Front Wheel Bearings - Question

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Stuart Barnes

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If the socket doesn’t fit through the wheel bore then you can take that side off no problem and leave the other on the ground.
When you’re torquing up, the wheel that’s on the ground provides enough resistance to get the nut to the correct torque.

I had to push out the half shafts when I did the lover and upper control arms. And on that job it made access so much easier.

I’ll add, I’ve no problem using pneumatic or electric wrenches to remove certain items. But never to install. There is no reliable torque control.
 

fireangel1313

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I replaced mine at around 115k miles (10k miles ago and have not had any issues)...noticed some 6-12/9-3 o-clock play in each one (more in on the driver's side) when I was rotating tires. Not very difficult although I didn't have much rust underneath. I've done this in the past on other larger vehicles and you will want to make sure that after you get the bearings out you take a wire wheel or brush and clean all the old junk off of where the bearing mates with the housing and same for where the splines mate with the wheel, even though that's not "press-fit". You'll also want to buy grease that is specific for this application and put a light coat on all surfaces that mate so that you can get them seated all the way in without any problems when you tighten that there castle nut. This will also help with replacement later on down the road! I also tightened mine while the wheel was up in the air (wasn't this a question?) so that when I tighten the castle nut there isn't any side torque on the bearing. PS: I rented a torque wrench from the auto store but it wasn't calibrated properly so I just cranked it down old school style. Made a world of difference! Much smoother ride.
If you still have some play it could be your lower or upper control arm bushings going bad. If so I've heard that replacing the whole arm is better (easier?) instead of replacing just the bushings. Good luck!
 

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