Replacing Wheel Bearings

I need to replace the front wheel bearings on my '84 Rabbit. Both wheels have some play in them when I wiggle them back and forth, and I hear this high-pitched hum on the passenger side when driving down the road. I've been reading the John Muir Rabbit book and it is instructing me to buy new bearings. Then, after following all of the steps to remove the wheel bearing housing, to then take the housing to a machine shop and have them press the new bearings into it. Any recommendations for a brand of bearingsr? Oreilly autoparts here in town has Beck/Arnley for $61 and BCA/National Hub Assembly for $53.

Thanks! Bryan

Reply to
Bryan K. Walton
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Just FYI, there are some places that will send you a new bearing already pressed into a used hub. You install this into your car and then send them your hub with bad bearing as a core -- saves the hassle of finding a machine shop or buying a press.

I think

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used to do this but I don't knowif they still do. I've also never dealt with them so I don't know ifthey're a good company or not. Anyway, sorry I don't have a recommendation on bearing brand. I can tell you that when buying VW parts I generally try to get German parts whenever possible (and not exorbitantly expensive)

Luck!

Reply to
tylernt

Reply to
none2u

Thanks guys for this recommendation! It appears that I might have been a little too quick to diagnose my problem as a wheel bearing. The noise I hear is closer to a high-pitched whistle. And I don't have any wheel rock. But, if I do end up having to replace the bearings, I'll definitely be getting them from partsplaceinc.com.

Thanks! Bryan

Reply to
Bryan K. Walton

Has PartsPlace finally cleaned up their act? A few years ago there seemed to always be a thread going about someone having a bad experience with them. I haven't seen one for a while and figured they had either gone out of business or finally hired someone who understood mailorder and the concept of customer relations.

Denny (one of the victims)

Reply to
Dennis Straussfogel

Reply to
none2u

Am I correct in thinking that bad wheel bearing noises are a lower pitched sound? I'm not sure what I should be listening for. I've assumed that it would be more like a RRRRRRrrrrrrr, rather that what I am hearing which is closer to an unsteady whistle. I don't have any wheel rock. But it does get louder, the faster I drive, and the sound is totally absent when the car isn't moving. If this sound isn't coming from my wheel bearings, what else might it be? (BTW, in the last two weeks I replaced all the CV joints, so I know it isn't that).

Thanks! Bryan Walton

Reply to
Bryan K. Walton

I just had the right front wheel bearing replaced in my '88 Cabbie. The price for the bearing was about $45, but the installation added a lot more to the total cost because of the time required to remove the old bearing, press on the new one, and re-camber and re-align the front end. Total cost was $300. This was done at a small shop that specializes in German cars. I shudder to think what the cost might have been at a VW dealership.

As for the type of noise it was making, it was a low pitch sound that occurred only when the car was in motion. I even tried putting the car in neutral while the car was in motion, and the noise continued. Revving the engine didn't change the sound, and when the car was at a standstill the noise disappeared - no matter what gear it was in and no matter whether I revved the engine or not.

I also suspected the brakes and the speedometer cable, but neither of those possibilities were the culprit. Needless to say, once the bearing was replaced, the noise was gone.

Reply to
Papa

"Papa" wrote

Needing to do all that is most of time exaggerated by the shop though if you are comfortable with the shop and feel the value that is good. I mark where my adjustment bolt is and should make an infinitesimal of difference with a new bearing as the hub postions it the same on the x and y axis relative to the alignment.

I took my knuckles off, went to an auto machine shop that is in the basement of a NAPA shop - cost me 15 dollars a bearing to remove install and about 40 or 45 dollars for the bearing apiece. This was for a Rabbit and another time a Golf - same price. Never any trouble. By the way if you find a good auto machinist inexpensive it is great if you do your own work on your car, I have taken all kinds of odd things in and many times charges me like 5 or 10 bucks - the trick is to go directly to the auto machinist if you can, avoiding the counter, who usually still will give a receipt to pay at the counter but - job done.

A good auto machinist can bail you out of some big problems when they come up.

Harry

Reply to
Harry 1

Hi Harry:

Thanks for your comments, much appreciated.

I wish I could get under the car to do things like bearing replacements. Physically, my body (age 74) just won't take it anymore. If only I had a car lift or a pit in my garage, then I could.

Regards.

Reply to
Papa

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