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Front Hub Replacement
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 197
Likes: 0
From: Huntsville, AL
Front Hub Replacement I've read through my Haynes repair manual and feel confident that I can get this hub replacement done without too much trouble, but there are a few things I wanted to ask about before I dove in.
The car is a 2000 Z28 Camaro. I ran into a curb and crushed the bearing and the tie rod.
Now, in the manual, it states that I will need to remove the brake system on the front wheel that I'm working on. This is fine. It also states that I don't need to disconnect the brake line, which I'm not if I can keep from having to. In the event that I DO, however, it says that I cannot bleed my brakes without a "T-1 or T-100 (CAMS) scan tool." due to my having traction control. Does anybody know about this? It sounds like a huge headache.
I would like to avoid headaches as the high is going to be 30*F and it's going to be windy.
The second thing that I wanted to ask was if there is anything I should know going in. Tips, tricks, etc. for re-installing the brakes or the hub or what have you.
Thanks ahead of time.
The car is a 2000 Z28 Camaro. I ran into a curb and crushed the bearing and the tie rod.
Now, in the manual, it states that I will need to remove the brake system on the front wheel that I'm working on. This is fine. It also states that I don't need to disconnect the brake line, which I'm not if I can keep from having to. In the event that I DO, however, it says that I cannot bleed my brakes without a "T-1 or T-100 (CAMS) scan tool." due to my having traction control. Does anybody know about this? It sounds like a huge headache.
I would like to avoid headaches as the high is going to be 30*F and it's going to be windy.
The second thing that I wanted to ask was if there is anything I should know going in. Tips, tricks, etc. for re-installing the brakes or the hub or what have you.
Thanks ahead of time.
You do not need to remove the hose to change the bearing.
And even if you did, you can bleed manually without the scanner as long as the master doesn't run dry. Even if it does, it can still be bled.
It gets down to 30* in AL?
And even if you did, you can bleed manually without the scanner as long as the master doesn't run dry. Even if it does, it can still be bled.
It gets down to 30* in AL?
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 197
Likes: 0
From: Huntsville, AL
It's going to be a cold weekend in Hell. 32 and 30 are the highs for Sunday and Monday. Lows are 18 and 15. It's going to be windy, too.
Edit: Aptly named Hell because of the 100% humidity, 95-105*F late summer days.
I still don't understand anything about all of this brake stuff. What happens if the MC runs dry? What happens if I try to bleed the system without a tech 1 scanner?
The manual makes it seem like Armageddon's going to fall on my head if I try anything with the brake system.
Edit: Aptly named Hell because of the 100% humidity, 95-105*F late summer days.
I still don't understand anything about all of this brake stuff. What happens if the MC runs dry? What happens if I try to bleed the system without a tech 1 scanner?
The manual makes it seem like Armageddon's going to fall on my head if I try anything with the brake system.
Last edited by gta3uzi; Dec 10, 2010 at 08:59 PM.
Seriously, you are over worried about this. If there is air in the ABS block, sometimes you need to cycle the valves using a scan tool.
But you won't have this problem becuase there is NO NEED to open the hydraulics in order to replace a wheel hub.
Bundle up.
But you won't have this problem becuase there is NO NEED to open the hydraulics in order to replace a wheel hub.
Bundle up.
It really not that big of a deal to change the hub. Just take the brakes off like you're going to change the rotors, tie them back with a hanger or ziptie or something to hold them in place. Once you pull the rotor off just remove the 4 bolts on the back of the hub and it'll come out.
It really not that big of a deal to change the hub. Just take the brakes off like you're going to change the rotors, tie them back with a hanger or ziptie or something to hold them in place. Once you pull the rotor off just remove the 4 bolts on the back of the hub and it'll come out.
You say you Crushed your bearing and Tie Rod? I would be concerned about your lower control arm, you may need to check it carefully. I remember when I was replaceing my bushings being amazed what a piece of **** these things are. To bust that bearing you must have hit that curb pretty good.
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Sounds like you have not done brakes before - so to set your expectations properly - it will probably take you an hour or two to complete.
The brake caliper can be hung from the spring (as mentioned above) either with a zip tie or coat hanger. This will eliminate the need to unhook the brake line. (GM actually recommends this.)
Pitfalls you should look out for:
- Be sure to unhook the electrical wires from the hub first so you don't forget them. Bad things will happen if you forget to do this and your 1-2 hour job will turn in to a several day job.
- The hub will be rusted to the spindle and will be hard to get off. After you remove the 4 bolts holding it on, tap (with a hammer) the outer edge of the spinning part of the hub. This will give you leverage and should pop it off.
- Make sure your pins on the brake caliper slide freely before you put it back on. Otherwise, they could bind and mess up your braking.
- You'll want to have a torque wrench before you do all this. The torque wrench is critical for getting the correct strain on the hub bolts, caliper bolts, and lug nuts. More so than other parts of the car, these are single points of failure and you don't want to loose a wheel, brake, etc. going down the road!
If you are going to do this kind of stuff more in the future, you should look to invest in the GM Factory Service Manual. (A 3 volume book published by the Helm Corporation.) They have 10X times more information than Haynes and are more specific on the procedures.
The brake caliper can be hung from the spring (as mentioned above) either with a zip tie or coat hanger. This will eliminate the need to unhook the brake line. (GM actually recommends this.)
Pitfalls you should look out for:
- Be sure to unhook the electrical wires from the hub first so you don't forget them. Bad things will happen if you forget to do this and your 1-2 hour job will turn in to a several day job.
- The hub will be rusted to the spindle and will be hard to get off. After you remove the 4 bolts holding it on, tap (with a hammer) the outer edge of the spinning part of the hub. This will give you leverage and should pop it off.
- Make sure your pins on the brake caliper slide freely before you put it back on. Otherwise, they could bind and mess up your braking.
- You'll want to have a torque wrench before you do all this. The torque wrench is critical for getting the correct strain on the hub bolts, caliper bolts, and lug nuts. More so than other parts of the car, these are single points of failure and you don't want to loose a wheel, brake, etc. going down the road!
If you are going to do this kind of stuff more in the future, you should look to invest in the GM Factory Service Manual. (A 3 volume book published by the Helm Corporation.) They have 10X times more information than Haynes and are more specific on the procedures.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 197
Likes: 0
From: Huntsville, AL
Thanks for all of the information. Luckily I have quite a few tools at my disposal. Also, I didn't know that they published the factory service manual, so thanks for that too.
My goal is to do it once and do it right. That is a goal that is much easier said than done.
My goal is to do it once and do it right. That is a goal that is much easier said than done.
They are horrible at marketing their product. They are also really good at protecting their copyrights... which makes it hard to find out about their products.
Like many others have said, it's a simple job, so don't worry, it's not overly complicated and won't take very long at all. Our cars aren't front wheel drive so there's no drive axle to worry about, just a matter of removing the caliper and bracket, rotor, and there she is, the wheel bearing. Should be done and driving down the road and back within the hour.
i had done a brake caliper polishing job on mine a few years ago,
had 2 calipers off at a time over the winter months, with the brake line at the wheel going to a cup to catch dripping fluid. Never had a problem bleeding the system afterward, and that was reinstalling completely dry calipers. As long as you leave the cap on the master cylinder on, the system will not drain enough to make brake bleeding a problem, and just periodically look at the master cylinder and see if the fluid is going down significantly and if it is just top it off. If you're doing this job over a weekend or even a week, don't worry about having to disconnect a brake line, mine were disconnected for over a month along with disconnecting the 2 flex lines going to the rear axle when i swapped in all stainless steel brake lines. If you do take the brake line off the caliper biggest thing is keep the end clean, and use new crush washers when reinstalling the fitting to the caliper so go buy those first and make sure you have them beforehand.
if you have to bleed the brakes, it's very easy and i recommend getting earl's solo bleeds for all calipers, only cost $30 and worth it.
had 2 calipers off at a time over the winter months, with the brake line at the wheel going to a cup to catch dripping fluid. Never had a problem bleeding the system afterward, and that was reinstalling completely dry calipers. As long as you leave the cap on the master cylinder on, the system will not drain enough to make brake bleeding a problem, and just periodically look at the master cylinder and see if the fluid is going down significantly and if it is just top it off. If you're doing this job over a weekend or even a week, don't worry about having to disconnect a brake line, mine were disconnected for over a month along with disconnecting the 2 flex lines going to the rear axle when i swapped in all stainless steel brake lines. If you do take the brake line off the caliper biggest thing is keep the end clean, and use new crush washers when reinstalling the fitting to the caliper so go buy those first and make sure you have them beforehand.
if you have to bleed the brakes, it's very easy and i recommend getting earl's solo bleeds for all calipers, only cost $30 and worth it.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 197
Likes: 0
From: Huntsville, AL
I'll look into that, 1 FMF.
I just completed the job and the initial test went OK. It was just as easy as all of you said it was which, for comparison, was an order of magnitude easier than working on the 2000 Maxima's front end.
Thanks again for all of the help.
I just completed the job and the initial test went OK. It was just as easy as all of you said it was which, for comparison, was an order of magnitude easier than working on the 2000 Maxima's front end.
Thanks again for all of the help.
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 672
Likes: 3
From: Gadsden, AL
sorry to bring up an old thread, but the last couple weeks or so As I am driving I hear a WAP WAP WAP type no ways coming from the front passenger side wheel, it sounds like a dryer cycle, should I replace just the front wheel bearing or the whole hub?
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