Can anyone tell me how deep replacing wheel bearings will get me in hours and difficulty? I've got a persistent squeak coming from my rear end while I am in gear with no accelleration (see Squeaks!! post from a week or two ago). I have since replaced gear oil in the diff, and the squeaks are still there. it is especially loud when in reverse. I drive my car an average of fifteen miles each work day, and it's my only wheels right now so I was hoping I could have it on blocks for a relatively short period. Mainly I was wondering how much of the suspension and axle arms do I need to unbolt. I've gotten as far as taking off the brake pads.
Also I haven't been able to find grease points/nipples on those arms coming from the diff to the wheels. My Mechanics manual seems to indicate that there is one on my right rear arm. I apologize if these things aren't called arms, but it's the axle looking things, with u-bolts, coming from the diff. Will get the right name next time. (I'm at work). Anyway I'm getting real tired of my car sounding like an old matress from the Sleazy Motel.
P.S. - with the amount I drive my car, and if my wheel bearings are bad, am I doing major damage driving it around a whole lot? Sometimes I drive fast and slide around corners too. I love my Z. Thanks, aloha.

 

The whell bearings ain't all that difficult, and you could easily do them in an afternoon if you got all the tools you need. The most important being a hammer All in all, if you got a manual describing the procedure, you can definitely do it from home. Good luck.

Oh and the axle looking things are just that, axles. So you were close enough. And you won't find grease fittings on the axles themselves, just on certain suspension components.

 

replacing the bearings should take maybe 2 hours. I replaced the bearings on my truck (same difference). All you have to do is take the wheel off, take the caliper off of the rotor, take off the dust cover cap, bend the pin so that you can pull it out, take off the little nut cover, loosen the nut that holds the rotor on, and the rotor is out. Then take the rotor off, get a flathead screwdriver, and knock the bearings out. Buy new bearings and bearing grease. Pack the bearings with grease, and then tap the bearings back into the rotor until they seat. Reverse the process of taking the rotor off, and you're done.

 

It's barely more than a brake pad/rotor job. Couple of hours should get all four corners done.

 

Packing the grease requires a special bearing packing tool. (nice description, huh?) You can get cheap ones for about $10-12 or better quality ones for more. I borrow one from my dad but you can't pack the grease in without one of those tools so make sure you buy that first.

Guys, how about the rear bearings in the ZX? Anyone done that? I redid my fronts a while ago and it was easy. The rear didn't look the same at all. How is the rear setup?

 

I agree! it couldn't be stressed enough that the grease needs to be packed with a bearing grease packer. otherwise it wont go all the way around the bearings like it would with the packer's added pressure.

As for the rear setup its the same. once you get past the obvious difference in brake assembly and take the dust cap off... it all looks the same.

 

Just cheat like I did and take it to your friends machine shop and have them press them in and out for free

 

Thats funny when i did blues wheel bearings six months ago i just packed the bearing by hand it didnt take that long you just have to work that stuff into the bearing really well. also if your wheel shaft has play in it then you will need to shim it .take some tin and cut it in to A small strip and fit it into where the bearing meats the wheel shaft makeing sure that there is no play between the shaft and the bearing...also make sure that the strips of tin you cut are JUST as wide as the bearing its selfand rap around the shaft to make a full circle...reinstall that bearing and shaft and try to wiggle the wheel studs after you get it locked down .if you still have play you will need to shim it more.. this happens because the metal in these shafts are very weak steal...the bearings in blue were still golden... i replaced them anyway buy it was really just the shafts that where messed up. ..if you slide around coners alot {DRIFTING}you mite want to do this even if you only have a little play inbetween the bearing and shaft it will protect your wheel shafts from groveing OUT i had to do this with blue because it still made bad sounds... after i put the new bearings in it,it still had alot of wiggle and sounds.. after i got it locked down..but after i pulled it apart and shimed it ,,it went away.. blue stoped by yesturday and still know noise when she pulled in the drive way six to eight months and the tin fix is still working great... also pack extra grease in the shaft hole it will help it last longer by the way this is a rear wheel bearing fix... i have yet to do a front set hmmm mabe soon

 

Thanks all. That was all the encouragement I needed.

 

Bleach, I know you're the man, the guru, the...well, you get the point. However, I've never used a bearing packing tool. I've just put a nice blob of grease in my palm, press and rotate the bearing assembly until I can't get anymore grease in it (rubber gloves reccomended). Maybe I'm a little old school, but what's the benefit of a bearing tool?

 

It has to do with application of sufficient pressure so that the grease goes all the way in and around all the surfaces susceptable to friction within the bearing. Its much more efficient then anyone can muster using their hands. One can definately pack the grease by hand and do a relatively good job but for longevity and reliability sake its better to use the packer. Think about it, the factory did not have a worker sitting there in rubber gloves packing the bearings full of grease before assembly did they?

 

I think the most important thing is cleanliness. A single grain of sand can be disastrous for a bearing. You need a sufficient amount of grease on the axle between the bearings so that it can relube the bearings. I always clean the entire area inside and out with solvent and then an air hose. Synthetic high temp grease, new seals and tight fitting caps. I build machine tools and the place I work makes gear boxes by the hundreds. All roller bearings are packked by hand and the box is filled 75% full with grease. Since we started doing this we haven't had any lubrication type failures.