I'd started hearing a periodic grinding noise similar to the noise made by opening an unlubed door. The noise was coming roughly from the front passenger side. At first, I thought it came from the CV joint because the boot was torn; but bad CV joints make knocking sounds, not grinding sounds. (After I took out the CV joint and cut the boot off I saw the grease was all there, and the parts looked OK). I figured it was the wheel bearing, so I got one at AutoZone for $60, and got it pressed onto the hub at a local shop for $20.

First, some experiences.

- taking off the axle nut was wicked easy. it came off with a 20" long breaker bar. I think I was lucky here.
- unscrewing the 14mm bolts that connect the rotor to the hub was tough. I went out and got a 1/2" driven 6-point socket for this.
- unscrewing the 17mm bolts that hold the brake caliper assembly to the knuckle was tough. Again, I needed a 1/2" driven 6-point socket.
- separating the lower ball joint was easy with a claw puller tool I rented from Autozone. Actually it helped me separate the steering control arm too.
- I managed to pull the bearing from the hub myself, using the claw puller. Unfortunately, it didn't pull everything- the bottom inner race stayed on. I thought I would drill holes in it so the puller can grip, but I soon learned that you can't drill superior tool steel with bits made of crappy tool steel. Tried the freezer-and-blowtorch trick too, unsuccessfully. This is where the $20 was well spent at the nearby shop to get the new bearing on.
- The torque needed to tighten the 12mm bolts that connect the hub to the knuckle is far smaller than the one needed to loosen them. I learned this as I snapped one of the bolts in half tightening it.

Now some questions for you guys.

- I took apart the old bearing, and there seemed to be no visible damage whatsoever on the ***** and the surrounding metal. The only suspicious thing was the grease looked kind of "chunky," as if there were bits of sand in it. Could the bearing have been good?

- After I installed the new hub+bearing assembly, there seemed to be some play in the bearing (like, I could grab the hub and play its outer rim about 2mm sideways). Is this normal? I know it's probably not possible to make a bearing with zero play, since it would be too tight, but still... Could the shop have done something stupid and pushed on the outer race???

- One of the 4 bolts connecting the hub to the knuckle broke. I'm driving on 3 for now. How unsafe is this? They just bear the weight of the car, they don't get loaded either by the engine or the brakes. I suppose I'll go get a new one if I get yelled at

TIA