03 Accord wheel bearing question

Hi:

I noticed recently that my 03 Accord rear wheel bearings look almost identical to the ones in the 87 Accord I used to have, except the tabbed washer in the 87 seems to have been replaced with what might be a seal. In all rear wheel drive cars I ever owned, about every 35K miles I pulled off the sleeve and bearings, cleaned everything with gas, re-greased the bearings copiously and put everything back together. Same procedure on the

87 Accord rear bearings.

My 03 Accord owners manual says nothing about ever re-greasing the rear wheel bearings. Have they added a good seal that's supposed to last forever and keep out all dirt? I don't want to re-grease the bearings if it's not needed. BTW, I was suprised that Honda was still using the peenable nut system after 20 years. I guess it works well. The old castleated nut and cotter pin didn't give you the infinite position possiblies. On the other hand, you didn't have to buy 2 new nuts either. Also, does anyone know the proper torque to use on the nuts? I had shop manual for the 87 but gave them away when I traded it in.

Wayne

Reply to
Wayne L
Loading thread data ...

yes - leave them alone. they will last hundreds of thousands of miles as-is. attempted relube generally introduces more grit and problems than it could possibly solve.

they're $1.47 each at hondaautomotiveparts.com. a small price for exactly correct torque.

180Nm iirc.

buy a new one! helminc.com.

Reply to
jim beam

Indeed! A 2003 is a very different animal from the '87. The rear wheel bearings, as well as the front wheel bearings, are sealed precision bearings. Leave them alone and they should be happy for many miles. When there's a problem, they get replaced as a single assembly which usually requires the use of a shop press.

Eric

Reply to
Eric

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.