I don't think I'm telling you much you don't know
already.

 

If the bearings are not pressed on properly, or if there's
a flaw in the hub assembly, then following the tightening
instructions for the axle nut (135 lbs?) results in it being
way too tight.

After replacing the nut and reassembling everything, take
the car out for a short test drive, about 2 miles. Leave off
the front wheel covers. Try not to use the brakes more than
necessary, to avoid heating them up. About 1 mile into the
test drive, stop the car and carefully check the temp of the
end of the axle on each side. Each side should be cool to
the touch. If one side is much hotter than the other, then
either the axle nut is too tight or the brakes are dragging
on that side. Check the temps again at the end of the
test drive.

Bob

"Brian Nystrom" <brian.nystrom@att.net> wrote in message
news:NIiTd.272852$w62.418@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> My old Excel has been absolutely eating wheel bearings. The originals
> lasted for 125K miles, but I've had both sides done three times in the
> following 55K miles. I only paid for it once and the dealer has covered
> the rework under their service warranty. I'm not sure if the dealer's
> mechanics are screwing up or if something else is wrong, but the left
> side needs to be done again. This time, I'm going to do it myself, since
> this is now my "beater" and I don't want to dump a bunch of money into it.
>
> Any ideas as to why the bearings are failing as such a rapid rate? Any
> pitfalls to look out for when doing the job? I know enough to keep
> things clean, use the right grease and not pound on the bearings. ;-)
>

 

Bob Bailin wrote:
> If the bearings are not pressed on properly, or if there's
> a flaw in the hub assembly, then following the tightening
> instructions for the axle nut (135 lbs?) results in it being
> way too tight.

That seems to be the case with the current problem, as the bearing is
shot but it's still tight. In other cases, there was always play in it.

> After replacing the nut and reassembling everything, take
> the car out for a short test drive, about 2 miles. Leave off
> the front wheel covers. Try not to use the brakes more than
> necessary, to avoid heating them up. About 1 mile into the
> test drive, stop the car and carefully check the temp of the
> end of the axle on each side. Each side should be cool to
> the touch. If one side is much hotter than the other, then
> either the axle nut is too tight or the brakes are dragging
> on that side. Check the temps again at the end of the
> test drive.

Thanks for the tip. I'll do that.