J30 wheel bearing maint

[juiceman]

I want to re-lube the bearings on my 93 J30t. Do you recommend the synthetic grease?

Anything to look out for? It has been awhile since I have touched bearings (late 70s dodge). Are the bearings hard to change out on this car? God forbid I find any problems. Any special tools required?

Thanks for the assistance.

[Q45tech]

All the wheel bearings on Q/J are sealed for life and life is a function of miles or curbs whichever is first.

To change them you must have special tools to remove and reinstall!

[Mayhem_J30]

are there signs of failing wheel bearings or maybe an average life span?

[Q45tech]

You put the car on a lift and let the engine spin the rear and listen with a stethoscope, same with non driven wheels except you spin by hand and listen with probe on rear of bearing.After 100k bearing runout should be checked as shown in shop manual.

Anytime you impact a curb and bend the wheel or blow out a tire the bearings are probably toast, same with a wreck that focuses on an area.

[juiceman]

OK, so there is no maint on these bearings.

Have a vibration. My AC tensioner pulley took care of 90% but the remaining 105 seems to come from the front passenger side. Had new tires put on and an alignment but I think they did not check the bearings

I just jacked up the car and the passenger front had play (audible noise when pulling wheel side to side and up and down(not quite as noticable)

The drivers front had no play or noise.

Both wheels are fine when spinning by hand

Wife's stethescope is broken so I could not check this way

Is this a bearing problem? Q45tech said a special tool is required to replace the bearing. Should I even attempt a local shop or go to nissan (alot closer than infiniti). Is there anyway possible to do myself?

Thanks again for all the help. I hope this is my last gremlin for awhile

[juiceman]

I just refound my manual and there is a press fit of the bearing but other than that I see no special tools.

Also, the manual states that the bearings need to be packed with grease and then a new grease seal to be installed

Just an FYI, not meaning anything else, you are the tech of techs

[DAEDALUS]

You'll need a press and the right-sized drifts. The bearings on a Q, if I recall, take up to 3 tons to press in.

[Q45tech]

Be kind of foolish to take old bearings out and then try to take them apart to repack grease, then install old bearing back without cleaning all the grease and examining with a microscope for galling........especially when we give a 12/12k warranty

Time is money.Be very careful as there is a very precise runout spec and if you don't get them perfect, this will result in a wobble in the hub which will cause the rotor to warp.

I know I had to use 3 bearings to get mine right as the first 2 times I ended up with 0.006" not 0.002" as speced.

Some places change them and some places get them back in spec, I usually recommend that the hubs [new lugs] be changed also as they are always bent after 100k of abuse!

[juiceman]

I will check around locally and see what I can determine about pricing.

I thought I could do most except press out/in myself , have it done at a local machine shop but I think I will just go somewhere where there is a warranty

Thanks. Guess I am used to the old american cars

[juiceman]

does $255 sound about right at a dealer?

[DAEDALUS]

That sounds about right. I think I recall that the bearings for the Q are about $200 each from Scottsdale. Pricey but necessary. Hey Dennis, would T3 accept piece-part work that was shipped freight prepaid? E.g, what if I shipped my hub/axle assemblies over for new bearings and hubs?

[Q45tech]

Seems like a waste to me because if we don't supply the parts jjust labor we charge $90 per book hour roughly $100 per real hour.Surely you can find someone in CA to do it cheaper considering freight and repacking time. Especially buying parts from Scottsdale.Some of our tools make it easier to do on the car and I'm not sure how we would create a jig to do it off car.........we have a $2,000 set of drifts and hand presses.

[juiceman]

Well just had the front passenger wheel bearing replaced and wow what a difference.

It wound up costing $140.00 Found a reputable local mechanic with a great machine shop.

I bought the parts and he charged $40 per hour!

Just wnated to followup on this. Think doing this is good because in the future when people search for problems, they can also see the results of the repairs.

Thanks for all the help