Bagged a slightly manky W reg fezza.. needs work!

[Lankytim]

Hi all,

 

Today I inherited a W reg 3 door Fiesta, Its not in such a bad condition really but does have iffy rear arches, the odd dent and a REALLY noisy NSF wheel bearing. Its got the old 1300 crossflow engine and is on 95k but thanks to regular servicing the engine runs as sweet as a nut, It drives lovely too! The MOT is up in a few weeks and apart from the bearing I think it should sail through. I have done a few rear bearings on FWD cars in my time but no front wheel bearings. I understand they need to be pressed out? Is this a DIY type job? I have seen bearings online for £15 odd but I guess its going to be garage labour rates that will bump the price up quite a bit. Would it be cost effective to just get a complete donor hub from a breakers and simply swap the whole thing over? Maybe I could remove the hub and take it into a garage to fit the bearing..... Anybody done any front bearings on these?

 

Anyway, hopefully this will prove cheap daily transport for when Mrs Lankytim goes back to work in a few weeks. Just need to sell BOTH my Volvos now!

[Cavcraft]

Nice one Tim.

 

If they're anything like an Orion it'll need pressing out. The trouble with a complete second hand strut is you might not know how good (or bad) the bearing and shock) are.

[Lankytim]

Very true, Billy. Can the strut not be unbolted from the hub though? Theres a good chance the new bearing could be stuffed too though!

 

Just for clarity, this is a 2000 W reg, not a 1980 W...

[M'coli]

The method I've used is to take the strut off, remove at least one of the circlips if it has them, then heat the hub up (camping stove, tin with some meths, gas ring on the kitchen stove etc.), take it off the heat and pour water on the bearing to shrink it slightly then hit it repeatedly with a big f-off hammer until it comes out.

[Richard]

I would buy a hub from a scrapper, but I'd want to check the bearing (usually you feel roughness in the bearing) before buying it.

 

I'd keep the old hub in case the scrapper hub's bearing wore out, that way you could get a new bearing fitted to the original hub and do the job without having to leave the car on three wheels. Pressing a bearing out and in should be well under an hour's labour.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I would get a new bearing, and make sure its a decent QH or OEM one not an unbranded one cos they never last more than 3 months before whining again, and you end up thinking its your own fault for fitting it wrongly. If you want to get a new brg and take the hub off, i'll press the new bearing in for you one night and drop it off the next day. If you want to do it yourself, all you need is a big vice to press the old bearing in/out, also you can make life easier for yourself by heating the hub up in an oven for a while to expand it before pushing the old bearing out/new one in. This method works best if you use Mrs_Tim's favourite 'Le Creuset' flan dish to sit the hub in while baking it BTW.

[Lankytim]

Can't say fairer than that, Thanks Mr B! I'd better get down Euro car spares or some such place and get a new bearing. The wife wasn't exactly enthusiastic about the oven idea, and I don't have a large vice so if you could press the bearing in for me, that would be superb. The inlaws who currently own the fezza are getting their new car next weekend so I should get my Halfords VALUE socket set to work on it pretty soon after that. I just need to make sure I have a big enough socket to get the hub nut off, if not I should beable to blag one easily enough. Scaffold tube at the ready!

[Cavcraft]

What sized socket is it Tim?

[Lankytim]

What sized socket is it Tim?

 

No idea, but big!

[Richard]

Either 32mm or 36mm IIRC. Although a 1/2" drive socket with a long bar can do it you would be better borrowing a 3/4" socket set if you can.

[Cavcraft]

Aha, just been to my tool box and I have a 32mm 1/2 inch drive socket I'm sure I got to do the Orion wheelbearing with.

 

Tim, if you want a borrow of it just sing out mate.