'03 Aerio wheel bearing

[Dogboy]

Hey, I'm not particularly new to Suzuki's (between me and my dad we have had 2 Samurai's, and XL-7, and now this Aerio), but to Aerio's, yes I'm new.

Anyway, I got this car and it has a humming noise coming from the front left wheel, which I have pin pointed to the wheel bearing (the tire wiggles when it is off the ground, and the noise goes away when you turn even slightly to the left, and returns once you go straight or to the right again, going down the road).
I've done some searching and read that I can replace the bearings themselves, but I can't find anything about a bearing "assembly" like a lot of newer cars have. I figured bearings would be about the cost of the ones for my Ranger, which are about $15 for each bearing ($60 to do both hubs/ wheels)... O'Rieley is $147, Autozone is $120, and I've found them elsewhere online for as low as $70.

Unless I'm just missing something, I would assume that "bearings" would be substantially less than 70 bucks...
Am I correct? It sure seems like it should be less than that.


Enough with the complaining, and on to the questions;
When I go the do the bearing, will I need 1, or 2 bearings per side/ wheel?
And, I would assume I will need a seal too? If so, will there be only 1 seal, or 2?
The only wheel bearing experience I have is on the rear of fwd cars, and the front of my 4wd Ranger, so nothing is quite like this car. Although I am fully confident I can do this job, I have done MUCH more complicated things.


Thanks in advance for any help!

[lumpylarry]

i think the ones you are refering to on the ranger are the taper bearings which have the inner and outer shells that you take out and pack with grease..

the aerio uses sealed bearings that are pressed in.
if you're going to attemp yourself, you need to remove the knuckle,
press out the hub (the outer race will come out with the hub, so you'll need to get that off)
remove the snap ring & press the bearing out of the knuckle.
install in reverse order..

[Dogboy]

Yes, the Ranger bearings are tapered, with 2 per knuckle.

Does it take any special tools for reaching the bearing, or is the bearing exposed on both sides? As in, is there a lip that the bearing presses up against that would keep you from pressing directly on the bearing to get it out?

Thanks

[lumpylarry]

once you press out the hub, you will see the snap ring holding the bearing in.
after removing the snap ring, you will need to press out the bearing. it is open at the rear so that you can press it out through the front.

as for special tools you need a press, snap ring pliers, and all the tools to remove the knuckle.
ie, ball joint-14mm. axle nut -30 or 32mm cant remember,
tie rod, brake caliper, strut bolts - all 17mm

[Devilsword]

A few people on another forum ran into the same problem. they found out that there is a few guys on ebay that have shops that sell the hub new with bearing already in. its a little over a 100 dollars but it is allot easier then pressing your own.

[Dogboy]

Ok, thank you both. I will look into the ebay hub too. My uncle has a good sized garage with a ton of tools, so between my stuff, and his, I'm sure it would be a cake walk to press everything. But the complete hub also sounds appealing, .

When I was refering to special tools, I guess I should have said special "press tools", in other words adapters or what ever to put on the end of the hydrolic ram that will fit the bearing, if that make sense.

[lumpylarry]

nah, no special adapters. the toughest part will be getting the outer race off of the hub.
some use a cut-off wheel, others use air chissel.
im sure you'll find a way.