How hard is it to replace front wheel bearing

[musky]

i think my drivers front wheel bearing has to be replaced in my 2004 jeep 4x4 liberty is this very hard to do.

 

[tommudd]

No not hard at all really

 

[HoosierJeeper]

http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f202/hub-replacement-46865/

 

[Aceofspades]

Stop at habor freight and get a e torx socket set for like $15

 

[musky]

thanks will any aftermarket do or do i need a oem.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Get Timken or SKF. I want to say SKF is OEM.

 

[Aceofspades]

I used moog....

 

[wheeee32]

I used SKF on mine. It was a much easier job than I expected. I read up on here how people did it and watched a few videos. It wasn't bad at all.

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

Stop at habor freight and get a e torx socket set for like $15

I'm not against HF for a lot of things but for that particular set of bolts I didn't want anything to muck up the head of the bolt. If it gets rounded off then you're in deep dung - don't want the socket distorting at all.

I'd suggest a high quality e-Torx socket for that job (it's an E-14) to make sure it gets a good grip on the bolt head. I bought a Wright Tools socket and 3/8 to 1/2 inch adapter - think I paid $25 or so for the pair. That 25 buck peace of mind was worth it to me - the bolts came out fairly easily.

Like I said, I have nothing against HF and shop there all the time but there are certain tools for certain jobs that demand quality - this is one of them.

Post back with an update!

EDIT: And for what it's worth it's not a difficult job - kind of get contorted reaching around the hubs to find the bolts mostly by feel. Once the bolts are off a couple of raps with a BFH on the hub and it comes right out. FWIW I used Timken cuz they're based right here in the county where I live so want to support the locals, ya know?

Bob

 

[tjkj2002]

I'm not against HF for a lot of things but for that particular set of bolts I didn't want anything to muck up the head of the bolt. If it gets rounded off then you're in deep dung - don't want the socket distorting at all.

I'd suggest a high quality e-Torx socket for that job (it's an E-14) to make sure it gets a good grip on the bolt head. I bought a Wright Tools socket and 3/8 to 1/2 inch adapter - think I paid $25 or so for the pair. That 25 buck peace of mind was worth it to me - the bolts came out fairly easily.

Like I said, I have nothing against HF and shop there all the time but there are certain tools for certain jobs that demand quality - this is one of them.

Post back with an update!

Bob

100% agree......................

I do this crap for a living and "good tools" (IE expensive) are more then worth the extra cost.

I can always tell if the person that did the alignment before me used good tools or cheap tools by how rounded off the jam nuts are.

Hell I have a full set of Snap On tools for my 1/5 scale RC,but then again there are alot of exotic materials on it and all the bolts are allen so you need the highest quality tools unless you want to replace $150 titanium shaft everytime you need to re-grease the trans or check the clutch.

 

[Aceofspades]

I'm not against HF for a lot of things but for that particular set of bolts I didn't want anything to muck up the head of the bolt. If it gets rounded off then you're in deep dung - don't want the socket distorting at all.

I'd suggest a high quality e-Torx socket for that job (it's an E-14) to make sure it gets a good grip on the bolt head. I bought a Wright Tools socket and 3/8 to 1/2 inch adapter - think I paid $25 or so for the pair. That 25 buck peace of mind was worth it to me - the bolts came out fairly easily.

Like I said, I have nothing against HF and shop there all the time but there are certain tools for certain jobs that demand quality - this is one of them.

Post back with an update!

EDIT: And for what it's worth it's not a difficult job - kind of get contorted reaching around the hubs to find the bolts mostly by feel. Once the bolts are off a couple of raps with a BFH on the hub and it comes right out. FWIW I used Timken cuz they're based right here in the county where I live so want to support the locals, ya know?

Bob

No worries here my friend. I refuse to spend the money on big names if immnot using them 40+ hours a week. So far that e torx set was used 2x and fit like a glove - no rounded off heads etc.
The impact sockets, e torx and regular necer failed me. You need to take HF products with a grain a salt. 70% of the stuff there is limited use quality. For example a 3 jaw puller exploded on me and anything electrical is a gamble.
I have been using their 3 ton low profile jack no issues for 5 years and like o said the assortment of impact sockets. Also their engine stand and picker no issue.
I do all my own work and it still amazes me when I take a vehicle in for something like an alignment and bolts are snapped or rounded.

 

[jeepop]

Rock auto had hubs listed with hearts that have good reviews. that is what I installed and so far so good. I hit my bolts with a mix of acetone and aft a few days before. job would suck if u break or round one of those torn bolts. Mine were quite rusty. if I ever do again I will have a new set of bolts first.


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[jeepop]

I forget the brand. they were $50 or less. I had read go name brand but I have never had a rock auto part with the heart symbol not perform for me and I read all the name brand ones are made overseas now so I went for it


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[tjkj2002]

I forget the brand. they were $50 or less. I had read go name brand but I have never had a rock auto part with the heart symbol not perform for me and I read all the name brand ones are made overseas now so I went for it


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Any hub bearing assembly that cost's $50 is below the economy line,the reject bearings from the cheap line made in china.

 

[jeepop]

your right they were. wjb was the brand. couldn't find a bad review on line but found plenty for the higher brand ones saying they were not the same quality and now made in China too. who knows could come from same factory. there has been nothing reject about them. beefier than the originals.


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[tjkj2002]

your right they were. wjb was the brand. couldn't find a bad review on line but found plenty for the higher brand ones saying they were not the same quality and now made in China too. who knows could come from same factory. there has been nothing reject about them. beefier than the originals.


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Can't be beefier then the originals otherwise they would not fit.

I've worked in the automotive field for going on 22 years professionally and can tell you there are 4 tiers for parts.

Tier 1 - high end aftermarket,beefier and requires modifications or other parts to work,most expensive and in most cases not available for most vehicles that are not "trendy" like Wranglers and Raptors.

Tier 2 - OE parts and high end aftermarket parts that function and fit,mid line to expensive.You see alot of bad reviews for these since the buyer expects perfection but due to mass production you will see bad ones,not many but they will be out there and those are the only reviews you will ever see.

Tier 3 - economy line,cheaper version of Tier 2,made in china and subpar to just barely meeting OE specs.Most tier 3 products will fail early,if the OE Hub bearing lasted 100k a tier 3 may make it 30k-40k if your lucky.

Tier 4 - that "to good to be true priced part",these are the subpar tier 3 products made from subpar materials and passed off for tier 3 standards. and have no QC process and little to no warranty.Most tier 4 products fail within the 1st year with a failure rate of 50% right out of the box.You get alot of "great" reviews for these products because they are cheap and those that get the bad ones are to embarrassed to post they bought said product and the company will do anything to keep bad reviews from being seen.

 

[jeepop]

Thanks for the info, will work this knowledge into my maintenance plans.


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[tommudd]

Cheap is expensive

 

[HoosierJeeper]

I'm at 167k on my factory ones, if/when I need new ones, I'll be pissed if I don't get at least that out of OEM ones again.