Wheel bearing replacement.

I'm going to have to change the bearing assembly on the front of the wife's 2002 Malibu soon. It's been ages since I touched one, and I have a question about taking of the axle nut. All the other axles I've done had a nut that you bent into a slot on the axle stub. This has some kind of stamped sheetmetal retainer. Does anyone know how it comes off and is it reuseable?
Thanks Wally

Usually on FWD applications, there is a stamped metal piece that looks like a castle nut that goes on top of the axle nut, that a cotter pin goes through. Just pull the cotter pin and it should come right off. I reuse them.

For the axle nut, I would suggest a really long breaker bar, 4' piece of pipe to go over that...and break it loose while it is on the ground.

In my personal experience you can't service these bearings without a hydraulic press and the appropritate standoffs to go with it. I would just pull the spindle and take it to the shop and let them press the bearing in/out. Should only charge you a half-hour per spindle.

Thanks I've got the pipe, now I just hope its nice out when I get around to it.

Tyler H wrote: In my personal experience you can't service these bearings without a hydraulic press and the appropritate standoffs to go with it. I would just pull the spindle and take it to the shop and let them press the bearing in/out. Should only charge you a half-hour per spindle.

Depends on the car. Most newer cars have hub/bearing assemblies that are replaced as a unit. My 2000 ZX2 s/r has the hydraulic press type you're referring to. The new style on wifey's former car (alero) were hub units that cost ~$200 each (ABS sensor built in). The front bearings for the s/r were ~$18

Come to think of it, GM has been using hub assemblies since the early 80s. They're simple to change if none of the bolts are seized.

I've bent breaker bars removing axle nuts. You may need a impact gun.

Also, check the torque spec before you start. Sometimes they need to be torqued to over 100 ft-lb., so you may need a 1/2" torque wrench, too.

did one on my brothers 2004 malibu.. same socket as my E30's bearing, impact wrench, reused the nut, wasnt a hard job...

Unless you have an impact wrench from a Navy destroyer, you will need a big breaker bar. Someone had a post about a special tool for removing axle nuts that looked like the way to go.

I replaced the front wheel bearing in my wife's Grand Am using an 18" breaker bar and a 3 foot cheater pipe. Never had a problem getting them loose with those.

Getting to the bolts on the back that hold the bearing assembly in can be a bit of a pain though.

My friend bought a 3/4" impact gun to do the flywheel on his RX7. I had a stuck exhaust bolt on a piece of Rolla exhaust. My 1/2" HF wouldn't touch it. I hooked up the 3/4" he has, woomp-woomp-woomp-whirrrr it was off. Then I looked at the torque rating on the box and it was like 700 ft lbs. That was a good one.

There's an IR 1/2" impact that's been around awhile now. The 2130 or something like that. Rated around 600ft/lbs in reverse, and they sell for well under $200 anymore. I've had two of them for about 8 years now and they've held up well.

The MINI uses a hub nut that get's bent into a key-way in CV axle. You are supposed to replace it, but re-using it seems to do no harm.

I have a IR 2135ti that made short work of axle nuts on the MINI as well as on my VW. Even with the cars 3 feet off the ground on the lift... It also removes pinion nuts with little drama. One of the most useful tools I've bought in years. Just need to remember to oil it every couple of uses like I'm supposed to...

Removing the axle nut is easy with the impact wrech... torquing it, on the other hand, is more fun... I finally got to make use of the 3/4" dr torque wrench I bought some years ago... Simple with the MINI, but the axle nut torquing procedure with the VW is annoying...

A few weeks ago, I replaced the front wheel bearings in my TDI. I bought a OTC Hub-Tamer kit to do the job, which it did quite well. The bearing kits I bought included new axle nuts, so I tossed the old ones.

The bearing went well except that today's high was 23 degrees and I still don't have the electric finished in my garage so everything was done by hand. The stamped piece I was asking about turned out to not be a retainer but part of the actual nut. The nuts are supposed to be single use pieces but the new bearing came with a new nut so it wasn't a problem.