Replace rear wheel bearing or entire hub assy?

[mntn-biker]

I have a loud howling noise coming from the right rear of my '03 Vibe base model (73,000 miles). I thought the noise was tires since I had some aggressive winter radials on the car since I bought it with 30,000 miles on it. I recently bought new tires and still have the howling noise so I am thinking wheel bearing. I call the local dealer and find out $380 to fix this. They said they are replacing the entire hub assy, not just the bearing. I have read on here that replacing the bearing requires a press but can the hub assy be replaced easily by a do-it-yourselfer? I have seen the bearings run ~$44 and the hub assy run ~$84 on the net.Also, did the base models even come with ABS? If so, how could I tell if mine has ABS (the dealer claimed the cost was due to the ABS system)?

[Sublimewind]

I can't say i've done a Vibe WB, but i have on my Subies and it required a hydrolic press, Had to press out the hub with the lugs studs on it... press out the bearing, remover the seals and repete in reverse order.. wasn't easy... not to far fetched though, if you can get all the planets in alignment... OR you could consider taking the whole knuckly assembly off yourself anf taking it to someone to do the press work for you.. that Is another option.. I would make some phone calls on that one first though... I can't say why the dealer would claim the ABS to be a problem... Again, I haven't done the work (yet) that seems odd... If you wanna test your car to find out about the ABS, just mash the brakes on some dirt or gravel.. If you feel/hear a wikkid fast pulsing in the brakes, and it "pushes" you up off the pedal, you got ABS...

[mntn-biker]

My manual says if an "ABS" light goes on at startup, then I have ABS brakes. No light = No ABS - My Vibe does not have ABS.I had a local "mom-n-pop" garage give me a price and they quoted me $313 replacing the entire hub assy too. They said that's what showed up for this repair. So.....has anyone replaced a rear hub assy and if so, is it an "at home repair"? I have successfully done the front brakes on my car (including removing and replacing the rotors) and am mechanically inclined. Does anyone have a repair instruction sheet for this procedure?Thanks - Mike

[joatmon]

You can also look at the codes on the sticker inside the glove box. for a 2003 base, you should have only one of the following two three character codesJM4 - Power Brake System, Front Disc, RR Drum, Cast Iron, Antiock, FRT and RR WHLJ41 - Power Brake System, Front Disc, RR Drum, Cast Iron(from http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=6558)you can download a matrix repair manual from a link on matrixowners.com,but here's the one part. Doesn't look too hard. Just be sure to torque

Attached files x040001.pdf (70.5 KB) 

[mntn-biker]

Thanks joatmon!Looks within the realm of my capabilities.

[mntn-biker]

One more question before I tackle this, the .pdf above calls for 45 ft/lb torque on the 4 bolts. This seems a little light since my auto parts store questioned that. What happens if I overtorque the bolts?

[joatmon]

I was going to say that the worst case would be that you'd snap one off and have to spend hours cursing, trying to get the broken part out of the new hub, then I thought, no, the worst case would be that you overstress the bolts, and a month later, you hit a pot hole, which gives it the final shock to break the bolts, and the hub (and wheel) falls off the car. How likely is that? I have no idea. Just something to worry about I'd say if you are concerned about it, put some loctite on the four bolts, that way you won't worry about them loosening up.

[mntn-biker]

Job finished! The auto parts store had an $11 needle type torque wrench (1/2" drive, 0-150ftlbs) for me so I bought it. I will say that I believe the bolts are torqued down more now (45 ft. lbs per the spec) than the original hub assy I took off. I could loosen the originals with a 3/8" drive socket wrench without too much effort. Makes me wonder if my car was one of those recalled vehicles that the rear lh hub assy wasn't tightened properly from the factory and the original owner did not have it done......Thanks everyone for the help! Saved myself $150 by spending an hour of my time wrenching

[Sublimewind]

45ft/lbs is not a lot, so it prolly would feel like there wasn't much on there.. And I mis-read your original post and thought you were talking about a front WB.. doh.. lol... did you happen to lube the bolts in any way before you put them in? if so, you are WAY over.... lube changes the torque on bolts drastically..

[mntn-biker]

I put the bolts in back dry. I was surprised how much force 45 ft lbs is This was my first stint with a torque wrench I love driving in a quiet car again!

[joatmon]

For a while now I have been hearing a sound in mine, I usually dismiss it as the tires, but was wondering how you diagnosed it to be the wheel bearing. Did you notice any play in the hub, or have help tracking the sound down to be the back right wheel? I think maybe mine is acting up, but would rather not spend the $150 to replace it if that's not the sound source.

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »For a while now I have been hearing a sound in mine, I usually dismiss it as the tires, but was wondering how you diagnosed it to be the wheel bearing. Did you notice any play in the hub, or have help tracking the sound down to be the back right wheel? I think maybe mine is acting up, but would rather not spend the $150 to replace it if that's not the sound source.Sometimes you can feel it with the wheel off the ground, sometimes you can't... Usually if you get moving, say about 30mph, and move the steering wheel left and right, you'll get the noise noticably more in one direction than the other.. that's usually a good indicator.. depending on how bad it is..

[mntn-biker]

I had the loud noise from the day I bought the car but chalked it up to the aggressive winter radial tires. About a month ago, I bought some all season tires and still had the noise but just thought it was the car until a friend of mine rode in the car and mentioned he had a wheel bearing go bad on his vehicle and said this sounded like a bad wheel bearing. I knew it was one of the rear bearings but didn't know which side. At high speed around a sharp curve in a highway, I would notice the sound be different from straight, thru the 1 curve, then the other, then straight again. I jacked up the back end of the car and spun each wheel and it was obvious which one it was without taking off the hub. If you check yours and it isn't obvious, I would pull off the drums too and spin the hubs to make sure it isn't the shoes dragging on the drums. Also, my bad hub was really "gritty" feeling when I would spin it, not smooth like the good one. If you don't have any of these symptoms, I wouldn't change it. It's when it gets good and loud will you realize you have a problem. I went 40,000 miles on this bad bearing before I found out it was a bad bearing and not the tires