Hub bearing assembly - "How To" replacement mega-thread.

[coorslightyet]

Merged several threads together to gather hub bearing replacement info into one place. Stickied into FAQ up top.

I JUST BOUGHT A 89 XJ AND THE LEFT FRT WHEEL BEARING IS GRINDING, DO YOU HAVE TO REPLACE THE WHOLE HUB, IS THE BEARING A PAIN OR A 30MIN JOB.

[Rustler Dude]

Whole hub. 3 12 point 13mm bolts to remove the hub. I think 36mm nut that holds the d/s on, and two 13mm bolts that hold the brakes on


Read only up to the part when it tells you to remove the hub, then stop. http://www.4x4xplor.com/aussielocker.html

[2T2 Crash]

your looking at about 120$ as well, and I would recommend a gear puller

[XJ Jeeptank]

Originally Posted by 2T2 Crash

I would recommend a gear puller

[tsc]

pull the caliber, pull the 3 12 point bolts put tire on, kick crap out of tire. Usually the hub assembally comes right out. Wrecking yard method to get old hub assembally out, beat tar out of it with 4 lb sledge...

[Rustler Dude]

Or you can use a large screwdriver or prybar and hammer, hammer alone, etc. Once you remove the hub, apply antisieze to the new hub assembly. This lets you remove the hub with no force at all next time around for doing axle shafts, axle ujoints, etc. Also apply it to the bolts when you put the hub back in. A decent bottle will cost about 7-10 bux.

You can buy 12 point sockets from sears for a few bux a piece. Get the half inch drive 12 point rather than the 3/8 drive.....You will need the extra power .

[clint282cc]

good idea on the tire to get the brearing off. i never thought of that. but i went through 2 sets of bearings in 06 so i got it down now lol.

[mistyjeep]

Replacing the hub bearings on my 1990 Jeep 4WD Cherokee.
Went to 3 auto stores and the 1990 cross they have looks nothing like mine.
The 1989 looks identical to it except that the hub flange is about 1/4 of an inch more inward than the old unit. At first I thought the difference was that when I pulled off the old hub it moved out a little.
Not the case. When I put the rotor on and tighten the rotor down, the rotor interferes with the dust shield and locks the wheel. Wrong part. What the heck did they use on mine ?

Anybody run into this ?
I will try NAPA tomorrow, and then the dreaded stealership.
If I can't get the hub do you think anyone could rework the old ones locally, and what kind of operation would be my best bet ?
TIA

[lunghd]

$76 - best price I found.

http://www2.partstrain.com/products/...4.html?index=2

This one shows the ABS tone ring.

I think your parts guy is giving you one for a wrangler, IIRC those were different but that might be a foggy memory of just the rotors being different...

Yes, old AMC XJ's had a different hub assembly.

[mistyjeep]

Originally Posted by lunghd

$76 - best price I found.

http://www2.partstrain.com/products/...4.html?index=2

This one shows the ABS tone ring.

I think your parts guy is giving you one for a wrangler, IIRC those were different but that might be a foggy memory of just the rotors being different...

Yes, old AMC XJ's had a different hub assembly.

Looked at the manufacture date of my vehicle this morning and it was made in Jan 1990. Hmmm. I thinks she's a 1989 in disguise with some weird parts. Off to NAPA and the stealership. I'll report back.

[Rustler Dude]

someone could have replaced the hub with a different year and bought brake rotors fro those hubs...so thats why you might be having those problems.

[mistyjeep]

Went to the dealer and saw their $328 part. :teehee:
It was just like the 90 parts at the parts place, but looked quite different than my original. Upon first look anyone would say no way.
So heres the deal.
The 1989 hub part looks like mine upon first inspection, the 1990 part looks way off.
However the big difference is the measurement between the hub surface that mounts to the car and the part the rotor mounts to. The 1989 part that looks exactly like mine is off by about 1/4 inch, the 1990 part that looks way different is right on.

Bottom line is the 90 part worked. When I went to get the part in the first place the manager at the parts store who is fairly knowledgable said the 89 part was correct, 90 part was wrong. As a matter of fact he was teaching another female worker there who could put my hubs on any time the difference. He was wrong.

Wasted a couple of hours on this stupid move.
BTW, bought two of the dealers parts for $630 plus tax.
Just kidding. Only needed one for $110 at autoparts store.
Thanks all.

[CRJeepin]

Hey guys,
My 88 has been running good for a few thousand miles now after replacing the MAP and fuel pressure regulator (and everything else, for those of you who remember my "stalling" threads - but it was the MAP & FP reg that seemed to be killing it).

It needs ball joints on the drivers side, I'm going to do both sides but will start with the driver first and use the passenger for reference if needed. I plan to replace the wheel bearings while I'm in there but read the service manual and it looks like I need a press and some other stuff I don't have to get the old bearings apart. I'm wondering if I can swap out to a unit bearing from a later XJ instead? I can figure it out when I get it apart, but thought I'd ask if anybody had done it first so I don't waste time and money on it if there's a big roadblock that prevents it from working out.

I really like the serviceable bearings in general, in my 79 CJ-5 because they're cheap and easy to replace, but that doesn't require a press to get them apart (it has lockout hubs). Since this requires a press I don't have though, I figured a unit bearing might be an easier way to go.

Any comments appreciated, as always!
Thanks guys.
CR

[stam89xj]

the hub design changed in 1990, so for you 88, you need 87-90 hubs.

you will need a 36mm socket for the retaining nut.

hardest part of the job is getting the hub off if its froze on.

do a search to look for the different methods people have used.

[CRJeepin]

Yeah, I've been there before on my buddy's '00 XJ - fun stuff! Have the sockets and all, i was just wondering if I could use the 91+ unit bearing instead of the 88-90 bearings...

[herdnerd]

Unit bearing assemblies are available for the pre-90 cherokees. There was a tread a while back about swapping pre90 into a post90. It does bolt in, but requires a few other parts to be swapped with it. The general thought was that the pre90 uses cone type bearings that were more desireable than the ball bearing hubs used in later years.

[88comancheman]

you can run pre 90 bearings on 90 and up housings or vise versa you just have to use the rotors from the same year as the bearing due to rotor spacing

[wac1977]

I had a lot of trouble getting the hubs out on my 88 when I did them. I used an extra socket I had and put it on the 12 point bolts and hit each one and then switched to the other and so on and so on. I also hit the back side of the flange that the lugs are on. It took me forever but they finally came out. The worst part about all of it was the cheap bearings that I bought from Advance only lasted about three weeks. I put anti-seez on them when I changed them and the second time around it was a piece of cake. I ended getting some new ones off ebay with a lifetime warranty for less money and have had no trouble since. Hope this helps.

[RDH]

hey fellas, i ordered some hubs a week ago and ive been trying to get the old ones off.... all the bolts are out, calipers to the side everything is good to go.... ive been trying for days now to get it off, ive got the 5 ton 3 jaw puller on it right now with as much torque as i can give it without snapping.. i torched it, beat on it with a sledge, tryed a hub puller, HD clamps, 5-ton puller left over night, sprayed wd-40 to penetrate the recessed part.... im running out of options now, as the only thing left to do is get a hydraulic or air puller.... ill be trying the air puller in a few days but have you guys had similiar problems?

it seems like the splines are so mated together im gonna have to replace the entire small shaft and turning unit, sorry i dont know the correct verbage...

is it possible to replace the little shaft, i mean does the knuckle come apart from the main axle shaft, i noticed there were no bolts, it looks like lugs or giant rivits that arent removable?

i have all the tools needed but damn ive never seen anything so phukin stuck in my life...it could be cuz its been sitting outside its entire ten year existence.. any help would be greatly appreciated....

[ryan2l]

I am assuming you took off the big 36mm nut?