1sk

Good Write Up...

lobuck

Nice write up, and i was totally looking to do this soon.

parislohan

good shitz! props to OP.

Reilly

Thanks for sharing the info.

kaj

subscribed.

92whtgsr

What is the "We-Todds-method to break the ball joint free"? I've tried to pop these before, and ended up ruining the ball joint.

AW

Do a search but it involves putting the end of a craftsmand sockect between the balljoint and suspension arms, then either applying pressure on the wheel to force the suspension down onto the arms and therefore breaking the balljoint free. Obviously you need to take out the cotter pin and nut first. I believe someone here made a video of it and that is how I learned to do it.

qazaq

i changed my bearing few days ago. i used similar hub tamer (matco), but i did not use race puller to take out that piece. on one pic u made a straight cut from top to buttom. I did the same thing but a little deeper almost all the way. and then whacked with a hammer and it just broke off. here:
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AW &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"></TD></TR></TABLE>

AW

I started to do this cut and did not continue as I was worried I would accidentaly cut right through and damage the hub so that is why I stopped. You can definitely just cut through and hammer it off if you are more precise. I don't trust my cutting skills at for doing this.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by qazaq &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i changed my bearing few days ago. i used similar hub tamer (matco), but i did not use race puller to take out that piece. on one pic u made a straight cut from top to buttom. I did the same thing but a little deeper almost all the way. and then whacked with a hammer and it just broke off. here:

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Arsenal

Considering the bearings rarely go out, I would rather just pull the hub myself (10 mins) and then pay $15 to Napa for them to press the old one out and press the new one in, rather than $300 for a tool to use very rarely.

AW

You're right, cost is alot but you are paying for convenience in that you can do it without waiting. In my case on the weekend when stores are closed late at night... There are cheaper copy tools in the $50 range you can get that will do the same job.

Bearings seem to go out alot if you race on the track, I remember killing a set every 1 to 2 years...

boostmywankle

the hub tamer gets from me. i use it quit a bit at work. beats uilling off the knuckle and pressing it out!! good write up for everyone!

ek four

great info!

HondaHeddie

have prices gone up that much in the last 2yrs???
I cant even get the parts for $300!!!
never including labor!!!!

On the flip side, to the OP

THANK YOU
I got the harbor freight model:
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/...bCategoryName=

no hub remover, but I used the hammer method since I was not going to reuse the bearing
I put a socket on the head of the bolt and hammered that.

other than that and I have this impact wrench:
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/...bCategoryName=

it was exactly like your write up.
I was gonna take pics of the job but yours are so good I kept my camera out of my greasy hands

squirrel100

Thanks for the write up! I bought the HubTamer Elite last year to replace the right front bearing, and now I'm about to do the left. It wasn't that bad, but I nearly shot myself in the face with the snap ring (remember to wear your safety goggles).

I'm in the Charlotte, NC area and I'll rent out the tool for $20 with a $300 deposit.

AW

This was the model I saw after I bought the hub tamer. Glad you confirmed it works just as well. I believe when the go on sale it is definitely less than $100 and makes the total replacement cost even cheaper for DIY jobs!

Good point about the snap ring, safety glassses are a must, I did the other bearing last year and the same thing happened to me. Another tip, I bought the OEM brand of snap ring pliers from Autozone and the tool actually broke taking the ring off. I ended getting the snap ring pliers from Sears to finish the job.

steveo135

hhmmmm may have to look into this... feels like my 116xxx bearings are going

Arsenal

Easy to check. Raise the car, hold the wheel at 12 and 6, if there is any play then yes, they are going out.

steveo135

thats what i meant by they feel like their goin out

Peter Pullicino

Was always wondering if a cordless impact could be used with the hub tamer. Thank you for the information you provided.