Front wheel bearing DIY..

Mine came with these 7 pieces. Long bolt + Bearing (on the bolt). A nut.  The adapter pieces
and the blue bridge as shown.

Here is the GM tool.

I found it on Ebay, much like these ones here..

Ebay Wheel Bearing Tool

The tool is from Kent Moore and the part number is J37105. Cost me about $25. @$32 with shipping.

The Factory Service manual for an '04 calls for this tool.
However the instructions were slightly different than what I found on mine. Perhaps because mine is a non ABS car.  The differences, meant I had to improvise, and use some larger 1/2" drive sockets as spacers. And also to pull the old bearing out.
1/2" drive size, so the long screw could get through them.

Possibly the tool/manual was revised for an '06? Who knows, but I made it through, and made this DIY so you don't have to be confused..

You can ONLY use this type tool.
 I tried some bearing removal "slide hammer" rental from an auto parts store and it will NOT work.
You can take the entire spindle off and have someone utilize a shop press as well., but they better have the proper size adapter to install the bearing. Pressing on the wrong part can destroy the new bearing.

In any case, lucky your here to see what I needed to do, to get it done.
Excuse the tool mess, pic taken after the job was done.

Tools and Supplies List:

Wheel bearing grease.

Large Axle Nut Socket,
High quality 1/2" ratchet or breaker bar.

Cheater Pipe. (jack handles work well).

A length of something to wedge between the brake pedal and

the lower seat front. (again, a jack handle worked well for me).

2 jacks, and some safety stands.

Multiple 17mm box end wrenches, + others and sockets.

An adjustable wrench. 

A small hammer. 

Needle nose pliers.

A bit of picture hanging or tying, type wire. (solid and strong but thin and bendable) 

I found mine at a home improvement store.  

Rags, gloves, hand cleaner. etc. 

Oh yeah, a Dremel tool with some cut off wheels and a vice.

A micro torch, or regular propane torch optional.

Will continue this asap!  Stay tuned..

Here's a cheapo..
(red insert)               and here's a better one.. SKF, Black insert.

The bearings pictured above are an example of the bearings I have installed in my car.

I bought mine at a local Autozone store. They were similarly priced and colored. The 'Duralast' cheapo I bought  was red like the one pictured, and the Timken upgrade was like the one in black. Both were a few dollars more at the store.

It's like a durability test to see if the more expensive one lasts any longer than a cheapo.

You can order from the above links or shop around the net. Timken, National, and SKF are the makers you'll find. There is one bearing manufacturer called "Auto7" that claim to be the OEM manufacturer and they want $105 each!   I chose a budget bearing.

So First you'll need to break the 'Axle Nut' free.  This sucker is on there at 200ft lbs. So you'll need to chock the wheels. Apply the brakes. and bend the locking flange back on the nut.

I did this with a small flat bladed screw driver and a hammer.  I had to slice the flange a little bit, but I was still able to re-use the nut.  (this is what I've done, no guarantee's if this is the recommended way).

Here's a tidbit of info.  The first bearing install I did came with a new axle nut that was thinner (less threads) than the original. This sucker stripped out on me and nearly ruined a perfectly good axle in the process.

I'd reuse the originals, or be sure to get an exact replacement...probably from a dealership.

Here I have my 1/2 inch socket wrench supported by a floor jack. I have the special socket I had to buy for the axle nut, and a short extension socket in between that helps keep the breakers bars away from the paint.

For breaker bars I have 1st the steel handle from an old floor jack. Then after that I have another piece of pipe about 3 feet long.  Over all I can get about 4.5 feet of needed leverage to bust this sucker free,.

I block the brakes with another piece of the same handle, by wedging it between the seat and the brake pedal.(see the timing belt post for a pic)

I carefully apply some slow, even pressure on the handle and it breaks these things free.  Might break free quick so be ready.

Once thats free, you can loosen the lug nuts, jack the car up SAFELY, and remove the wheel.

Next I started on what could be the next hurdle, if these things are really frozen on..The screws that hold the caliper in place.

For mine I used this handy dandy little micro torch I bought a Harbor Freight store.

As you can see the screws came out. I used an extra large phillips head driver, along with so slow steady torque.

Next time to remove the brake caliper. (already removed in the above pic).

 Pretty straightforward here..my bolt's came out without a fight. I undo the rubber grommet that holds the brake hose to the strut. Then I can hang the caliper on the strut. Up and out of the way.

 I had to hammer my brake rotor off. This pretty much ruined it, although I got a few more miles out of it. They were old anyways so you might might to add in a new brake rotor to your list of things to buy $$.

Here, some 17mm (11/16 should work, but not as good as the metric) box end wrenches did the trick. For getting the spindle disconnected, and the axle shaft out of the way.

One of these can electric impact drills can speed things up nicely.

more 17mm wrenches for the bottom. As you can see I doubled up the wrenches for leverage.
Not to hard to break free.  No space for the impact, so these ones took some extra seconds.

TO BE CONTINUED 2/4/13