wheel alignment issues and ball joint

[Adam]

There was a nail on my rear driver side tire so I went to Walmart to have it removed. They also saw my 2 front tires showing “wires” so I had to replace them as well. My warranty wasn’t valid because they said I didn’t do a wheel alignment which is why my tires went bad sooner. Those tires only lasted 13 months, it could have lasted longer had I have it aligned. It was still OK but I was told it could blow up any time.

So I went to Sears, the alignment was quoted $84 and will take about an hour. They couldn’t do it because they said my right front low ball joint and wheel bearing was bad and if they do the alignment it would be useless. They estimate the time and cost for doing both ball joint plus the alignment to be about 5 hours/$400.

I will have a friend do it for me for less but how much should I expect to pay for having both ball joints and wheel bearing installed (left/right front)?

What else should I expect to buy? Rockauto sells “front lower” ball joints, not sure what that means. Do I just buy these in pair and it will fit either left or right? Same goes for wheel bearings? Right can fit left and vice versa, not like an axle where right and left are different things.

Topic

[Adam]

So if I walk to any auto parts store and rent a hub grappler, that should work? No one knew what the name of the tool is which is why I didn’t know what I needed to ask for. Pepboys told me they can press the bearing in to whatever it is that it needs to be pressed on to for $50 but to do the entire work of replacing the wheel bearing is about $200+. This would mean I’d have to have my buddy remove the bearing, drive to pepboys to have them press the bearing in using their press machine for $50, but I can’t drive to 2 places without a wheel bearing installed in my car, right?

So the one I had in the picture is for removing the wheel bearing only or what? The other tool pepboys had looked like what is attached, see picture:

Attachments:

• pep1.jpg

[Andrew Phillips]

The old bearing race must be pressed out and the new bearing race pressed in with a proper press in order to be seated correctly and squarely in the hub. Any machine shop or qualified auto repair shop can do this pressing, and the rate will vary between $40 and $100. Do not attempt to do this with hand tools. Do it right, or you will be doing it again. I suspect when you had the bearing replaced before that the race was not replaced and only the inner rolling part of the bearing was changed out. Because the bearing must exactly match its race, and the new bearing probably didn’t (or the race itself is damaged/pitted/scored), that is why the new bearing wore out prematurely.

[Adam]

and what would be a “proper race”? The guy who installed it before I couldn’t recall if he used a tool that look like in the picture attached below. But the new guy who will be working on my car this week said the tool in the picture below is what he needs, not the other tools I attached in the picture earlier.

Attachments:

• pep_2015-04-20.jpg

[Andrew Phillips]

I said proper *press* not proper race. Your bearing can be installed with a tool such as the grappler, but a hydraulic shop press is the ideal tool, and the rates shops charge to do the pressing are reasonable. There are many videos and websites that can show you various types of shop presses and arbor presses, along with bearing-related hand tools, and how they are used to install bearings, seals, bushings, and more. I can only offer my advice, free of charge, for you to use or not, it is your choice. All I can do is counsel based on over 30 years of experience, training, and of having done things properly and also making my share of mistakes. Often making mistakes is the best teacher. Ultimately, it is your vehicle, your safety, and your life, so you are free to make your own choices how you proceed with your repair. A wheel bearing that is improperly installed will have a severely shortened life expectancy, and in some cases, make the vehicle dangerous to operate. Only you can choose the path you wish to take with yours. You have been given good advice from others and myself, I hope you use it well.

[IAD_TDI]

Your front bearings have to be pressed out. You can get them pressed at a machine shop. Just have to remove the steering knuckle. The hardest thing is getting the race off the hub and you can just buy a new hub. I just did a 4runner and was able to do one with a hub tamer but the other one I had to have it pressed out.

[Author]

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