Jab, jab and lubricate. Can I buy some bearing time?

[harpon]

Still got that little squeak or chirp I've had for a month or so.

And feeling my way through the repairs-

so far I've done one half assed outer rear bearing change on one side and a new drum with two new bearings on the other.

Have new races in the other drum and hope to get that on soon-
that'll take care of half the bearings....

After looking at the repair replacing front bearings I've concluded that I can't do that procedure entirely but I may try to get the outer ones on or lubricate them if I get the spindle nut off- anyone know the size of that nut offhand? Aspire, not a Festy.

At any rate the chirp goes on- not yet getting much worse- as the year ebbs to a close. I'm tired and the days are short.
It sounds as if it now might be the front, but I really can't tell when Im driving- so I'm hoping it may last the holidays before I have to get the front replaced and maybe it will disappear after and if I can get to the front outer ones.

I finally decided to try something on the front inner bearings, and that was to attempt to get some oil into them, in fact a small pool of oil if I can. Maybe get into some of the existing grease to work itself around a bit.

To that end I just took a very sharp knife and made a very small incision into the rubber boot near the bearing. Less than 1/4" and it closes itself right back up- you'd have to search to even see it.

Then I took an oil can and thrust the nozzle through the small cut-- and then squirtied 20 or more pumps of oil into the bearing area and boot. I did this on both sides- the oil is probably not that great for the boot, but those are available and not that expensive- If I have the bearings replaced I'd just as soon get new boots on. The boot is stil virtually weather tight , especially here in Florida and I'm sort of a fair weather driver anyway. Mostly I just want to buy time on the bearing repair and the more the better.

I went around the block- I still hear a chirp- it seems a little less, but the results are still inconclusive at this point- no harm in trying I figure, and it may even be possible to fill the boot via a tube of white lithium grease I think you can get in a tube, or better still a grease gun and needle fitting.

anyone ever done this sort of thing and how successful do you think it may or may not be? I'm speculating that if their is not an existing problem already there- like mine- this little slit may keep an expensive and involved repair at bay for quite some time.

[firebush357]

I have no Useful info for you on this subject but just wanted to say HI to the only other member Iv'e seen from Jacksonville! htd

[TominMO]

Spindle nut should be 29mm; some replacements are 30mm.

[harpon]

Hey firebush- do you live in Murray Hill? There's a teal Festy I see over there about a mile away- looks semi-parked now, but was being driven before this summer. Is that you or are there others here?

TominMO- I finally took a measurement- 1 1/8" or otherwise 28.575 mm at least by crude tape measure- I saw on another search someone said 29mm

The 29 mm are conspicuously priced about $14 delivered. I'm wondering if the nuts are as loose as they were on the back- coulda turned it with a screwdriver or channel locks otherwise. Debating as to pulling the wheel to find out or to just pay the piper for the extra pricey socket.

Anyway- Just got through putting the other new rear drum on and new bearings- old hat now- took maybe 1/2 hour and no particular troubles.

So half are replaced and I've probably got some oil into the inner fronts- Will probably try to get the outer fronts on or greased at least and see whats happening- I've nbeen trying to get some oil around the washer covering, but don't think I've got much on the outers that way.

The car feels much smoother already, but still a reduced chirp on a test around the block. Must be the fronts for sure.
This car has never had axle caps on the front- does anyone know if they are the same size front and rear? DUH! Coulda tried one myself an hour ago when I had one off!

Below in Yellowood State Forest, Brown County Indiana 2005

[william]

I got a 29mm from autozone for under 7 it's not deep wall but didn't need to be.

[ryanprins13]

Jab, jab and lubricate. Can I buy some bearing time?

You can get needle tips for grease guns. Just have wheel and bearing grease in your grease gun for doing the rears, stick the needle tip on and stick it through the seal and pump a bunch in. A lot smaller slit/hole and actual grease instead of oil... Use that needle tip on your cv shafts if their old, old ball joints and tie rod ends if you have sealed ones for some reason...


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[firebush357]

No, I'm out in Middleburg. I used to drive a Yellow one around town about 7 years ago but I just bought a white one about 2 months ago and it is currently in the Garage right now. I need to finish the brake work on it and finish some small paint stuff but it is just hard to find time in the day to get out there and work on it. I took tomorrow and Friday off to go hunting so depending how that goes I might be out in the garage trying to get him road worthy.

On another note. Many of the auto parts stores will rent you the 29mm socket for basically free. Just have to put a deposit on the tool and you get it back when you bring the tool back. Autozone lets you keep it for up to 90 days, I think NAPA has a 7 day policy.

[ricko1966]

Did you put a hole in the seal or the boot the boot is for the cv joints the seal is for the wheel bearings.front bearings do not need dust caps rears do. Front axle nut is reusable , front wheel bearings really are not a big deal other than the front nut socket and a cheap dent puller you probably have all the tools 30 minutes per side.You will not find my method in any book I've seen pm for my phone number I'll walk you through it.

[harpon]

Yeah- I'm not sure I'm getting anything past the inner seal really.

Excuse me, but I don't think think the inner bearings at least are "not a big deal" Apart from being in my 60's and arthritic, I believe the front knuckle has to be detached from a tie rod end and that requires a special tool and possibly a new tie rod if botched up.

Heres a youtube with the assembly apart:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP8zPGP_t1Y

I have no shop and just basic tools- when this is done, I will have to seek professional help.

heres a great article and pictures- (2nd link to pics, first is broken): http://fordaspire.fr.yuku.com/topic/...s#.Vky0eTpFDIU
According to this the bearings should have a "pre-load test" to insure the viability of the bearings.

I'm going to look at the bearing set I got , which included a couple of spacers for each side to determine if I'm getting any lubricant past the seals. I suspect I'm not, but hoping to nurse it past the busy holidays, and driving less this time of year myself anyway.

[WmWatt]

Font axle nuts are torqued to 160-180 and require full body weight on an extension (piece of pipe) to loosen or tighten to spec. Bouncing up an down on the pipe helps break the nut free. You need to block the wheel to get it started. I did mine after the car was up on stands and the wheels off by putting a couple of lug nuts back in and jamming a pry bar between them with one end on the garage floor.

[ricko1966]

Seperating the tie rods from the steering knuckle no big deal back the nut off whack the spindle on its side with a hammer hard right next to where the tie rod goes into the spindle,it will pop loose.Never use a pickle fork unless you absolutely positively can't get it to pop whacking the side with a hammer.Pop the putter cv joint out of the spindle put a slide hammer /dent puller through the hub put a socket the same size or slightly smaller than the bearing inner race diameter over the dent puller and put the cap nut back on the puller.Slide the slide hammer out a couple of times and you will have the hub and spacer pulled.Take off the spindle now everything is just hammer,punch,drift etc. it can all be put back with nothing but the tools to remove the spindle and a couple drifts and a hammmer.

[scitzz]

So, I can rebuild the knuckle/hub with new bearings without many specialty tools at all, but I doubt 60's + arthritis can do it the "next to no specialty tool" way that I "can" do, and at 44, I am using easier on my body methods lately.

I could possibly be talked into rebuilding a set of Aspire knuckles I have here and sending them to you, for a price and a core charge substantial enough to guarantee return of your old ones afterwards, but you would still have to do the swap. Not the hardest thing to do with informed methods and loaner tools from autozone, though.

Send me a PM if you like, we can talk. Might be slow going, but at least I will get an email notification that you sent the PM.

[scitzz]

OH! Shooting oil in there will wash away the grease, good for a couple miles, worse in the long run. ryanprins13 had the right idea about shooting grease in a needle tip into the bearing, wife and I nursed a car with rear bearings welded to the spindle from VA to central FL that way many years ago.

[WmWatt]

There are some photos here.....

http://s1086.photobucket.com/user/ag384fb/library/Festiva-frontwheel

[harpon]

Wow. That's a lot of repair. Well beyond what I could possibly do, so I'll be looking for some assistance.. looks like a job better done in a shop than by a mobile I think.
My shed is pretty raw and I have a Festy parked in there.

Let me throw out a question or two then. Incidently, Thanks to all for the advice and pictures and such. This thread may appear in search engines for some time and there is a lot of good information and photos here.

Considering my situation- 96 Aspire 117K miles and the front bearings have to be done soon- I just did the back- replacing the drums new-

The main part of this repair then is getting the tie rod disconnected and the old bearings out of the knuckle and new ones pressed in-

Would anyone here be inclined to replace the CV joints? I can get the parts for a bit over a hundred even at the parts stores-

How much does that add in repair labor cost and does it balance off making any other part of the bearing replacement easier? How much more would it likely add in terms of cost?

I think some people have mentioned trouble getting the shafts off- Does this require draining any fluid or anything like that? With 117 K and no apparent trouble yet, would it just be frivolous, or maybe save me more time and repair later.? Do you think it's worth it as preventative maintenance? I may have to drive this car a long time, or "if it ain't broke don't fix it"? I just don't want to schedule repairs all the time.

And the same for the rest of the front end- tie rods- and lower control arm ball joints. The parts are cheap- what about the replacement while this other work is being done? Would it add a lot of labor cost and is it stuff that could just as likely be botched up? Inquiring minds want to know!

The rotors are cheap- They have to be taken off- Can I just have new rotors slipped on in the process or can there be problems? The new drums over the old pads in and hardware in the back worked out well.