92turboLE Posted September 4, 2003 Report Share Posted September 4, 2003 ok, so after going to the junkyard, only to realize that i didnt have the tools to remove the whole knuckle assy. for the fronts, is there any other ways that i can get the hub/bearing assy. out with normal garage tools??? I can get the tools i need, but they are with my brother about 30 miles away. any help is apriciated, thanks - Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gp90se Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 36 mm socket and 4 i believe 15 mm (there 15mm or 13mm) bolts in the back, with sum pb breakfast shouldnt be to hard to do. get the 36mm bolt off, pull the assembly out from the axle, look behind it and there should be 4 bolts there. -Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91GranSport Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 There are 3 bolts for the Gen1 hub/wheel bearing and 4 bolts for the Gen2 if I'm not mistaken. You are right though, it's 15mm for the bolts in the back. 36 mm socket and 4 i believe 15 mm (there 15mm or 13mm) bolts in the back, with sum pb breakfast shouldnt be to hard to do. get the 36mm bolt off, pull the assembly out from the axle, look behind it and there should be 4 bolts there. -Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patgizz Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 no, there are 4 on gen 1 too. probably need a breaker bar and a cheater to get the axle nut off. or call around, most junkyard here have hubs on the shelf ready to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92turboLE Posted September 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 well the thing is that i need the hubs and would like to do the brake conversion as well... so i need all of it... - Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 There are 3 bolts for the Gen1 hub/wheel bearing and 4 bolts for the Gen2 if I'm not mistaken. You are right though, it's 15mm for the bolts in the back. You've got that backwards. Only 3 bolts on gen 2 but 4 on gen 1. Gen 1 hubs are much better, stronger, last longer than the weak ass gen 2 ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gp90se Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 lol then cheat, get a portable sawzall, cut the shock, a-arm, brake line and inscrew the tie rod, take the whole damn thing. -Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patgizz Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 getting all of it is simple. unbolt the tie rod and pop it off, unbolt the ball joint and pop it off, and the 3 top bolts from the engine compartment, then take the axle shaft and all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91GranSport Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 Funny, I always thought there were only three on the Gen1 and only Gen2s had four. Both my '89 Regal Custom and my current '91 Regal GS have only three. Which Gen1 W-Body has four? Perhaps 93+? no, there are 4 on gen 1 too. probably need a breaker bar and a cheater to get the axle nut off. or call around, most junkyard here have hubs on the shelf ready to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91GranSport Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 :oops: Okay, Shawn thanks! Now I remember! Shawn is right. Sorry guys, I didn't mean to pull a "Kevin Bacon." Last year I broke one of my wheel studs and I had to removed the entire hub/wheel bearing on my passenger-side front wheel. There were four 15mm nuts holding it in place. I remember now because I asked for help and it was Shawn and BrianP that gave me the proper instructions. Sorry guys! Also, I do remember discussing how ridiculous it woud be that the Gen2 only had 3 while the Gen1 had four. Theoretically speaking, the Gen2 should definitely have four considering how much power it has and it's wide track. You need beefier supports. I guess that's where GM's engineerings were thinking backwards... There are 3 bolts for the Gen1 hub/wheel bearing and 4 bolts for the Gen2 if I'm not mistaken. You are right though, it's 15mm for the bolts in the back. You've got that backwards. Only 3 bolts on gen 2 but 4 on gen 1. Gen 1 hubs are much better, stronger, last longer than the weak ass gen 2 ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 I guess that's where GM's engineerings were thinking backwards... GM Engineers don't necessarily think backwards, they think cheap. They probably did some test that showed 4-bolts was more than necessary, while 2-bolts was not enough, and 3-bolts worked just fine. So they decided they could save a few cents per car by reducing the parts count which comes out to a lot of $$$ in the long run. I talked to a fellow W-body owner that works at one of GM's suppliers, and you'd be surprised at what GM will cut out to save a few measley pennies per car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian89gp Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 I talked to a fellow W-body owner that works at one of GM's suppliers, and you'd be surprised at what GM will cut out to save a few measley pennies per car. Not to go too far off topic here but care to elaborate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 I talked to a fellow W-body owner that works at one of GM's suppliers, and you'd be surprised at what GM will cut out to save a few measley pennies per car. Not to go too far off topic here but care to elaborate? He's an employee at a company that manufactures dampers for all the major automakers. Dampers are used in things like compartment doors to give a quality feel... a glovebox door with a damper open softly rather than dropping open with a thud. Most of the imports use them. He told me they designed dampers for the glovebox doors of several GM vehicles (my Silverado included), but GM decided to omit them to save something like 40-cents per car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 with sum pb breakfast shouldnt be to hard to do. mmm, peanut butter breakfast...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92turboLE Posted September 8, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2003 Ok, so after 3 trips to the junkyard, one trip to Checker and one trip to the dealership, 3 broken ratchets, 2 broken 3" extensions, 4 bleeding knuckles and having to borrow an electric impact wrench and pulley remover, i finally have the front bearings replaced - only to find out that my drivers side CV shaft is going out, but not any time soon. oh yeah, and 2 bent breaker bars too. I guess 225,000 miles of rust and heat will do all that to some tools. Sadly enough they were all craftsman (although on the plus side, free replacement) I DO not recamend thios job to anyone that isnt prepared to hurt themselfs or spend a whole day on thier car. I also have all the hardware for the big braje conversion for the front, although i dont have rotors and checker had to order them so i wont be doing those til next weekend. I did however enjoy this because i learned a lot more about my car. also, the bearing assy... had a total of 18 ball bearings left in it out of what i assume was 2 rows of bearings... and both of the dust caps fell off when i pulled it out. it also had about 1/4 inch play in it. Im lucky that my damn wheel didnt fall off... anyway, just wanted to share my adventure with you all. - Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jyfritz88 Posted September 8, 2003 Report Share Posted September 8, 2003 Damn, that's a lot of busted tools and body parts. I had to replace the struts, springs and pretty much everything else having to do with the front suspension on my 88 GP last winter, including the wheel bearings. Thankfully I didn't break anything or beat myself up. I had no problems getting any of the assembly apart with the exception of dropping my breaker bar into a sewer grate that was just below the car. Damn tow truck drivers always put cars in the worst places. Anyway, good to hear you got it all taken care of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92turboLE Posted September 8, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2003 thanks, im glad its done - it was quickly becoming a safety issue... the tools - i dont know about them, i guess that 225K miles worth of wear and rust and whatnot is to blame. I dont think any of that has been serviced before. anyway, like i said, i got it all done and am happy now and learned a lot about my car for future reference. - Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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