Front wheel bearing replacement..easy ?

[TONYCASH]

Am told I need to replace front wheel bearings,lower ball joints and rear struts.How hard is it , really,to change the bearings ?

[fastivaca]

Front wheel bearing replacement .. easy? Assuming you have a Festiva..... no, but it can be done.

[TONYCASH]

I have a 93 Festiva.

[Tim]

Your best bet is going to the junkyard and finding a hub with good bearings. It's much cheaper and easier.

[gdawgs]

Have you done any mechanical work before? If you've never worked on a car before, then it probably isn't something you want to do. If you have, it isn't that bad. Everyone makes it sound like it's impossible, but I really wonder how many of those people have actually done it. The biggest problem you can run into is when you get it all back together, if the preload isn't correct, then you either have to machine down the spacer if the preload is too little, or make and add some shims if it's too high. So you can end up putting it together and taking it apart a few time to get it right.

Between my dad's car and mine, we have replaced 4 of them, only one has required spacer adjustment.

[25Horseplay]

Thre is a member here who does this procedure. It requires some special tools. Send Kzbill a PM and see what he would charge.

[quaddawg]

Yeah, I agree with Gdawgs.. If you are mechanically inclined and like a challenge, it's not hard at all, but I would suggest at LEAST a slidehammer...

IF you aren't much of a mechanic, you might want to leave it to someone who is.

Some folks around here do try to make it sound very difficult, and it just isn't. What Gdawgs posted is spot on in my experience (which is limited with this procedure, but I HAVE done it)

[monkeyracing]

While we're on the subject of wheel bearings....how different are the Aspire front bearings? I've heard they're easier, but honestly, I've never really looked into it.

[niklid05]

While we're on the subject of wheel bearings....how different are the Aspire front bearings? I've heard they're easier, but honestly, I've never really looked into it.

I heard the same... Im thinking of spending another 150 or so for an aspire swap for my GL.

[FB71]

I can't imagine they're any easier... they use the same tools as the Festy hubs. As for difficulty, I thought they were gravy....

[TONYCASH]

I have done a lot of "minor" things to my cars,e.g...starter,gas tank,valve cover gasket,brakes...etc.I just always thought I should'nt mess with the bearings .They charge alot to do them at the mechanic,so,I thought they were precise and hard.