Front Hub assembly and bearing

Therman2020 · Post by **Therman2020** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 7:17 am

OK Were can a guy find a complete front hub bearing assembly? I mean i just replaced my front bearings and the guy i went to must of done it wrong (no warranty). Went to a repair shop and they said my bearings are bad AGAIN. So im doing it my self just did not have time to do it before. ill make time now. So again looking for the complete assembly including the bearing already pressed in.

thttxboy · Post by **thttxboy** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 10:26 am

Are you talking about a whole new front knuckle assembly? If so your best place is the dealer I think? But you could just go to a parts store and see what they say.

ZeroChad · Post by **ZeroChad** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 10:53 am

I want to say I paid $45ea for the rears from Advanced Auto.

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Thu Jul 15, 2010 11:15 am

The fronts cost me about $248 each for the knuckle then you have to get the bearings which roughly were about $30ish

MyNeonSaysHi · Post by **MyNeonSaysHi** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 1:41 pm

Is it a good idea to get a new hub when you do the bearing?

What I hear is that the bearing will prematurely wear out when you use the same hub... On a plus side a new hub has new studs too which is a nice addition.
And yo man.. I just called up the local stealership... $103 for a new bearing. $90 for a new hub. OUCH!!!!!
Going aftermarket this time around.

Post by **occasional demons** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 3:10 pm

Just specify a hub assy at the parts store. Should be the hub with studs and bearing pressed on.

Well, maybe not, I'm not finding them together. But there are 33mm, and 39mm hubs, depending on the year of the car, and if it is an ACR/RT.

AZ lists them as a "Dorman/Wheel Bearing/Hub Assembly-Front" Fits either side Does not include bearing.

NAPA doesn't show an assy either. Fail.

Post by **Diablo0** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 4:21 pm

Never had to do my R/T bearing/hubs but have done the SRT hubs many many times now and most recently, just this past Wednesday. If they're the same then they'll more than likely come in individual pieces and not a whole unit.

I bought my bearings at Autozone (Timken) for about $40/each. The hubs I picked up from a friend (Mopar) but can be also ordered from Autozone for about $50-60 each (keep in mind, I'm giving info for SRT parts, reg Neon could be different.) The hubs should come with the wheel studs already pressed in.

Unless you track your car, or overall just drive very hard with a lot of hard cornering, etc... replacing the hubs isn't necessary.

You will need a press to replace everything since you'll have to press out the old hub/bearing and press in the new.

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 5:14 pm

Bearings should have a drive life of 80k+ miles. The hubs should not have to be replaced unless your bearings damaged them. If you are not sure if your hubs are good or bad, I would suggest starting off with a new set of bearings. If they die quickly then your hubs are bad. If they don't go bad then you just saved some $$$.

SlvrACR · Post by **SlvrACR** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 5:33 pm

You can not get the hub and bearings already pressed. I had the same prob with mine. I had to get Napa bearings

MyNeonSaysHi · Post by **MyNeonSaysHi** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 12:00 am

hansken_yo wrote:Bearings should have a drive life of 80k+ miles. The hubs should not have to be replaced unless your bearings damaged them. If you are not sure if your hubs are good or bad, I would suggest starting off with a new set of bearings. If they die quickly then your hubs are bad. If they don't go bad then you just saved some $$$.

True. But wheel bearings are not fun to do. Plus you have to get an alignment afterwards. And since they last around 80k miles, might as well go with a new hub. Hell I can Powdercoat my old hub and press a cheap bearing in there and sell it for a decent amount and make some money back.

I ended up going with a Napa wheel bearing. $46.50 P# BRG FW115
and a Dorman hub via Autozone. $53.99 P# 930-300

fixitmattman · Post by **fixitmattman** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 11:32 am

MyNeonSaysHi wrote:And since they last around 80k miles, might as well go with a new hub.

Uh, sure...

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 6:25 pm

MyNeonSaysHi wrote:
hansken_yo wrote:Bearings should have a drive life of 80k+ miles. The hubs should not have to be replaced unless your bearings damaged them. If you are not sure if your hubs are good or bad, I would suggest starting off with a new set of bearings. If they die quickly then your hubs are bad. If they don't go bad then you just saved some $$$.
True. But wheel bearings are not fun to do. Plus you have to get an alignment afterwards. And since they last around 80k miles, might as well go with a new hub. Hell I can Powdercoat my old hub and press a cheap bearing in there and sell it for a decent amount and make some money back.

I ended up going with a Napa wheel bearing. $46.50 P# BRG FW115
and a Dorman hub via Autozone. $53.99 P# 930-300

For that price you did not get the hub, but rather the spindle.

MyNeonSaysHi · Post by **MyNeonSaysHi** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 10:49 pm

Dorman/Wheel Hub - Front

Looks like my Mopar one I got a couple years ago when my drivers side went out. New studs is nice.

Uh, sure...

Uhhh huh.

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 12:18 pm

Hmmm... I knew that to be the spindle, and the hub being what it connected to. *shrugs*

sidepipe87 · Post by **sidepipe87** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 1:17 pm

hansken_yo wrote:Hmmm... I knew that to be the spindle, and the hub being what it connected to. *shrugs*

fail.. that's a hub/wheel bearing.

MyNeon... why would you need an and alignment afterwards? I'm lost on that...

fixitmattman · Post by **fixitmattman** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 1:24 pm

MyNeonSaysHi wrote:Uhhh huh.

That was sarcasm for you don't need to buy new hubs, nor replace them at 80,000mi intervals.

MyNeonSaysHi · Post by **MyNeonSaysHi** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 2:29 pm

sidepipe87 wrote:
hansken_yo wrote:Hmmm... I knew that to be the spindle, and the hub being what it connected to. *shrugs*
fail.. that's a hub/wheel bearing.

MyNeon... why would you need an and alignment afterwards? I'm lost on that...

CAUTION: The strut assembly-to-steering knuckle attaching bolts are serrated and must not be turned during removal. Hold the bolts stationary in the steering knuckles while removing the nuts, then tap the bolts out using a pin punch. Remove the two bolts attaching the strut to the steering knuckle.

There goes the camber....

That was sarcasm for you don't need to buy new hubs, nor replace them at 80,000mi intervals.

I know of two locals that replaced their wheel bearing and not the hub and the wheel bearing prematurely failed on them. Of course I listen to important posters on the kiddie forums as well:

When you replace the WB's, you REALLY should replace the hub as well. They come with new studs pre-installed, so you won't have to worry about those, but only changing the bearing is the cheap way out and not recommended.

My friend had the shop do his, but hubs went bad also I seen it at the shop they showed me. So when I do mine Ill do hubs also.

Since the last time I talk to Doug about this. I agree 150% about replacing the hub, if the hub is a little out round there goes a bearing in a couple of months.

the reason you replace the hub is because it costs about $50 and gets you new lug studs as well and since you're removing the hub anyway you may as well replace it and the retainer. Also, most people who have only replaced the bearing and reused the hub tend to have another bearing failure prematurely on that same corner.
__________________

The OD of the bearing doesn't ride inside the hub. The ID rides outside the hub and the OD rides inside the spindle/knuckle!
And if the bearing was to spin inside (or outside) of anything; you have done something wrong. The worst case scenario is a looser fit causing a early failure. For the bearing to "spin" it would first have to seize (or nearly).

To the OP: Like others have said, the hub is a disposable item. Change them both!
.

But if the hub run out is fine its probably okay to re-use it. Like I said earlier, I can always get it powdercoated cheap and press a bearing in there and sell it. So that $55 won't be bad as a hit. I feel its a good idea to replace it.

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 3:15 pm

sidepipe87 wrote:
hansken_yo wrote:Hmmm... I knew that to be the spindle, and the hub being what it connected to. *shrugs*
fail.. that's a hub/wheel bearing.

you're right, I actually forgot about the "knuckle" and well you can see where it goes from there.

also, my statement on life span of 80k is a "general" lifespan of the bearings. Depending on how one drives they can last much longer or much shorter. And, you should only really have to replace the hub if you drive on damaged or worn out bearings for too long.

Hope that clears up my statements, I'm not trying to spread mis-information. Rather, I was trying to say that if you got 80k+ miles out of your bearings and they need replacement that this is something to be expected.

fixitmattman · Post by **fixitmattman** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 4:00 pm

Grab as many quotes as you like but you have to do some serious abuse to bend a hub. Majority of the time bearing failures shortly after a front or rear wheel bearing change are a result of improper install or failure to pre-load the bearing correctly. On any typical car there is normally zero reason to need to change the hub at the same time as a bearing chagne. Only thing it will do is make you quicker by making your wallet lighter.

MyNeonSaysHi · Post by **MyNeonSaysHi** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 4:11 pm

From what I have read you can only buy rear wheel bearings with the hub. Can't get them seperate like the fronts. Which makes install easier since they are pressed in the hub already. (SRT setup)

sidepipe87 · Post by **sidepipe87** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 5:09 pm

but why do you have to take the knuckle off the strut to replace the wheel bearing/hub??

fixitmattman · Post by **fixitmattman** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 5:37 pm

Rears are different animal. The reason why they come with the hub is the hub is integral with the outer race of the bearing. There is no bearing to change as the hub IS part of the bearing. There is no need to remove the strut to replace the rear wheel bearing/hub.

The fronts are different, you can change just the bearing. So you remove the knuckle assembly from the car, then just press out the beaings properly and you're done. Unless there are some pretty special circumstances all you need for a proper job is the bearing.

Post by **occasional demons** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 5:41 pm

Because the outer race of the bearing is also pressed into the knuckle.