Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Need a Mechanic to put in new Wheel Bearings

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 1
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous template Next
    #1

    Need a Mechanic to put in new Wheel Bearings

    My rear (and probably front) wheel bearings are beyond shot. Car has over 200k on it and I think its way past time for new bearings.

    What type of mechanic will be able to this for a good price?

    I would do it myself but the more I read about DIY the more I'm worried that I've drove around on bad bearing for too long. Pretty sure it'd be a PITA to DIY.

    My BMW mechanic will do it for around $700 but that seems excessive. Could I trust a less specialized mechanic for the job? Seems like something that should be pretty simple for a mechanic to do IMO.

    I'd love to but I dont have the Tools time or patience.
    West German BMWs, they just don't make the same as they did before the wall fell.
    ^Case in point: Auto-Repair Technology. Everytime my car isn't starting or acting up I let it sit, sometimes for an hour, sometimes for days. But it eventually fixes itself.
    Tags: None
    #2
    it reallly is a pain, i would charge around 400 in labor to do front and rear and i even have the right tools. plus parts are $85 or so for the rear and 100 or so for the front.

    Comment

      #3
      The fronts aren't hard, you could do them yourself with just a 250'lb torque wrench and a 3 jaw puller if need be. The rears are the major waffleswaffleswaffleswaffles and pretty much necessitate a specialized puller tool. You can buy a puller kit from Harbour Freight that'll do the job for about $85 IIRC. From personal experience I wouldn't recommend even attempting the rears without the proper tool.

      '89 Alpine S52 with goodies

      Comment

        #4
        Fronts are super easy. Josh and I did BOTH of his in 30 minutes. Didn't even need a puller, the bearing just slipped right off the spindle. Buy them already pressed into new hubs and save your self the hassle. They aren't much more to buy this way.

        Also, you really don't need a torque wrench. I think the spec on it is 300ft.lbs, which is basically as tight as you can physically tighten it. We used an impact wrench to take them off, then a breaker bar to tighten them back up. Just don't do it too much and somehow break it, but given the size of the spindle and threads, I'm not sure you could.

        Comment

          #5
          So buy the fronts already pressed into hubs and do them myself. But I think I might have a mechanic do the rear. Guess I should probably have a well trusted BMW mechanic do the rears then and not some average mechanic?

          Are these Meyle good for the front?

          Buy Auto Parts
          http://www.bmaparts.com/item.wws?sku=BMW071836&itempk=74609&mfr=Meyle&weight=3.500
          We specialize in import auto parts


          Or should I go with SKF? The SKF's are about the same price as bavauto's kit, but bavauto is great about not listing the manufacturer of their parts, always gotta call and ask.

          EDIT: Nevermind, went with the Meyle front hubs because the price is so good right now. BMA is having a discount for their site being slow or something.

          I read from some people that the rear bearings are easy if you get the tool from harbor freight or I guess rent it? But other places I read the rear bearings are a real PITA, these bearings are really really bad and have been bad for years now so I'm thinking they'll really be a PITA to replace so you think I should just go to a mechanic? A good bmw mechanic around here quoted $750 which is way too high, wonder if a lower labor cost mechanic would have the tool to do it?
          Last edited by NeoMishMoo; 02-26-2011, 08:59 PM.
          West German BMWs, they just don't make the same as they did before the wall fell.
          ^Case in point: Auto-Repair Technology. Everytime my car isn't starting or acting up I let it sit, sometimes for an hour, sometimes for days. But it eventually fixes itself.

          Comment

            #6
            Sooo can any mechanic do the job or would they have to have the special tool? Or would most shops have a basic tool like the harbor freight tool? I'll do the fronts myself but I really don't feel like messing with the rears.
            West German BMWs, they just don't make the same as they did before the wall fell.
            ^Case in point: Auto-Repair Technology. Everytime my car isn't starting or acting up I let it sit, sometimes for an hour, sometimes for days. But it eventually fixes itself.

            Comment

              #7
              A BMW mechanic will have the right tool. Any mechanic will have something that'll work but be more of a pain in the ass. If you have the BMW B90 tool (or access to it), the most annoying part of the job is getting out the rear half shafts.

              Heck, there's an entertaining video on YouTube of a guy demonstrating how do do rear wheel bearings on an E46 with just some generic tools. (It's the exact same process.). I'd just suck it up and buy the tool and do them. Or see if someone here will rent it to you - lots of people buy it and say they want to rent it.
              2006 GMC Sierra 2500HD 4WD LBZ/Allison
              2002 BMW M3 Alpinweiß/Black
              1999 323i GTS2 Alpinweiß
              1995 M3 Dakargelb/Black               - S50B32/S6S420G/3.91
              1990 325is Brilliantrot/Tan
              1989 M3 Alpinweiß/Black

              Hers: 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo Black/Black
              Hers: 1988 325iX Coupe Diamantschwartz/Black 5spd

              sigpic

              Comment

                #8
                If you have some trust in your mechanical ability I would do the front yourself and save some $$. I did mine for the first time this weekend and took under 1hr both sides working alone. No special tools other then a 36mm. I did the rears last month and it was a PITA.

                Comment

                  #9
                  http://www.handsontools.com/SIR-Tools-B90-BMW-Wheel-Hub-Bearing-Kit-for-BMW_p_18448.html


                  $266 for the b90 tool. then rent it out.
                  Renting my rear wheel bearing tool kit. SIR
                  http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c5...ps6debf0b0.jpg

                  Your signature picture has been removed since it contained the Photobucket "upgrade your account" image.

                  Comment

                    #10
                    I'll definitely do the fronts myself, If I can get a mechanic to do it for around $400 then why buy a $300 tool?

                    Anyone in or bordering kentucky and would like to rent their tool out? If its a long drive maybe they can rent their garage out and their time to help me put them in?

                    So the cheap harbor freight tool isn't sufficient?

                    I'm working in a gravel driveway so I'm not too keen on doing the rears myself.
                    West German BMWs, they just don't make the same as they did before the wall fell.
                    ^Case in point: Auto-Repair Technology. Everytime my car isn't starting or acting up I let it sit, sometimes for an hour, sometimes for days. But it eventually fixes itself.

                    Comment

                      #11
                      So with the $300 tool the rears are pretty easy or still a pain? I'll just buy the tool I plan on owning more e30s in the future and I'm always trying to push other people to buy them too I'll definitely replace all their rear wheel bearings so the tool would probably be worth the money if it saves me the $600 it looks like most places are quoting me.
                      West German BMWs, they just don't make the same as they did before the wall fell.
                      ^Case in point: Auto-Repair Technology. Everytime my car isn't starting or acting up I let it sit, sometimes for an hour, sometimes for days. But it eventually fixes itself.

                      Comment

                        #12
                        fyi i got teh tool at harbor freight for $99
                        Your signature picture has been removed since it contained the Photobucket "upgrade your account" image.

                        Originally posted by TimKninja
                        Im more afraid of this thread turning into one of those classic R3v moments, where Pizza gets delivered.

                        Comment

                          #13
                          Is it the same tool or is the BMW one a little better? Whichever will make the job easy is what I'm looking for.
                          West German BMWs, they just don't make the same as they did before the wall fell.
                          ^Case in point: Auto-Repair Technology. Everytime my car isn't starting or acting up I let it sit, sometimes for an hour, sometimes for days. But it eventually fixes itself.

                          Comment

                            #14
                            Other than rust, it's quite simple with that tool.

                            Comment

                            Previous template Next
                            Working...
                            X