Front wheel bearing replacement

Banditryder · Post by **Banditryder** » 11 Jul 2011, 14:22

Hello all, new member here. Great site. Spent 20 minutes looking at lots of other helpful stuff before I even got to what I really logged on for! I have a 97 850 GLT wagon and a new replacement wheel bearing assembly sitting in a box on my kitchen counter. I'm trying to find the torque specs for the installation and I'm wondering whether I should even try the job. I was expecting the old tapered roller bearings/clean/repack dance which I'm certainly comfortable with but maybe this job is too much. I'm not afraid of a challenge, but I'm vertically challenged (no lift, only jackstands) and worried about whether I'll have enough room to swing a torque wrench. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

robk46 · Post by **robk46** » 11 Jul 2011, 14:49

I'm getting ready to do the same thing as soon as my parts get here. Just bought my daughter a '97 Wagon and it needs two ball joints and a front bearing. Unfortunately, the bearing is part of a sealed hub assembly. I've replace them on other cars before, and it's really not a very tough job on jack stands.
I put new shocks, struts and a timing belt on it over the weekend. From just poking around the front suspension, I'd say there's no surprises under there. It's a typical McPherson strut setup. I know the strut bolts are supposed to be torqued to 50 ft pounds, and the axle nut is 89 ft lbs plus 60 degrees. You should be able to swing 60 degrees with a torque wrench even if the car is on jack stands.

gilhuly · Post by **gilhuly** » 11 Jul 2011, 18:56

This is easy on jackstands and the torque spec is not critical in a sealed bearing as long as the torque is uniform.

Post by **jblackburn** » 11 Jul 2011, 19:09

I didn't use a torque wrench. Good and tight was enough for me.

I did, however, break 2 good 3/8" socket wrenches trying to get the freaking star bolts on the back loose, and I couldn't budge the axle nut - I had to have a shop spin it off for me with an impact gun.

Get a breaker bar and a LONG pipe (and a decent 36mm extension) to get the axle nut off. I found the star-shaped sockets for the bolts on the back of the hub bearing for $5 at Autozone (Sears wanted nearly $50 for a set!)