lancer187

I would like to say to my fellow Accord owners! I took my 2003 Accord EX to have a noise diagnosed by a local shop here in the Mobile area. The guy working there told me it was the tires and he recommended that I get new ones because it sounded like the tires were separating from the in side. So, like a dumb a$$ I followed his recommendations and got the 4 new tires. It was Friday and the shop closed and reopened on Monday. I noticed the sound was still there so, today I took it back. He looked at it said it was the rear wheel hub bearing and basically sent me on my way, he didn't offer to have the work done at a discounted rate or anything!!! If this was you what would you do? Also could you tell me where I can find instructions on how to do it myself?

Thanks

MSchu

you can do it yourself... most Honda's(I don't know this model specifically) the rear bearing is loose.. simply dis-assemble and replace bearing... if you do happen to need to have the bearing pressed out, simply take the dis-assembled bearing/hub/trailing arm to a machine shop and they will do the pressing for you. How has he diagnosed a bearing with run out based on sound? that is not really possible. He should have used a dial indicator to determine if the bearing is out of spec.... get a new mechanic or learn how to do it yourself, it is easy


Modified by MSchu at 5:56 AM 2/19/2008

lancer187

Thanks for the information!!!

JimBlake

The bearing is only available by buying the hub assembly #4. No pressing is needed, just need to get the spindle nut (#37) off. If you mangle the spindle nut they probably don't cost too much.

jpellegrino

Those nuts on the rear spindle are often nylock; I believe they should always be replaced with new ones after they are removed. I would guess they are at least 5$ each. In fact when I did this work on my old car I couldn't find them anywhere in the proper size and grade; wound up going to the dealership for them. (I did find a specialty shop not long after when I didn't need them anymore. )

JimBlake

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jpellegrino &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Those nuts on the rear spindle are often nylock; I believe they should always be replaced with new ones after they are removed...
</TD></TR></TABLE>
Majestic says $1.50 for a spindle nut. Their website says the dealer price is $2.13. See the projection outwards from the body of the nut? That's a non-threaded tube that's an integral part of the nut. It is staked into a groove in the spindle. I bet the brakes get too hot for a nylok nut.

JDM_DC4_Fanatic

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JimBlake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Majestic says $1.50 for a spindle nut. Their website says the dealer price is $2.13. See the projection outwards from the body of the nut? That's a non-threaded tube that's an integral part of the nut. It is staked into a groove in the spindle. I bet the brakes get too hot for a nylok nut.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

tru say bro. All you need to do is peen over the inner lip. no axel/spindel nut is nylock.

PnX-R

I can diagnose a wheel bearing just by sound, front and rear.. And to tell you the truth, that's the best and quickest way for me to do it.

As for the Mobil shop encounter, sucks to be you. I can't tell you how many times I've seen that happen.

I always start my diagnosis with a the usual test drive and swerve left and right. Then I throw the up in the air and start spinning the wheels. As the wheels are spinning, I put my hand behind the knuckle and feel for the bearing as it rubs and grinds. If it's really faint, I get out my trusty stethoscope and have a listen. Same goes for the front wheels.

And yes they're easy to replace, I'd say both rear hub bearings in 10 minutes if you know what you're doing.

Good Luck.

Seanain003

I'm curious about how a faulty bearing is diagnosed. I inspected the rear brakes on my girlfriend's 2003 Accord. They were okay, but I noticed that I was able to move the wheel in and out significantly. I am able to hold the top of the driver's side rear wheel and I can move it top to bottom. I hope I'm making myself clear. I am unable to do this on the passenger side.

Anyhow, she reports a "clunking" noise when driving over potholes etc... I'm guessing a bad hub bearing, but now I'm not so sure. There isn't any grinding sounds that I would ordinarily associate with a bad bearing.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

gary99accord

I just did a 99 Honda Accord rear axle hub/bearing job. One of the ways to diagnose a wheel bearing is to drive the car in a safe place and work the steering wheel right to left. If you swerve to one side or the other and unload the bearing on the opposite side the noise should change. If you swerve left and the noise lessens then you have a problem on the left side and vice versa!
You may also need an impact driver to remove the rear rotor as they are held on by 2 Philips head screws. If you round out the heads of these screws then you have a problem, so use of an impact driver will lessen the chances of this happening!
Make sure that you use the correct torque setting for your vehicle. 99 Honda Accord are 139 lbs for the axle nut and by all means do not forget to stake it(axle nut) in the key way that is on the axle. Also one more tip: since I service this car on a regular basis, I use "never seize" on just about every thing, including the wheel studs and the aluminum wheels (back side)! You don't have to use a lot just a light coating will do the job. Next time you have to work on that vehicle you will be glad you used it (Never Seize)! This also will give you a better (truer) torque reading when torquing some thing down!
Good luck!

MSchu

you measure run out via a dial indicator.

gary99accord

On this car I did not have to use a dail indicator as it was noisy! It did sound like a bad tire but, hearing this sound before I knew what it was. I test drove the car and did the ole swerve to one side and then the other. It changed in sound so I knew it was not the tires. When I jack it up I grab the wheel at 12 and 6 oclock and tried to move it in and out and then again at the 3 and 9 oclock. There was no movement at all. When I spun it by hand was when you could hear the bearing. When I dissembled it and looked at the outter bearing it left no doubt as to what the problem was. It was burnt!

KWayRacing

A dial indiactor will only detect out of spec run out. It can not detect noisey. Dial indicators and Honda Hubs rarely meet. Besides there is very little space to actually use the indicator because of the studs. THe side to side method is good, on a rack spinning with a stethoscope is better. Over the past few years I have measured spindle(rear) and axle end(front) temps of opposite wheels and have noted a trend of 5-19 degree left versus right temp difference with the bad bearing being the bigger number side. I use a high dollar infared thermometer --150$. I'm sure there are more expensive ones, but I can at least trust this one) With lower dollar(harbor freight) IR temp guns there is too much variation to believe anything. I'm not saying that is a method of diag, but a trend I became curious about. Either way if you can move a wheel because of a faulty bearing you should be able to hear that very easily. If you can change rotors on your car replaceing a rear hub/ bearing assembly is just one more nut away. If you cant have a pro do it becuase serious safety concerns with axle/ brake work exist.

gary99accord

I am sorry it was the inner not the outer bearing! Also when I remove the hub assembly, the inner portion of the bearing was kind of stuck or wielded to the axle it self. That was how I was able to see the inner bearing was burnt. Was not much of a problem to remove it from the axle though. I removed the backing plate and cut a groove (horizontal to the axle) into the part of the bearing that was stuck on the axle. Took a chissel and tap it till it came off. Inspected the axle shaft and it was not discolored or damaged in anyway. I guess I was lucky to catch it in time before it really did some damage to the axle!

mikebb

just had this same sound on my 05. Driver side rear noise starts at about 40 mph and doesn't seem to change pitch with speed change. What is the spindle nut size? Some say 24 and some 36mm

gary99accord

Hi Mike, I am sorry I do not remember what size we used on it. Even if I did not sure if it would be the same size as yours as mine is a lot older model (1999).
Good luck and God bless,
Gary

DCFIVER

A temp gun is an excellent method of diag regarding bearings. I also use this procedure(with a slightly more expensive temp gun) I have seen up to a 30 degree difference with a bad bearing. However for a DIY'er, investing in an expensive temp gun may not be cost effective, and much like you stated, lower priced temp guns are suspect.

DCFIVER

Hub bearing noise increases with speed increase.

gary99accord

Thanks for the info on the IR thermometer. I do have one and never give it a thought to use it in this manner!
Thanks again!

Kencatt

Replaced mine this morning .. Thanks to this thread. Bought Timken from Autozone 71.99 and took advantage of loaner tools.. 36mm socket, breaker bar, torque wrench and bearing puller. Took me about 90 min

vincesport

Sorry to point this out sir. Bad advice on applying the "NEVER SEIZE". Any Mechanical Engineer will advise that one should NEVER, NEVER, NEVER apply any lubricants or greases to parts that require torquing. The application of these lubricants will compromise the torque reading. The torque reading will be skewed and will tend to mislead the torque wrench user to over torque the parts due to the less resistance between the mating parts. Mechanical components must be clean and dry when being assembled to allow for proper torquing and assembly. Furthermore, one must check the record on if and when the torque wrench to be used has been last CALIBRATED. If there is no record of the Calibration, avoid using the wrench because there is a risk of the assembly of the parts to be compromised. A reputable garage will have a torque wrench test stand on its premises. You can bring your torque wrench there to be calibrated.

Good luck!

strategy400

I hook my click type torque wrench to my dial type wrench. If the one clicks when the other reads the correct value, I figure I'm good. Also, I'm pretty sure they recommend a light coating of oil on fastener threads when torqueing. Not sure if I'd lubricate mating surfaces though....

DCFIVER

The only time lubrication should be used is if it is recommended. Otherwise, the torque readings are for dry torque.





And that torque "checking" method is a joke. Most tool trucks charge less than 60 bucks to calibrate a torque wrench. Worth every penny for a professional technician....

strategy400

You are correct, fastener lubrication is determined by the service manual. I stand by my wrench testing method. If one reads off from the other calibration is warranted. The chance of both wrenches being exactly the same amount off is unlikely, considering they are completely different design.