I need help with my wheel bearings

[sickfleming]

It turns out that while my right CV axle might be going bad due to the split boot, I think my problem is my wheel bearing. A few days ago, I attempted to remove the axle. Turns out that I had to remove the sway bar from the sway bar bracket (I'm a little unfamiliar with this since the set up is different than when I replaced my Escort axle), but one of the nuts was rusted on badly. Well, it ended up getting chewed up. I thought about disconnecting the strut from the steering knuckle and make room for the axle that way, but I didn't know for sure. Anyway, it was late and I had work the next day, so back together it went.

Well today, shortly when I got home from work, I laid out my tools and reached down to touch my wheel retainer nut out of curiosity and it was HOT!! Oddly enough, since I had very little to no play at all when I pulled on the wheels. But it does make sounds going down the road and pops loudly when going over speed bumps and around corners, so I guess it's obviously a bearing. I guess it was going bad and when I put the nut back on several days before, I put it on too tight and made it worse.

Well, I have never done bearings before on a Festiva and the Haynes manual doesn't mention front bearing replacement. The bearings on my Escort needed to be taken to a shop and be pressed out/in, so would I have to do that? I do have a busy schedule with work (pizza delivery driver) and school so if it wouldn't be too much to ask, could somebody give me an idea of what exactly I need, what I'm supposed to do and how long it should take me?

[Levitan]

Look at the brake pads/rotor and see if you see white residue. If so, you probably have a bad brake caliper. Much easier fix than front wheel bearings which require a hydraulic press.

[Bert]

WmWatt has an excellent post, complete with photos, on re-newing front wheel bearings. You should be able to find this on the search feature.
Front bearings are a real 'pain in the behind'. Sometimes the simplest way is to remove the entire hub and take it to a KIA dealer who knows how to deal with pre-load spacers that are in between the inners and outers.
Home attempts with ordinary tools often leads to bearing failure in very short order.
Good luck!

[WmWatt]

Likely causes in order of ease of repair would be ....

Stuck brakes can heat up your hubs. Look at the pin the pads slide on and see if it needs cleaning.

The noises you describe can be caused by worn axles (CV joints). What do the rubber boots in the wheel end look like? You can replace an axle by uncoupling the wheel at the pinch bolt and strut bolts after removing the axle nut (loosen before jacking up car). You need a pan to catch the transmission ffluid which comes out when the axle is removed.

Yes, the front bearings need to be pressed on. I've pulled them apart with a borrowed 3-prong gear puller and put them back together using an axle to keep them lined up.

Here are photos of my project rebuilding a pair of rusty junk yard wheels and putting them on my car.

http://www.photobucket.com/Festiva-frontwheel

Also a knock going over bumps could be the ball joints or their pinch bolts, about as difficult to replace as an axle. Check the rubber cover and if possible under the rubber cover, and make sure the pinch bolt at the wheel end is tight.

Good luck.

[sickfleming]

No, I can't find any white residue. And a Kia dealership huh? I assume that would be safer due to their familiarity with the bearings, am I right?

Also, to be honest, the whole car is kinda dirty underneath. Rust. But I wouldn't say that the clip is particularly dirty. And the CV joint boot is...well, severed completely. Now I do keep packing them often to sustain their use but that gets old quickly.
Okay, I was wondering that that sway bar would keep that steering knuckle held up, making the act of separating the ball joint from the knuckle harder. I'll give it a try.
Also, what do you mean by ball joint pinch bolts? Which part is that? The only thing I see when I look at the ball joint is that it kinda works as a control arm and the ball joint is on the end with the sway bar running through it. Which part is the pinch bolt and how is it harder?

Thanks

[Levitan]

There is a bolt towards top of lower ball joint on the back side, that runs front to back of car. Its about a 3 inch bolt that pinches the ball joint, holding the ball joint in the hub assembly.

[Occhty]

Right above the ball joint behind the rotor in the knuckle on the bottom is a bolt and nut. That 14mm nut and bolt squeeze the pinch joint onto the ball joint. If you take that bolt out and press down on the sway bar/control arm (I use a 7 foot prybar) the ball joint will come out of the knuckle. Then if you have the cv shaft nut off and pushed in on the cv shaft so the splines are loose. You should be able to turn the wheel and rotate it outwardly enough to free the cv shaft from the knuckle/rotor assembly. Pull driveaxel out of transmission and there you go. Reinstalment of new cv shaft is opposite of removal. Then fill transmission with correct amount of trans fluid.

[sickfleming]

Ohhh...dur. I know very well what a pinch bolt is then hahaha. Wow, brain fart

[sickfleming]

Well, I talked to my step dad, a top rate mechanic, on the matter. He says that he's replaced hundred of older, non-sealed wheel bearings on many cars without need of a press. I'm going to give it a go. Besides, gotta learn one of these days
Option 2: $150 for ONE bearing WITHOUT parts for a mechanic to do it? lol...nope

[WmWatt]

Others have reported pulling the hub off the knuckle while on the car with a slap hammer in order to replace the brake rotors. That doesn't pull the bearing off the hub. You can rip the old bearing off the hub destroying it. Then figure out some way to press the new bearing and the knuckle back onto the hub. As you can see in the photos I was able to get the bearing all the way onto the hub using an axle in two steps, first press the bearing on as far as it would go by screwing down the axle nut, then add a piece of plastic pipe to get it on all the way. It's important to get the brearing started on the hub straight. The axle does this. After that the knuckle went on the axle by screwing down the axle nut.

[sickfleming]

Okay, good news. I finally managed to get those two nuts to come loose after getting some of those, uh, I forget what they are called but they are reverse directional sockets that you hammer on the nut, cutting a new grip into it and you twist them off. Very handy buy in my opinion lol.
Even better, my axle came out on the third or fourth swing...MUCH easier than my Escort GT half shaft lol. But now that I have the bearing off, I have an idea on what to do, but how do I get the rubber grease seal off without tearing it?

WmWatt, your link is much appreciated by the way

[sickfleming]

Okay, I'm pretty much going to do it how you did in the pictures. I need a 3 prong puller. What is all the hubbub about the infamous preload spacer? What does that do?

[Levitan]

I'm watching this. You got the easy part done. And your whomever that has done hundreds without a press, ain't done a Festy without one.......by we'll see. I am very much hopeful for your success without a press.....I'm a poet and didn't know it. Must add that to my supermodel resume`.

[zoom zoom]

Once you pop the hub out of the spindle you will see it, its just a ring that goes between the bearings. Not a big deal, unless you forget to reinstall it lol. I haven't done a Festy knuckle, but for aspire/Rio knuckles you can just put the knuckle in your lap hub side down, then stick the appropriate size socket on the centermost ring you see inside there, and beat the hub out, you should see that spacer on the hub then, don't lose it. I'm not sure how the rotor on a Festy spindle will get in the way.

[georgeb]

The spacer is a big deal because the bearings are tapered. The spacer is how you adjust the preload. If you reuse the old bearings the spacer should be okay, but not necessarily. You're supposed to do a complicated preload check with a sensitive torque wrench and some special tools (which can be fabricated). If it's off, you must come up with a different spacer. It's a crappy setup IMO. I'd rather have straight bearings that bottomed out in the hub.