New bearings, discs, shoes, pads, wear & ABS sensors

[The Mighty Quinn]

Hello all,
I am gathering a few pieces in order to replace wheel bearings all round, along with discs, shoes & pads. I've noticed that ABS sensors (2 front and 2 rear) are pretty expensive to replace..

Question 1: Do I need to replace the ABS sensors for the new REAR wheel bearings? (I've heard that they do normally get destroyed whilst replacing the front bearings..).

Question 2: When I mentioned changing the wheel bearings to my mechanic, he asked me to get a another set of front hubs from the scrapyard too. Is this necessary? I believe he has all the required equipment to press out the old ones and replace. Why would he want another set of hubs to work on?

Questions 3: Anything else I really ought to get changed whilst this work is being done?

Please excuse my ignorance if the answers to the above are fairly obvious

Cheers,
Karl.

[David Lawrence]

Originally Posted by The Mighty Quinn

Hello all,
I am gathering a few pieces in order to replace wheel bearings all round, along with discs, shoes & pads. I've noticed that ABS sensors (2 front and 2 rear) are pretty expensive to replace..

Question 1: Do I need to replace the ABS sensors for the new REAR wheel bearings? (I've heard that they do normally get destroyed whilst replacing the front bearings..).

Question 2: When I mentioned changing the wheel bearings to my mechanic, he asked me to get a another set of front hubs from the scrapyard too. Is this necessary? I believe he has all the required equipment to press out the old ones and replace. Why would he want another set of hubs to work on?

Questions 3: Anything else I really ought to get changed whilst this work is being done?

Please excuse my ignorance if the answers to the above are fairly obvious

Cheers,
Karl.

Personally i wouldnt change any bearings if they dont need it. Oem bearings are very long life items, and unless they are noisy, or some other symptoms then dont bother until they need it.

In any case the rear abs sensors dont need replacing either unless damaged, and you dont damage the rears by replacing the bearing.

If you do end up doing all this work then the only other items i would prepare to replace would be the backplates.

[The Mighty Quinn]

Thanks for the info David.
I can hear a little rumble when the near side wheels are loaded; I think it's the left front but can't be sure (very early stages). So, I figure if one's on the way out, the others may not be too far behind
I wouldn't normally bother, but might as well get them changed when I'm getting the rest of the work done. Will be using SNR items, so they'll hopefully last a while..

Sorry to come back to this question again, but do you know if I need a spare set of front hubs in order for the front wheel bearings to be changed?


Thanks again,
Karl.

[David Lawrence]

Originally Posted by The Mighty Quinn

Thanks for the info David.
I can hear a little rumble when the near side wheels are loaded; I think it's the left front but can't be sure (very early stages). So, I figure if one's on the way out, the others may not be too far behind
I wouldn't normally bother, but might as well get them changed when I'm getting the rest of the work done. Will be using SNR items, so they'll hopefully last a while..

Sorry to come back to this question again, but do you know if I need a spare set of front hubs in order for the front wheel bearings to be changed?


Thanks again,
Karl.

You do not need a spare set if you can wait for the originals to be pressed out and new ones put in.

What your garage may be suggesting is to have a spare set refurbished with new bearings so that you dont have your car off the road for so long. If they dont have a press they may be subcontracting that work.

i dont use garages much so not really sure how common presses are but other than that there should be no reason to need spares. If you did buy a spare from a decent breaker you would probably find its bearing didnt even need replacing.

In the case of rears then you definitely dont need spares as they are just one hub nut and the complete bearing assembly pulls off. I have only ever replaced one rear hub bearing on my 190k car, all the others are still originals, and the reason i needed to change it was because rust from the back plate got between it and the abs sensor damaging both giving me an abs warning light.

[hogweed]

I had the rear o/s bearing replaced when I bought the car 5 years ago, as it was a bit noisy. Like you, I'm always tempted to replace EVERYTHING, to make sure the job's done "properly".

But I didn't. 60,000 miles later, the other 3 wheels are still quiet

[klarzy]

My local MOT center lets me use his 20 tonne press for the price of a pint.

[The Mighty Quinn]

Thanks v much for the info chaps. That's good news on the spare hubs front, as I didn't really want to have to get them as well.. If he doesn't have a press in the garage, I'll find a place that does for the bearing work.

Cheers,
Karl.