Constantly going through wheel bearings.

Connie

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That's what it sounds like to me too (install error). I realise that cheaper chinese parts are moving in, and can cause there own problems, but bearings are another story as they're manufacturered to the bearing companies specs. A more likely cause of early bearing failure would be a lack of grease. I've seen that happen over recently with aftermarket GM bolt on hubs (30-40K failure rates), as they're made in china. You might see if you can figure out a way to add some quality grease into the hub bearing before you press them in. It might be more work, but if it lasts longer then you know what the real problem is. Just a thought.

Thanks for your reply.
I am going to order from Honda this time and press it myself.
The one that's gone now (RR) is low on grease....I know because aside from being a bit rumbly, when the car is in the air with the brakes and wheels off, if you spin the hub, it doesn't stop right away. Whenever I install a new bearing, It's nice and tight and stops quickly when you spin it because of the grease inside.
 

dawg316

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grab a knuckle with a pree installed bearing from the junkyard

thank me later
 

Rusty Accord

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Thanks for your reply.
I am going to order from Honda this time and press it myself.
The one that's gone now (RR) is low on grease....I know because aside from being a bit rumbly, when the car is in the air with the brakes and wheels off, if you spin the hub, it doesn't stop right away. Whenever I install a new bearing, It's nice and tight and stops quickly when you spin it because of the grease inside.


I'd still see if I could still get some grease into the front hubs when you go to do them. I'm on a few other forums, and I've had several people tell me that a lot of the new bearings don't come with a lot of grease in them (1 worked at a bearing supply house in Alberta), as the chinese only put enough in them to keep them from rusting on the shelves. Another site I'm on says to pull the hubs from both the Harbor Freight and Tractor Supply trailers and re-pack the bearings on them before you start using the trailer (again just enough grease inside to keep them from rusting). On the Cavalier hubs, I saw 1st hand that they died from a lack of grease (you could see the bluing on the machined surfaces of the bearing).
I know on my air cooled VW, you're supposed to clean and pack the rear hub bearings every 30K miles, but most people would forget, and they still go 150-250K miles. But then those were high quality bearings (late 60's thru late 70's) that were made in Germany. Just a heads up, and something to think about with your rears too (since you drive 200km a day).
 

Connie

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grab a knuckle with a pree installed bearing from the junkyard

thank me later

I have 4 spare knuckles and just have new bearings pressed into the ones that aren't currently in the car so I can just swap the hub. The scrapyards here charge 50-75 bucks for a used knuckle, and I would have to go pull it out myself. It's spring, so pulling a hub from a junkyard in the mud isn't very appealing. And no guarantee how long it will last or if I can find one with a decent mileage that's even worthwhile. The spare knuckle I have for that side that is the old bearing from the car it was pulled from actually feels pretty good, and you can feel the grease in it when you spin it, so I might just jam that one in without pressing in a new bearing and hope for the best, since it's free. With my luck it'll start going within a week though, lol.
 

Connie

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I'd still see if I could still get some grease into the front hubs when you go to do them. I'm on a few other forums, and I've had several people tell me that a lot of the new bearings don't come with a lot of grease in them (1 worked at a bearing supply house in Alberta), as the chinese only put enough in them to keep them from rusting on the shelves. Another site I'm on says to pull the hubs from both the Harbor Freight and Tractor Supply trailers and re-pack the bearings on them before you start using the trailer (again just enough grease inside to keep them from rusting). On the Cavalier hubs, I saw 1st hand that they died from a lack of grease (you could see the bluing on the machined surfaces of the bearing).
I know on my air cooled VW, you're supposed to clean and pack the rear hub bearings every 30K miles, but most people would forget, and they still go 150-250K miles. But then those were high quality bearings (late 60's thru late 70's) that were made in Germany. Just a heads up, and something to think about with your rears too (since you drive 200km a day).


I thought these bearings came as sealed units with no way to add grease though? That's what I remember from last time I bought one, but maybe I'm mixing that up with the Civic I used to have. I do have some high temp bearing grease leftover from when I repacked the old style bearings in my 87 Merkur, so I'll take another look the next time I have a new bearing in my hand to see if there's any way to get grease in there without damaging the bearing. Greasing the hub bore is a given.
 

Rusty Accord

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I thought these bearings came as sealed units with no way to add grease though? That's what I remember from last time I bought one, but maybe I'm mixing that up with the Civic I used to have. I do have some high temp bearing grease leftover from when I repacked the old style bearings in my 87 Merkur, so I'll take another look the next time I have a new bearing in my hand to see if there's any way to get grease in there without damaging the bearing. Greasing the hub bore is a given.

They should be sealed bearings. That's why I said IF you could get some more grease in them, I'd give it a try. But you're probably SOL on getting into them without destroying part of the "seal" of the bearing.
 
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Rusty Accord

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I realize this is an older post, but I was wondering who the bearing manufacturer is for the Honda dealer bearings? I'm getting ready to replace a set on my 99 Accord, and bought some Timken bearings to install in it. I know Timken is a good bearing manufacturer, so I figured I'd go with them. If I could have found a set FAG bearings, I would have bought them instead. Rock Auto had Timken or SKF bearings, along with National all within a buck or 2 of 1 another. Any other tips on installing them, other than to grind a lead on 1 end before pressing them in? Thanks.
 
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