Thoughts on front end work
 

Hello everyone,

I finally got around to replacing my wheel bearings and ball joints today. Just wonder what peoples thoughts are on not replacing the outer races of the wheel bearings. I used our lathe to make a peice of steel rod small enough to punch out my inner race, but it took forever and I decided on not replacing the rest of the outer races. I gave them an inspection and they looked to be in good shape.

As for the ball joints, what a headech, Got the R/H side done today but left the L/H for next weekend. The kit I bought from peican parts was great but it was prying out the old snap ring which drove me nuts, had to drill a hole in my control arm to get it out.

Oh ya anyone who is going to do this, dont over pressurize the ball joints. I pumped mine up and noticed it was too much, so I used a pick to push the ball down on the grease fitting. Safe to say it shot out into the corner of my eye and all over my face.

Ive forgotten how tight everything is on cars, after working on aircraft its a real headech when the last guy decided to really crank the caliper bolts on.

And one last word of advice that has escaped me over the years, test the brakes out in a safe area before hitting the road, when the pedal goes to the floor its a real pucker factor.

haha all's well that ends well.

I didn't replace any races two weeks ago when doing the wheel bearings in the front. As long as they aren't scored and/or pitted, and you can still tighten the hub onto the spindle with the adjusting ring...and there's no grinding or rubbing, all is good. The outer races are designed to last longer than the inner ones (which of course are built into the bearing itself)

Have you got an early or late car? I always replace the inner races, as the bearing as a unit will machine/wear/bed itself as a unit. I'd think putting a new bearing on old races would accelerate wear. But if I'm wrong I'll happily change my ways. As far as removing the old races goes, I use a bearing driver/socket and a hammer. Chill the new bearings in the freezer before driving them in, too. Porsche shop manual says to heat soak the hub.

Interesting topic here.

Unfortunatly we replaced our fridge at work with one that doesnt have a freezer. I used cold spray which helped a bit. The noise I thought was wheel bearings must just be tire noise. It is a tad smoother now.

wish cars where more like A/C, our wheels come with new bearings installed. Mine you they are 10000 times more expensive.