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Quick Question About Wheel Bearings


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they are technically supposed to be pressed in, so expect a tight fit.  tons of people do them without a press, but you may want to check your local machine shop.  mine removed the old bearings, tanked the housing, packed and installed new bearings and seals for $35 a side.  and I picked them up same day.  not a bad route if you have a little extra money.

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they are technically supposed to be pressed in, so expect a tight fit.  tons of people do them without a press, but you may want to check your local machine shop.  mine removed the old bearings, tanked the housing, packed and installed new bearings and seals for $35 a side.  and I picked them up same day.  not a bad route if you have a little extra money.

Does that include labor? My shop charges $90 an hour for labor and said it would cost me almost $300

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wtf $90 each?! i went to the "ghetto" side of my town which is the south side and a machine shop removed the old race and pressed in the new one with a 20,000lb hydraulic press for $25 each rear one (this was 1year ago) the front ones dont need a machine, you can actually do it yourself by hamering the bearing with a 1/4 screwdriver (the one with a hexagon circle on the end) so you don't damage the bearings with a flathead.

 

my 13"inch "H" rims have a hole in the rim, the hub fits perfectly inside so i have something to hold it in place while i work with the bearing. im sure a vice can do the same job.

Edited by Subasaurus
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Really don't need a press for the rear bearings either.

 

Once stub axle is removed, use a piece of brass, aluminum, what have you against the outer bearing and drive it and the outer race from the hub.

One should have the new outer race in a plastic bag sitting the freezer overnight before starting the repair.

New race will slide right in the housing. Just remember to have the new outer bearing , properly greased, in the outer race before sliding it into the hub.

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it wasnt complete from the shop, just the machine shop.  I still had to pull the housings out of the car and install them, but its only about 7 bolts and I was doing ball joints at the same time anyway.

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Learned the Freezer Trick years ago. The warmer the ambient temp of the housing the better. Hair dryer, heat gun, hand-held torch used to heat the housing if need be.

Don't need to get it Cherry Red or anything like that, just a bit more than you can stand to have your hand on for a few minutes. But one doesn't always need to heat the housing

 

On a 90*+ day, if the housing is getting direct sun, you probably don't need added heat.

Last one I did during the Winter cold, I hung the arm in front of my torpedo heater for a few minutes, then slid the cold bearing housing into it.

 

Heat expands, cold contracts. I use it to my advantage when possible.

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