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Why can you not replace just the wheel bearings on a Saturn Ion?
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Remove the wheel, the brake caliper, and the brake caliper bracket. Remove the axle nut ( 32mm i believe). remove the 3 bolts on the back of the bearing( next to the axle shaft). Tap the end of the axle back in towards the center of the car, and tap on the hub with a hammer to separate the bearing from the knuckle.
Sounds really involved but I did both sides in about an hour - no alignment is required afterwards, and it is not necessary to remove the ball joint or tie-rod ends as several other posts on the web indicate.
Addendum 12/31/2009 from another user:
The information above is very good, thank you for that. I just did this myself on a 2003 Ion and it went very smoothly. Here is a little more information:
- The axle nut on this car is 30mm. I actually used a 1 3/16" socket (about the same size) because I have one that fits my hefty 3/4" drive breaker bar. The nut wasn't nearly as tight as I thought it would be, but if you are not using an impact wrench, be sure to loosen it first thing with the car resting on the wheel, before you take the wheel off.
- Be ready with a piece of rope or wire to hang the brake caliper after removal. Never let the caliper hang from the hose.
- The hub does indeed have three bolts securing it from the rear, and once removed, it taps off fairly easily. One cautionary note... when the suspension spring was fully extended (ie, the car was jacked up and the wheel removed), I could not get a socket onto the top bolt because the CV joint was in the way. I got around this by putting another jack directly under the ball joint and pushing the hub assembly up, compressing the spring and changing the angle of the CV joint. With much pushing, I was *barely* able to get the socket on and remove the bolt. A good, closed-ended wrench might have sufficed instead but I couldn't find the right size in my toolbox. I was using a 13mm socket.
All things considered, this was the easiest wheel bearing job I've ever done, but certainly the most expensive as well :) To buy the entire hub, it cost me $160 at AutoZone (PA, USA). Good luck!
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
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