Help with front wheel bearings...

[gocellygo]

I need to replace my two front wheel bearings on my '91 Festy, but i don't have the right equipment, such as a bearing press, and honestly, not really sure how to go about doing it. Is there a mechanic in the Raleigh/Durham/Cary NC area that does work with wheel bearings and front disc brake repair. Having a hard time finding a mechanic that knows anything about working on Festivas.

[Bert]

The Haynes manual even says not to attempt this yourself and I have to admit my first attempts were a disaster. You should be able to beg/borrow/rent a 'slide' puller to get the hub off. There are bearing press kits to beg/borrow/steal but usually the application of a six-pack at a corner garage will get the bearing races pressed in for you. Do not forget to put the pre-load spacer back in between the inner and outer bearings. I'm told there are 21 different spacers available so cross your fingers that the original ones are OK. I have a bit of slack on one of my front Festy hubs (spacer is not quite long enough) but 60000K later it hasn't gotten any worse.
The beauty of entirely switching to Aspire stuff is that a rotor can easily be changed without removing the hub. And on top of that you will no longer be stuck having to buy trailer tires.

[M3NTAL]

I paid 35 a rotor for a shop to press out the old bearings and install the new ones.

Napas machine shop charges 50 a side around here

[WmWatt]

If interested photos of one way to do it yourself www.photobucket.com/Festiva-frontwheel
6" 3-prong gear puller takes wheel apart if there is no dust shield or if you don't mind punching a hole in it. spare axle can be used with small pieces of 1 3/4" plastic pipe to press on new bearings nice and straight.

[kartracer46]

I need to replace my two front wheel bearings on my '91 Festy, but i don't have the right equipment, such as a bearing press, and honestly, not really sure how to go about doing it. Is there a mechanic in the Raleigh/Durham/Cary NC area that does work with wheel bearings and front disc brake repair. Having a hard time finding a mechanic that knows anything about working on Festivas.

Yes, I know where you can get help in Raliegh. call me at 252.564.5989 tomorrow and I can help you.

[boydg1]

.... Neat, I liked the way you did your "photos of one way to do it yourself".:thumbup:
.

If interested photos of one way to do it yourself www.photobucket.com/Festiva-frontwheel
6" 3-prong gear puller takes wheel apart if there is no dust shield or if you don't mind punching a hole in it. spare axle can be used with small pieces of 1 3/4" plastic pipe to press on new bearings nice and straight.