First time reworking the front end (post tips!)

[dacheat]

ok, this is my first time taking a stock '91 crx and replacing the following: upper/lower ball joints, tie rod ends, wheel bearings, brakes.

i've got all of the obvious parts ordered/on the way, the haynes manual, and it suggests i need to take the knuckles in to get the wheel bearings pressed out/new ones pressed in. i've priced that out and it isn't cost effective, shall we say.

here's what the front end looks like. i have the rotors off the hubs, the hubs off the car, and all of the joints separated.

what i want to know is what do i need to know to get it put back together 'right' the first time? anyone who's been through the wheel bearing replacement before, plz weigh in. how do i get those bastards out and new ones in without wrecking them, and without spending $170 at a shop?

thanks.

ps i have the brakes covered, keep the focus on the wheel bearings, etc. thanks!

 

[Citizen_Insane]

You'll need a hydraulic press or a special tool to get the bearings in. If you know someone, great, if not you might need to just cough it up for a shop to do it. $170 seems high for just bringing in the spindles and having the bearings pressed. Try and talk them down or try shopping around.

You could also try renting the tool. I tried using the tool on my buddy's Accord and it didn't work well at all. We ended up just pulling the whole knuckle and bringing to my buddy who pressed in the new bearing for free.

 

[dacheat]

i need a buddy like that . yeah, i called 4 places, they all looked it up in a book (i could tell by the pause on the phone) and then came back with a 2-hr job at $75-80 an hour, "if it goes well." i think i'm going to have a guy do the calling for me and see if the price comes down, i mean seriously it isn't like it's intricate work - the shit's already tore apart. pop the old one out with your special tool, and put the new one in, and stop tryin to rob me. .

thanks for the post...

 

[LS_VTEC]

You press in the wheel bearings, its not brain surgery. I can't see a shop charging more than 20 bucks to do this for you if you bring the parts in. As for the rest, your going to be removing the axles as well, once you pull the hub nut off and take out the lower ball joint bolt and center bolt as well. From there you will have to use a fork and hammer the joint outward/downward depending on how you can get to it so you can actually lower it out of its place. This is done using a pry bar and someone helping you. A skilled man like myself can do this single handedly.

 

[dacheat]

yeah hehe all that part is done. i need the wheel bearings pressed out and new ones pressed in. seriously all 4 shops quoted an hour a bearing. i've talked to a couple of people who said the shops are charging as if they're doing the whole job (tearing the front end apart and putting it back together). wtf. you know i have to rant for a minute: it's like guys/shops like to bitch about women being dumb/useless regarding cars - so when a woman (me) takes some initiative and orders her parts, gets the car tore down and wants to bring in just the part that can't be done at home, it still doesn't matter. charge her like they had to do the whole job. i get it, time is money - but they're not going to spend more than a half hour doing the wheel bearings - why are they charging me for 2 hrs labor? dickheads. all of them. wish i knew a local shop that wouldn't bend me over.

ok rant aside, was hoping someone could give me pointers on the reassembly of the front end; any finesse tips or things to avoid?

 

[K2e2vin]

Get a guy or something to bring it for you. I know a lot of shops try to rip off women, but then there are some who give them discounts.

You can try.showing a little skin

Putting it back together is a pretty straight-forward process. I wouldn't know any finesse tips at all; if you see my hands and arms you'd probably figure that out.

 

[Citizen_Insane]

Or you could walk in their front door, holding a spindle in either hand and say: "here are the spindles, here are the bearings, I need you to press out the old ones and put in the new ones. I'll see you in 10 minutes." And then stand their impatiently until they charge you $30 for a 10 min job.

 

[E_SolSi]

 

[BrokenRex]

agreed, if you have the parts already disassembled and new parts in hand (along with cash in your pocket) just about any local shop WILL take the job. turning away work that easy is taking food off their tables.

 

[dacheat]

yeah the issue isn't them turning me away, it's me paying more for their 1/2 hour of labor than i did on parts, and just being frustrated at not being able to do this part myself.

 

[BrokenRex]

i just took my whole front suspension, including lower control arms, upper control arm mounts, and entire steering knuckle down to a few shops in my area. to have all of the bushings pressed out (2 in each LCA, 2 in each upper bracket) and lower ball joints pressed out, and new ones pressed in, i experienced some of what you're going through. there's this little "strip mall" of auto shops, so to speak. the first one i talked to, said $300 because i only did the "easy part." i informed him that i am a certified technician, and that I have used a hydrolic press, and the work wouldn't take more than an hour for anyone with basic knowledge of the equipment. he then said "$150, come back at 4:30" i thanked him for his time, and went to the next shop. the tech there looked at the parts, asked what i was quoted at the other shop. "a hundred bucks," i said. his response, "$60, gimme an hour."

long story short, lie. seriously, hear me out. tell them that you're only looking for quotes and time estimates. they'll ask what your lowest quote was, to see if they can beat it. most of them will try to haggle, but if they know that you'll take your business elsewhere, they're more likely to give you an honest answer.

 

[dacheat]

so you replaced your control arms? i ordered upper ball joints online, not realizing until now that honda itself considers them 'not replaceable' and instead suggests replacing the control arms. anyone have ideas for me? do i now have some paperweights and need to order replacement control arms? orrrrrr, can i actually replace the upper ball joints?

i want to sort it all out now while i have the front end all in pieces...thanks everyone for your input, plz gimme more!!

 

[BrokenRex]

yes, i purchased new upper control arms. you could still remove yours and beat the shit out of them. if you have a very large socket, one that the ball joint will fit into, but just barely, place the balljoint into the socket (still inserted in the UCA) and hammer repeatedly. just make note to remove the snap ring first, and the joint is pressed in from the top, so you'd be hammering right on the bolt piece. if you manage to get it out, have the new one pressed in, put snap ring on, then weld a few stitches along the seam. it wont ever come loose. worst case, you mutilate the UCA, then you have to purchase a new one anyway.

 

[90DATeggy]

yea they had charged me $30 for putting the bearing in it was simple..pain less but the hard part was puttin it back in 4 me at least