Hi all,

First I just want to say that I'm very psyched to have stumbled across these forums today! I've already killed no less than an hour at work reading

I recently decided that I would like to start doing more of my own maintenance, partly because of budget and partly because of my DIY mentality and wanting to learn more about taking mechanical care of my vehicles.

I have a 2000 Accord LX, 4-cyl with 138k and I've got a bad wheel bearing in the front. I believe it's drivers side because of the noise being less when turning left than when turning right.

I have two questions that I am hoping to get input on. First, I am considering attempting this myself this weekend but I am a bit of a novice and I'm wondering if, in the opinions of those more experienced, this might be a bad choice. Second, I was given a quote from a local garage that listed the bearing itself with potentially two different prices, one over a hundred dollars more than the other. The explanation was that there are two versions of my Accord, one Japanese and one American and the Japanese version requires a different part that is way more expensive. Does this sound right? It seemed a little over the top to me but what do I know?!?!

I appreciate any constructive input and hopefully I did a good enough job reading the rules before posting and didn't break any!

Thx.

Chris

 

yes there were some 6th gen accords built in Japan, but most were not. If your VIN has a J as the first letter, then it was manufactured in japan. An H in that position of the VIN means it was built in Ohio. I doubt very strongly that there is a special Japanese wheel bearing, and http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com does not list 2. It's $55 from them.

the front wheel bearings have 2 inner races inside of one outer race. If only one of the 2 is bad inside the bearing, it can make it behave as if the one on the opposite side of the car is the culprit.

The front wheel bearings must be pressed in and out of the knuckle, and the hub itself must be pressed in/out of the bearing. You can beat the old one out with a hammer if thats your idea of fun, but I wouldn't put a new one in that way. It is DIYable but its an unpleasant job, and popping the lower ball joint off without damaging it is an art unto itself. You may at least take a look at your LBJ before you even start, since at 138k, they may be due anyway. Depending on what the shop is charging, it might make sense to just pay the money, especially if you let them diagnose which wheel bearing is the bad one, and hold them responsible if they get it wrong.

you could save yourself some money and take the knuckle and the new bearing to a shop to be pressed.