Front Wheel Hub Replacement

From: First Name (ezlife45@hotmail.com)
Date: Tue Aug 12 2003 - 20:39:56 EDT


Hey DML'ers

I've seen posts in the past concerning a less expensive route to replace
your front wheel bearings. I have a '98 2wd CC (Gen III). Most of the
posts I've seen said that the only way to replace the bearings was to buy
the whole hub assembly from a dealership (mine told me about $158 each).
Well I decided to look into it, and after removing my hub, I noticed it had
a Timken part number. The hub has a large snap ring holding the bearing in
place. Well with a little tinkering and a hydraulic press, I got my
bearings out. Then the fun began. The only place I found my bearing was at
a local bearing supply house. They charged me $44 for each bearing. The
only difference in my original bearing (Timken JRM 4249A) and the
replacement bearing (Timken JRM 4249) was the radius on the edges of the
inner race. So I basically saved $100 bucks a side by replacing my bearing
and re using my old hubs.

Then by pure accident, I was replacing the rear bearings on my car and those
WERE available at the local AutoZone, when I opened up the box, Lo and
behold it was the same bearing. My auto parts store attempted to match the
bearing but was unsuccessful, yet it was simply due to a part number
difference. At AutoZone you can't ask for a JRM 4249 because they won't
know what you're talking about. BUT you can ask for a Timken Set 49, and
when you open the box, it should be a Timken JRM 4249. The kicker is that
Set 49 costs only about $30!

Just passing along a little friendly advice.

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