Front wheel bearings replacement

[Sirjivity]

Hey so I'm looking to replace my front wheel bearings on my 1995 Nissan Pathfinder, I'm wondering what I'm getting myself in to. Would it be cheaper to buy my own press and do the work myself, or to just bring the parts to a shop and have them bust it out for me? Also I don't have very much experience working on cars but I did recently replace both the front cv axles on my Pathfinder. That was relatively straightforward other than having to deal rusty bolts everywhere, I'm assuming my bearings should be easier than the axles were but don't really have a clue.

[Hawairish]

You don't need a press to replace the front bearings. Rear, yes...front, no. The bearings (there are two of them) themselves just falls out once you get it off the spindle. You will need some sort of soft metal drift (usually brass) and a hammer to tap the bearing races out of the hub, then a bearing driver to tap the races into the wheel hub...you can rent this from your parts store.

There is also a procedure to set the load on the bearings properly. There's a nut that you tighten up, and then you back the nut off a tiny mount, then secure a locking washer to prevent everything from backing off. A rubber mallet helps for bumping the wheel hub to ensure the bearings are seating correctly.

I'm sure there are several write-ups out there, as well as the FSM procedure. Of course, doing the work yourself depends on your comfort level, so read up on those procedures before diving in.

[atraudes]

Here's a writeup I did on mine. The procedure should be close for yours, if not the same. Go through the FSM's instructions and make sure nothing's fundamentally different. Also double-check that my torque specs are right; I asked a moderator to change some of the values a while back but never heard back. There's a big difference between lb-ft and lb-in! For the most part you can use common sense though.

[barnaclebob]

I used a copper pipe section to bang the races out. It really deformed the pipe so i had to saw off the bent up end a few times. For awhile it seemed like I wasn't making progress but they eventually came out.