I have at least one front wheel bearing gone on a 1999 T reg 1.8 focus and have been quoted £180.00 parts and labour and that also include new front brake pads
More than i was expecting so what I would like to know is how difficult a job front wheel bearings are ?
I would use a haynes manual is it a feasible job to undertake for a novice or am I wasting my time
Thanks for any help
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Sounds a lot to me, tho I'm not used to Ford costs. Bearing £30-40 I would have thought, fitting maybe similar amount. Doubt if you could DIY as it needs a hefty press to get the old bearing out.
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You'll struggle to DIY as you need a press as Andrew says. Half way house would be to stip the hub off and take that and the bearing to your local garage and get them to change the bearing. You need a hefty socket and breaker bar to get the hub nut on and off though!
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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I don't have any experience of Ford bearings but have had more than enough of Renaults! A Renault 19 I once had wore out a wheel bearing at 30,000 miles. I removed the hub myself and took it to a Renault dealer to have the old bearing removed and the new one pressed in. (You really do need the right kit for a job like this.)Don't listen to Mr Haynes either, he can be the soul of optimism at times like this!
Last month, my mum's Clio wore out a wheel bearing (about 45,000 miles) This time I left it to a (good) local indy. They had a terrible struggle with it - the drive shaft had seized into the hub and by the time they got it out the drive shaft threads were destroyed. They eventually got a decent shaft from a scrappy and finished the job. This, along with a replacement cambelt,rear brake overhaul and MOT came to around £200, which I thought was very reasonable under the circumstances. The cambelt on a diesel Clio is another job best avoided - can take about 4 hours or more!
If I were you, I'd shop around for estimates and leave someone else to do the swearing. The chances of doing even more damage are just too high!
Having said all that, I ran my Xantia for 105,000 miles and never changed a bearing. Citroen bearings seem much better than Renault.
Graeme
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C5 - I think Renaults (Clios anyway) are known for ephemeral wheel bearings. Wife's 1.6 needed a rear bearing at 33K miles(3 years).
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Just about to get the same job done on the Omega. Two prices for wheel bearings - £30+ for bearing only, or £70+ for bearing including hub, which obviously saves some effort. Maybe that accounts for the cost?
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Didn't know that bearings were actually available complete with hub. That would seem a good option for home mechanics because removing the hub is (relatively!) easy with ordinary tools, whereas the 'pressing' of the bearing really needs the proper kit. I know it says in some manuals that you can 'get by' with large vices or suchlike, but really, the chances of damage are just too high. £70 is still much cheaper than paying a garage to do the job and because the bearing itself is properly fitted you could be confident of a job well done.
Graeme
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