Noise in front end, 1998 lumina , at first I thought it was a bad tire . I was told that I have a bad front bearing (hub). Being somewhat of a back yard mechanic, I purchase a new hub, 36 mm axle socket and a haynes manual. The Haynes manual states that the bearing is pressed in and needs to be done at a shop. Other folks tell me that it is not pressed in . The part is splined and it bolted on so I believe that Haynes is incorrect but thought id check with the pros on this forum.

Is this bearing hub pressed in or can a back yard mechanic handle it?

Thanks for your help.

The hub and bearin is one piece and you do not have to do anything but install the assy. A better how to is at autozone.com, repair guides, Haynes is useless.

Just four bolts hold the bearing assembly in the spindle.

Hardest part is getting the damn Torx bolts out of the caliper support. It's all downhill from there. As always, don't allow the caliper to hang from the hose. The hose WILL go bad and make the brake drag.

Access to retaining bolts is not quite a straight shot, be careful you don't round them off or bust the ABS sensor.

Smack the end of the CV shaft with a wooden block and hammer, the bearing will fall off. Careful not to extend the shaft so the inner joint doesn't fall apart.

Hope you bought a good hub. I put in a cheapo outta stupidity, it lasted 5000 miles and I got the pleasure of doing the job again. I should know better by now....

"The Haynes manual states that the bearing is pressed in and needs to be done at a shop." :confused::confused:
Thanks for your help.[/quote]


Thats odd, my Haynes manual says no such thing. But could be a diff printing.

Thanks to everyone for the replies. Based on what I read, I will bring the cheap one back I bought at acme and buy the more expensive one.

I completed the hub replacement - all went well except the antilock indicator now stays on.
on startup , the light will be off until the wheel is turned to the right, then it goes on and stays on. connections to the unit are plugged in all the way.

prior to the hub replacement , the antilock light would occasionaly come on

Anyone have this issue (1988 Lumina)
thanks snick

does the wheel have to be turned all the way to the right, or just any amount of turn for the light to come on?

Jack it up and make sure the spindle nut is still tight. If the splined end of the shaft didn't fully seat in the bearing for some reason, and you tightened it up, it may have "centered up" as soon as you drove it, and is now riding in and out slightly, changing the gap relation between the ABS sensor and the reluctor ring on the shaft.

Also make sure the bearing's base didn't similarly do some settling in the spindle and is now loose. That could allow the CV shaft to run out of center when steering enough to mess up the sensor gap.

Both are kind of unlikely, but I'd wanna be sure. On my own stuff I usually retorque after a test drive anyway, to be sure...

yes the antilock goes on when the steering wheel is turned just a little in either direction.
I checked and the axle nut is still torked to 140.

Any possibility you bent the sensor when working on that hub?

I know I had to be really careful when I did mine...wrench extension kept wanting to lean into the sensor while cranking on the hub flange bolts...