Hello All,

For a little background, I got a 97' accord se for around $2000. Just finished getting the thing running well. The only remaining thorn in my side is it sounds like there is a jet ski residing in the passenger side wheel. Looking around and reading, I think it may be the hub assembly / bearing. I know it is not the tires. I just put brand new rims with new falken tires all the way around and the sound persisted through the old and new tires/wheels. You start to hear the noise around 35-40 mph and up.

I looked at just replacing the bearing and it looks like you really need to have a shop do it with a press. The hub assembly with a new bearing is not much more. I might as well replace it.

So the final question is it more accessible to replace the assembly than just the bearing ? I'm trying to do it myself versus taking it to a shop if possible. What steps are involved in doing this?

Thank You,
Ryan

 

I did this for the first time a few months ago with no air tools and no press. Not too bad. Used a cutoff wheel + hammer & chisel to get the inner race off the hub per ETCG's video:

Search FEDrioMDe1k on YouTube for his video.

Put the hub in the freezer & the bearing in the sun for a few hours. The new bearing slipped right on using the old race to pound on with a small sledge hammer.

Wheel bearings for $33.17 each; free shipping if you buy two:

Search Hubbearing.com for this deal.

Be careful with the race & wear safety glasses or a full face mask...a hunk of bearing race flew up and made a neat 1/4" slice on my face.

 

Ryan,

I think that you have a few options. You should watch that youtube video referenced in the previous post to see how to do this.

You can replace just the bearing, or you can buy the hub bearing assembly.

One other option you might want to consider is buying the rotor over the hub conversion. That is the same accord bearing with a different hub. You can use a 98-02 accord 4-cylinder rotor and have a much easier time when you have to change the rotor. I would suggest changing the rotors anyway, because removing the hub/bearing is a pain. tasauto.com does sell them, and there may be other places that sell them. There is also a thread in the DIY section called rotor over the hub conversion that provides more details.

 

Thanks for the advice and links. I was thinking about doing the hub because the car was not taken care of with the previous owner and am half expecting something to be wrong with it.

Thank you, I will look into this conversion. I was really just thinking about replacing the hub as well. I do not know how long it was driven like this before I got it and am half expecting it needing to be done as well.

Thanks Fellas!

 

Id be surprised if anything was wrong with the hub, I guess you could wreck the threads on it, but its a pretty solid piece of metal to do damage to. I replaced a front wheel bearing on a 96 accord a couple months ago. It took me the better part of a day and a little bit of the rest ( I work slow ) but its definitely doable no press needed either. There is a ericthecarguy video on youtube on doing the repair I found it very useful. I thought about doing the conversion on it when I did the replacement, but the old parts rotors/bearings lasted 180k I dont think Ill have the car another 180k.