Front wheel bearing on a '01S

[Frodo]

Yeah, but (1) It hasn't been all that long since I had an alignment done---I would think it should still be good, and (2) the whole reason I got the SIR tool was to avoid having to remove the bearing carrier and go to a machine shop to hydraulically press out the bearing. If possible, I wanna do this whole operation in my garage.

I'm new to this, but I guess I need to narrow my focus. (It's a bit frustrating, but DIY write-ups seem to assume readers DON'T have the SIR tool---or that, if they do, they're already accomplished enough mechanics NOT to need a lot of guidance online...) Okay, what with having that tool in hand, here's my questions boiled down to the minimum:

1) Do I need to remove the 3 strut tower nuts at the top (inside the frunk)?
2) (Maybe related) Do I need a spring compressor (as suggested by one online DIY write-up)? If I remove the 3 above-mentioned nuts but not the one centered between them at the top, the spring remains compressed, right?
3) Do I need a ball joint separator? (If so, where's a reasonably priced, easily had, fairly universal one to be found?)

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

[insite]

do NOT pull the wheel carrier and do NOT loosen the strut top mount. you're over thinking things here. have you removed the 32mm nut inside the hub spindle? it's part 6 in the diagram below. if you have NOT removed this, put your wheel back on & lower the car to the ground. remove the wheel center cap & remove this 32mm nut. then jack up the car & remove the wheel again. after that, here is your procedure:

1. remove nut (6) and ABS stator (5)
2. pull hub (9) with SIR horseshoe attachment
3. remove bearing cover (7)
4. pull bearing with SIR puller
5. press in bearing with SIR puller
6. install bearing cover
7. press in hub with SIR puller
8. loose install ABS stator with NO nut
9. install brake caliper & wheel
10.lower car
11.install nut (6) with loctite; torque to 339 ft-lb.


have fun!

[Frodo]

That's it? No removing the end link, no loosening anything on the control arm, no disconnecting the tie rod? Don't get me wrong, that sounds good...but there's conflicting reports out there on how much disassembly is required. Following your recommendation, does the bottom of the strut not get in the way?

BTW, yes, I do have the 32 mm nut off.

And now a more elementary question I should have asked before (sorry). When I spin the hub, the bearing really doesn't feel/sound bad at all. In fact, to my untrained ear (and fingertips), it seems pretty good. Can bearings start to go, to the point they'll make an audible noise when driving (with top up, especially at relatively slow speeds, especially when turning, especially turning to the left) and yet still feel/sound pretty good once the wheel, caliper and rotor are off?

[insite]

trust me; i've done dozens of these. the SIR makes it easy.


EDIT: to answer your other question, you can't tell if a bearing is bad just by trying to wiggle the spindle. sometimes there is obvious play, but sometimes there is not.

[tommy986]

I thought the strut insert blocked you from removing #5. At least it did on my 2000 S.

[insite]

Originally Posted by tommy986

I thought the strut insert blocked you from removing #5. At least it did on my 2000 S.

i haven't ever run into that problem.....

well, frodo, if you run into that issue, remove the sway bar link bolt from the top of the wheel carrier. loosen the lower control arm bolt. this will allow you to slide the wheel carrier a bit lower on the strut to clear the stator IF you have a clearance issue.

[Frodo]

Well, yeah, I did run into that issue, unfortunately. The way it is now, there's no way to get the wheel spindle/ABS (#5 on your pic) piece out. (Things may have changed between '99 and '01?)

Okay, Insite, onto what you were recommending. I loosened the top end-link bolt at the top of the wheel bearing carrier:



Doesn't that also help hold the wheel bearing carrier to the strut? I should push that bolt all the way through and out (ie, to the left in my pic)?

Keeping in mind that I'm an admitted noob, here's where I also start to run into terminology problems. You say to loosen the lower control arm bolt. Now 101 Projects refers to the components of the suspension as the 'wishbone' and 'control arm'. Bentley calls the same pieces the 'transverse control arm' and the 'diagonal control arm.' They're all the same thing, right? So when you talk about loosening the lower control arm bolt, are you talking about the bolt by the nickle (next to the ball joint)? If so, again: do I take it all the way out or just loosen it?



I know these are idiotic questions, I just want to do this right the first time...