I asked for the balance and alignment, but I just put new tire/rim and they were balanced not too long ago. They probably only charge me for the alignment. Either way, I am happy with the result.

I think this thread has gone dormant for too long. ;)

I finally got started on the front bearings last night. I got as far as bolting up the slide hammer to the hub, but backed off after a few whacks because it looked like it was tearing up the tapered part of the lug bolts I used. I dug through my bolt collection & found a few fine-thread 14mm bolts there, but all too long, and no nuts that I could use to shorten them, so I bopped over to the hardware store to get a few.

I started on the left side, as that's the one that seems to be making the most noise, and hope to finish it up tonight. We'll see. The wife has been out of town for a few days, and the teenage son has been feeling a bit needful for attention, so we may have to do a movie or something tonight too. If not tonight, tomorrow for sure. I'll keep y'all posted. :D

Keep us posted Dave, if you need any tips this job is still fresh in my memory!

See my reference to the "double brutal" slide hammer I used on mine, even with 10 total lbs of slide hammer weight, it still took a TON of whacks to get the hub out (probably about 50 or more)

I don't think you should have a problem using the stock lugs as they are hardened steel, just make sure to tighten all 3 of them down EVENLY, as if they are not evenly threaded I could see how it could stress the threads when whacking!


I actually contemplated getting 3 spare lug nuts for the job, but wanted to see if I could use my stock ones with no problems, worked for me, but I guess we all are a bit different :)

Well, I got the hub off with a few hundred whacks (only working with the 5 lb weight on the slide hammer) then got the race off the hub using a Dremel with a cutoff wheel. Now the holdup is the ABS sensor; so far it's refusing to budge. Grrrrrr. With it in the way there's no way to get a plate on the back side of the bearing. I gave it one more shot of penetrant and will give it the night to ponder its stubbornness. Anybody have any tricks to getting that bad boy out of there?

I just sprayed it with PB blaster, gave it a LIGHT wiggle and a few tiny taps to loosen it in the bore, then used a vice grip just clamped enough to stay on there, and pull it STRAIGHT out, if you pull at an angle you risk breaking something. Its in there pretty good, make sure to spray penetrant from inside the bore of the spindle hole too (you can always clean the bore with brake cleaner later before assembling the new bearing.

I sure wish mine were that easy; I've been fighting with it most of the morning and so far have only managed to bugger it up pretty badly. The eye for the hex screw broke off, and the outside is chewed up. I'm ready to drill it out. Grrr... A Google search shows that it's pretty common to have to drill these things out, so I guess it's par for the course. The only trouble is that I won't be able to get a replacement for a few days, and I'm sure the dash will light up like a Christmas tree. :rolleyes:

wow that sucks Dave, but with double the mileage on yours compared to mine I guess there is a level of seizure on those sensors that may be FUBAR.

for what its worth, i didn't pull from the "hex eye" portion i actually squeezed the outside of the sensor mounting from where it goes direct into the hole and pulled straight out.

Sorry to hear it's broken, you might want to get the sensor plug too as that looks pretty common to break when its taken apart.

Yeah, mine was totally fubared. I tried pulling on the thing & twisting just as you did, and nothing. The eye broke off when I resorted to trying to pry a little. Tapping from the inside didn't even help. I even tried whacking pretty good on it when I decided it was needing to be replaced, and nothing. Even when the center of it was drilled out it didn't want to let go of the metal; had to pry it out of there in pieces. The hole is good & clean now, so anybody coming after me will have no problem whatsoever, at least until it gets funked up again. ;) I'm ordering two sensors; I know if I don't the other side will be the same way. Also ordering a protection plate/dust shield for either side; mine was pretty crusty, and when I took a wire wheel to it to clean it up for a fresh coat of paint, it broke in two because of rust.

Funny you mentioned that sensor socket; it fell apart when I disconnected it, so it's on order too. :D Just a few $$ for that.

I just decided to wait until everything is here before reassembling; my wife wasn't real pleased with the downtime, but she'll get over it. ;) I wish I could tear into the other side as long as it's down, but unfortunately I parked it in the garage with the right side close to the wall to give me more room on the left, so the right side will have to wait. I did crawl under it last night and got rid of the clutch delay valve. Spent way more time than I should've trying to get the line threaded back into the slave cylinder, but it's done. Can't wait to try it out! :D

Awesome to hear, and yeah, I did the same thing too facing the side i was working on towards the center of the garage (2 car), so when I had my mishap with the original axle puller socket, it took a few extra days. That, and the parts store runs and such, more time than needed, I think it was about 2 weeks for me to get both sides done and complete.

I got lucky with the sensors but then again I'm at half the mileage (and half the road/winter miles for rust to accumulate), like you I spent a good amount of time with a wire wheel on that hub, cleaning rust off EVERYTHING, and anti-seize on as much as I could.

How did you do with the bearing retaining clips? I'm sure with a decent circlip plier set you'd be fine but I'm swearing to myself thinking about that crappy harbor freight set, I must have messed with the one side clip for an hour trying to get it back in its slot in the hub bore!


Trust me, once the one side is done, the other side is easy, comparatively, at least you know what you're in for now :) Don't underestimate those front bearings, definitely the toughest job I did on a vehicle, with all hand tools (no compressor/impact tools in my garage) no less, and combined with the cv boots, oh the memories.


Awesome on the CDV delete, you'll love it!

Ah, the bearing retainer clips... I had what I thought was a superior tool for that job, but that circlip just laughed at it. I ended up going to a local auto parts store & spending $40 )(about $10 too much) for a Lisle Heavy Duty unit. That clip was a monster; even with the HD tool, it was a struggle to get it out.

The one bright light in all this is that the outer boots are in great shape and don't need to be replaced (knocks on wood; still possible for them to get damaged somehow before I button up this job!)