Front bearing job??
 

Anyone do this without pulling the bearing housing totally out using the bearing puller to remove & reinstall?

If you are referring to the front wheel bearings, you have two choices:

1) Use one of the specialty bearing puller kits to extract the bearing with the hub still on the car (quickest way to get it done, but you need the tool).

2) Disassemble the front suspension and take it to a machine shop to have the old bearing pressed out and the new one pressed in. Cheaper (you don't buy or rent the tool), but hours more of labor.

I own a puller and a press. I can't get the old bearing to brake in half so I can pull & press each side.

Remember to get the alignment checked after you put it back together.

Got it! Detailed pics of drivers side tomorrow. Not too bad.

There seems to be a lot of discussion about bearings... is that a big deal with these cars? Do they tend to go bad fairly often?

Yeah, they seem to wear out quicker in these cars than many others. In my case, I've got an 01 S with 66K miles and have had to do one front bearing at this point.

It's easy to just call it "road noise" when it's such a small car. Just because there is no performance loss or loud "wob, wob, wob" you can still have bearing noise and slight vibrations that are easily attributed to the road. It makes a huge difference.

Good writeup and pictures. Kind of filled in the blanks from the Pelican installation instructions - which were good but still left me scratching my head.

There are MORE OPTIONS than you think;

1). Remove entire carrier assy - a 4 hour job AND you need a press. i have one but it is still a couple hundred (at least) for the press.
2). Sir Tools B90 Kit - Can be removed "in place" (except in the rear where the drive axle has to be popped out). Cost is around $390 or so.
3). I have a guy that has a "patent pending" install/removal tool that is priced much less, around $300. Same thing with the rear wheels - you have to move the drive shaft. But turns a 4 hour job into an hour on the fronts and an hour and a half on the back.

PM me and I can send you details, if interested. Cannot say more at this time.

"Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' - keep those Pcars Rollin'".

Is there a big difference between FAG and SKF brand wheel bearings. The SKF are more than twice the price on the Pelican site. I am planning on doing these on all four wheels when I do the RoW M030 kit.