Million mile club

Nam1911a1

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Also if you just get a few tools it is not hard to take apart the front end. New bearings and axles from rock auto would run you a couple hundred maybe just depending on the part. Then pay a shop 60-80 bucks to press in the new bearings.

It cost me 65 dollars for a new front bearing. That's including a shop pressing the old out and new one in.

It's a fairly straightforward disassembly.
 

Connie

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I'll speak on the contrary. A good friend of mine had one of his front bearings seize up on the highway at 80mph and the complete front hub assembly broke off the truck. Lost all brake pressure and the only thing that slowed him to a stop was the lower control arm and frame dragging on the pavement

I'm willing to bet that that truck had hub assemblies, not pressed in bearings. Or was an old Ford with those really teeny bearings that have to be packed by hand. I used to have an 84 Explorer, and I can definitely see those wheels coming off if a bearing were to seize. On the Accord's setup, not so much. Although I suppose anything is possible.
 

Rusty Accord

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I'll speak on the contrary. A good friend of mine had one of his front bearings seize up on the highway at 80mph and the complete front hub assembly broke off the truck. Lost all brake pressure and the only thing that slowed him to a stop was the lower control arm and frame dragging on the pavement
What kind if truck? Two wheel drive or 4? Sounds like it was a 2wd, with regular bearings that were over tightened, and they over heated (from being too tight) and welded themselves to the spindle. He must not have been paying attention, as you'd know that there is a problem (you can feel it, and hear it happening).
BTDT myself. But, I never lost the tire/wheel assembly. I did grind up the bearings and weld the bearing races inside to the spindle.
I had to replace the spindle, and rotor, along with bleeding that caliper, but that was it. I learned from that. On rear wheel drive cars that are 2 wheel drive, a loose wheel bearing will go almost forever, but a tight wheel bearing won't go 200 miles.

I did have a tire come off the car before though, but that was my stupidity in not having the lug nuts tight.
 
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Rusty Accord

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The dealer diagnosed the wheel bearings sometime during the summer, and found out its the wheel bearings that are causing the issue. They connected the wheel bearings to a stetiscope (whatever the heck its called) and found the issue. However, they are literally asking us for $2,000 for the freaking repair. I contacted a indie mech that my friends recommended, and he gave the best deal, but however, the bill would be a minimum of $1,000 for the repairs, and dad said he wants me to drive the Rogue as he doesn't want to pay $1000+ for wheel bearings and new cv axle. If the latter is going to happen, I need to do a CVT 3x D&F, but will be in the accord community, as I do have plans to get rid of the Rogue after I am done with Undergrad school, and may end up getting a Honda Accord or an Acura.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

WOW. OMG. They used a stethoscope to determine the hub bearings are bad?? They must have had it on a lift with the front tires off the ground to get under it so the "tech" could hear it.
Usually you can hear them IF you turn the stereo down a little, IF they are bad. If they're really bad, you don't even have to turn down the volume of the stereo. Believe me, you can hear it in the car IF they are bad. Ask Connie, as he's replaced several sets now on an Accord.

I can't believe they want 2 grand for hub bearings on a car that's worth maybe 2500. I would definitely find another dealer, or independent shop, or even a good shade tree mechanic. With the right tools, it's a 4 hour job plus parts. This means that the dealer (stealership) is getting 475.00 per hour (for that 2000 dollar job). How do they justify that kind of money/expense?? Hell, even a grand (1000 bucks) is way more than it should be. I know a guy that would do it 400, and he'd be happy, but, you'd have to supply the parts.
I felt that I saved 650, by doing my own hub bearings, replacing the lower ball joints, replacing the upper control arms, and the tie rod ends. Yes, I did buy a bearing removal/install tool off e-bay for 69 bucks, but that was to make my job go quicker. Plus, I have a 2000 Accord sitting here with more miles on it (236K), that will be needing them done too. It was how I was able to justify the cost of the tool to myself.
Sure, I could have improvised that tool with a hammer, some all thread, and a bunch of washers, but I felt buying the tool kit would be better. I had the old bearings out in 20 minutes, and the new ones in, in about 20 minutes (snap rings too). It took longer than that to get the hubs off/out of the old bearings (I was using the wrong tool), than anything I did on the front end. In my Members thread, you can see what I used to knock the hubs out of the old bearings (can be had at most hardware stores for less than 20 bucks). And I'll use that same tool again, now that I know how much easier it works (remember, I'm still recovering from a torn rotator cuff, and am still having issues with it 7 months later). But, replacing the upper control arms was a little more work than I planned on, in that you have to remove the strut assembly to access the bolts. But even doing that wasn't really that bad. 5 nuts on top, and 1 thru bolt with nut in the lower control arm. I finished the day off doing the tie rod ends. Needless to say, at 233,000 miles, it needed all of those parts replaced. I originally shopped around on doing just the upper ball joints separately, but found I could get the entire upper control arm with a new ball joint for less than the ball joint itself. But, I caught a special that Detroit Axle was having in their online store, and got both upper control arms, both lower ball joints, and both inner and outer tie rods for 62.99 + tax since they are in Michigan. I didn't do the inners, as they hardly ever wear, plus I wanted to keep my alignment semi close. Well that, and I wanted to get my new rotors and pads on before I put the tires on and called it a day. I had about 5 1/2 to 6 hours to all of that, working by myself. The next day I checked and reset the toe in, and called it all good. The front end is nice and quiet, with no noise, everything feels nice and tight, and it'll cruise at 80 mph with no problems (vibration or pulling). A job well worth doing IF you plan on keeping the car. And, I had less than that 250 in parts and tools (specialty) in doing that job.

I should add that I own 2 old air cooled VWs. And they are not bugs or buses, which means they are odd balls, and nobody wants to work on them. This is especially true of my wife's 70 Fastback, in that it has factory Fuel Injection, and there's no place to plug a code reader into (not that it would help). To work on that system, you need a fuel pressure gauge and an ohm meter. That's it for tools. The rest is using your brain, and following step by step instructions for trouble shooting (I got that list from an older guy years ago). A common problem with that FI is the voltage regulator going bad (un-related to the FI, but at the same time the FI is dependent on stable voltage) which causes the FI to run rich. My other "old VW" is a 65 Notchback. It has dual carbs and a factory sun roof. It's the easier of the 2 cars to work on. But, there's only 4 guys (including myself) that will work on old VWs in my area. That means I have to do my own repairs if I want to keep them going. One of the guys has a 6 month back log of work. That guy's son is another one who will work on them, and the 3rd guy works for the city next door, and does work on evening and weekends IF he's not at the sand drags on the west side of the state. Personally I think he's getting out of working for others, and the first guy I know is ready to retire. That means in a few years it'll be just me and 1 other guy who work on them in this area.
 
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datechboss101

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WOW. OMG. They used a stethoscope to determine the hub bearings are bad?? They must have had it on a lift with the front tires off the ground to get under it so the "tech" could hear it.
Usually you can hear them IF you turn the stereo down a little, IF they are bad. If they're really bad, you don't even have to turn down the volume of the stereo. Believe me, you can hear it in the car IF they are bad. Ask Connie, as he's replaced several sets now on an Accord.

I can't believe they want 2 grand for hub bearings on a car that's worth maybe 2500. I would definitely find another dealer, or independent shop, or even a good shade tree mechanic. With the right tools, it's a 4 hour job plus parts. This means that the dealer (stealership) is getting 475.00 per hour (for that 2000 dollar job). How do they justify that kind of money/expense?? Hell, even a grand (1000 bucks) is way more than it should be. I know a guy that would do it 400, and he'd be happy, but, you'd have to supply the parts.
I felt that I saved 650, by doing my own hub bearings, replacing the lower ball joints, replacing the upper control arms, and the tie rod ends. Yes, I did buy a bearing removal/install tool off e-bay for 69 bucks, but that was to make my job go quicker. Plus, I have a 2000 Accord sitting here with more miles on it (236K), that will be needing them done too. It was how I was able to justify the cost of the tool to myself.
Sure, I could have improvised that tool with a hammer, some all thread, and a bunch of washers, but I felt buying the tool kit would be better. I had the old bearings out in 20 minutes, and the new ones in, in about 20 minutes (snap rings too). It took longer than that to get the hubs off/out of the old bearings (I was using the wrong tool), than anything I did on the front end. In my Members thread, you can see what I used to knock the hubs out of the old bearings (can be had at most hardware stores for less than 20 bucks). And I'll use that same tool again, now that I know how much easier it works (remember, I'm still recovering from a torn rotator cuff, and am still having issues with it 7 months later). But, replacing the upper control arms was a little more work than I planned on, in that you have to remove the strut assembly to access the bolts. But even doing that wasn't really that bad. 5 nuts on top, and 1 thru bolt with nut in the lower control arm. I finished the day off doing the tie rod ends. Needless to say, at 233,000 miles, it needed all of those parts replaced. I originally shopped around on doing just the upper ball joints separately, but found I could get the entire upper control arm with a new ball joint for less than the ball joint itself. But, I caught a special that Detroit Axle was having in their online store, and got both upper control arms, both lower ball joints, and both inner and outer tie rods for 62.99 + tax since they are in Michigan. I didn't do the inners, as they hardly ever wear, plus I wanted to keep my alignment semi close. Well that, and I wanted to get my new rotors and pads on before I put the tires on and called it a day. I had about 5 1/2 to 6 hours to all of that, working by myself. The next day I checked and reset the toe in, and called it all good. The front end is nice and quiet, with no noise, everything feels nice and tight, and it'll cruise at 80 mph with no problems (vibration or pulling). A job well worth doing IF you plan on keeping the car. And, I had less than that 250 in parts and tools (specialty) in doing that job.

I should add that I own 2 old air cooled VWs. And they are not bugs or buses, which means they are odd balls, and nobody wants to work on them. This is especially true of my wife's 70 Fastback, in that it has factory Fuel Injection, and there's no place to plug a code reader into (not that it would help). To work on that system, you need a fuel pressure gauge and an ohm meter. That's it for tools. The rest is using your brain, and following step by step instructions for trouble shooting (I got that list from an older guy years ago). A common problem with that FI is the voltage regulator going bad (un-related to the FI, but at the same time the FI is dependent on stable voltage) which causes the FI to run rich. My other "old VW" is a 65 Notchback. It has dual carbs and a factory sun roof. It's the easier of the 2 cars to work on. But, there's only 4 guys (including myself) that will work on old VWs in my area. That means I have to do my own repairs if I want to keep them going. One of the guys has a 6 month back log of work. That guy's son is another one who will work on them, and the 3rd guy works for the city next door, and does work on evening and weekends IF he's not at the sand drags on the west side of the state. Personally I think he's getting out of working for others, and the first guy I know is ready to retire. That means in a few years it'll be just me and 1 other guy who work on them in this area.

Yeah its that bad (when the dealership does it, but its whatever as I want someone that has the proper tools to diagnose the issues, so I can something to go base off of), and I am not sure how long the wheel bearings are going to last. I usually don't drive on Interstate 4 or Florida's Turnpike or any major toll road with Lucky that much. If anything, I would save myself ~$700-800 and DIY it in January with fellow Accord owners (in my area) if they would want to help me with the repair. I am planning to keep the car, as I will be in tons of student debt, once uni starts, as I want to become a doctor. I am hoping this job can give me enough money for the wheel bearings, CV axle and probably a mod or two (maybe who knows how many mods I will get within a set amount of time; definantly looking at rims, air system, lip kits, side skirts, leather interior, etc.).
 

Nam1911a1

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My buddy's bearing that seized was in an older 90s dodge 4x4. That's all I know.

With a few hand tools you should be able to get the front end off easy in half a day. Take it to the shop and have it back together by night. Bring it to the shop for an alignment in the morning and you are good to go
 

datechboss101

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My buddy's bearing that seized was in an older 90s dodge 4x4. That's all I know.

With a few hand tools you should be able to get the front end off easy in half a day. Take it to the shop and have it back together by night. Bring it to the shop for an alignment in the morning and you are good to go

Hand tools, as in what? And Yeah, I am looking at my options though... Not sure if Costco does alignment for free, as that's the place I got my tires from. Apparently, my brother is claiming he saw our 05 Odyssey at his school and said that it has 301k miles on it....
 

Nam1911a1

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1/2" Breaker bar and a piece of pipe/cheater bar to break the axle nut. A 10, 12, 14, and 17mm socket wrench, Maybe a pair of channel lock pliers. And a hammer/mallet. Some snap ring pliers if u want to remove the lower ball joint. I used some ingenuity to remove and place them in.

That's about it
 

Rusty Accord

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1/2" Breaker bar and a piece of pipe/cheater bar to break the axle nut. A 10, 12, 14, and 17mm socket wrench, Maybe a pair of channel lock pliers. And a hammer/mallet. Some snap ring pliers if u want to remove the lower ball joint. I used some ingenuity to remove and place them in.

That's about it
Yup. In fact you could do that with a short impact socket set from Harbor Freight (for the sockets). A 36mm socket is needed for the axle nut. Get one of their 25 inch long, 1/2 inch drive breaker bars so you can loosen the axle nut. You'll also want a pair of needle nose pliers to help get the cotter pins out of the ball joints nuts, along with the tie rod end nut. I'd pay a little extra, and have the shop take car of the lower ball joint. Mine didn't have the snap ring on it, which means it was the original ones. Replacements come with a snap ring.

Look at Rock Auto for the bearings (preferably Timken or NTN), as you can find a good deal thru them (E-bay sellers wanted double the price just for 1 compared to Rock Auto). Shop around, look at prices and see what kind of warranty the seller is offering. Like I mentioned previously, Detroit Axle was offering a good package deal on parts for the front end. They also offer a 10 year warranty on those parts, which is what sold me on buying them.
 

Nam1911a1

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I just took a hammer and a deep well socket to hammer out the old lower ball joints. Took about an hour to get both out. then the 36mm socket laid over the back of the new lower ball joints and some hammering got the new ones in. The snap rings where the hardest part without having snap ring pliers.

Yes I forgot about the 36mm socket for the axle nut but a cordless 1/2" impact got those off in a couple seconds.
 
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