OMG, My sons 08 hybrid AWD was home this weekend. He wanted/needed to get the safety/emission inspection for tag renewal. I took a look at it and realized brakes were very worn. I put it up on stands and replaced the front pads but while doing that I noticed the front left wheel was loose and wobbly.tracked it down to a worn out wheel bearing. [oddly it was not making any noise]. Anyhow what a pig of a job. have to remove the steering knuckle then the hub has to be pressed out then remove a circlip and press the bearing out of the knuckle. Easier said than done. the knuckle is such and odd shape, setting it up on the press is near impossible then figure in a fair amount of rust. Took about 10 tons of pressure for it to finally move then pressed it out. Pressing in the new one is much easier. Also part of the race had welded it self to the hub so had to tighten a large bearing separator behind it and press that off as well,. The aftermarket bearing was only $32 but labor at a shop was quoted as around $400. Probably worth having a shop do the job unless you are up for some torture.

 

Yikes! But yeah, pressed-in hubs/bearings can be a super-PITA with lots of years/mileage. How many miles on the car? How are the balljoints and ABS tone rings?

 

160,000. tone rings were good. ball joints still good but boots starting to split. I have some on order as i will replace both lowers and probably tie rod ends [boots splitting there too but no looseness yet}

 

Well it was a PITA but that's really not too bad in terms of the mileage at least. I've had front wheel bearings go on other cars at under 100,000 miles. Good to know about the boot splitting, even the good rubber doesn't last forever. Always something to keep an eye on.

 

While you're in there also check the swaybar links and rod ends. When those joints get loose, the car makes a clickety-clackety sound over even tiny road imperfections, anything that moves the link. It's not unsafe, it'll just drive you nuts.

 

Agree. Unfortunately, I expect the replacement bearing to not last nearly as long; we shall see. I like the way Volvo installs their AWD front bearings. 4 bolts holding them to the hubs. still have to disconnect a lot of stuff but dont have to do a big set-up on the press due to the really odd shape of the knuckle

 

Yep, i replaced both of those items at about 125,000 miles

 

Or, in other words, Mak-U-Loko. Here's FTM's video on the sway bar links.

 

By the way, what bearings did you use and how much did they cost, if you don't mind my asking? I mean, aside from the time and effort you spent disassembling everything and the press job?

 

picked up the bearing from Autozone $32 per side. [dont recall the manufacturer but asia sourced]