Sup guys. I need YOUR help. I was changing out the rotor on my 96 Accord. Many of you know , you have to remove the wheel bearing assem. from the steering knuckle. and so and so. Long story short, when I tried to remove the assembly, i accidently took out the hub. Exposing the ball bearings. My questions are:

-Is it ok to be taken out like that?
-Can I grease them?

 

It sounds like the outboard bearing cone stayed on the hub. That happens a lot, & it basically destroys the bearing. You can probably press it back together, after greasing it up. But it won't last long.

When you get a new bearing, you'll find that you still have to get that cone off of the hub.

 

really that destroys the bearing??? Whats the effect if you dont replace it or w/e.

 

You'll find that you have to really press, then the cone will sorta snap back into place. That action damages the surface of the bearings. It won't fall apart right away, but it may go bad within a month or so. Hard to predict how long it'll last.

 

REALLY?! dang.... I really hate removing it. JEEZ... How do you remove the assembly from the steering knuckle then??? Do i really only have that long? 1 month?! Should I replace it? I don't have much $$$ left...

 

just a fyi i changed mine twice and each time its a headach. blah. stupid thing. well i took off my whole arm and just took it to my friends shop. its easier for me that way so you can see what your actually doing. GL

 

I'd suggest you get it fixed....picture this

Your hub is connected to the knuckle by the bearing assembly. your brake and wheel sits on the hub...

now imagine this

your hub disconnects from the knuckle at 40 mph...

not good

depend on your driving and road condition, it might last a month or it might last a block...you never know

 

nope. The hub is also held down by the spindle nut of the axle. The axle is also sandwiched into the steering knuckle. Man if theres no spindle nut holding the hub down, wheels would have come off is ur taking a sharp turn...

Anyways, i just talked to my autoshop teacher and he says its ok. You can grease them again. My wheel bearing wasn't bad to start with, so ill keep them until my next rotor change... =P I'm just going to greasee them again...

 

Right, don't panic. The damage I'm talking about isn't gonna let the wheel fall off. It's held together by the axle nut.

But damage to the bearing surfaces, then over time it starts spalling. It might last a while, but I'd suggest saving up for a bearing.

 

get someone to loan you the money and replace it now..it might last a day or it might last a year(doubtful) but you need to replace it now...exposing those bearings is not good..like jimblake said if dirt gets in them its done for...if you dont replace it now your going to have to do everything ALL over again very soon and your gonna be pissed and it wont be fun!