How do you put in a front wheel bearing in a 2006 Pontiac G6?

Answer 1

First of all, you will need the following.

13mm socket

14mm socket

17mm socket

36mm deep socket

3 jaw puller (to remove the hub bearing from the axle)

1/2 inch torque wrench that goes up to 160 ft/pounds

U joint extension

Short and medium socket extensions

1/2 breaker bar

New Hub bearing

After safely raising the car and removing the tire, spray some wd-40 or equivalent on the axle threads and nut. This is to clean the threads and help loosing up the nut.

Time to remove the axle nut; stick something in the rotor cooling holes to prevent it from rotating COUNTER clockwise. You may think that the parking gear on the tranny could hold the torque but why risk it. I recommend that you use a breaker bar. The nut size is 36mm.

After removing the nut, we can safely remove the caliper, caliper mounting bracket and the rotor. Be sure to prevent the caliper hang from the hose, be sure to secure it with some wire or tie wrap and tuck it out of the way.

Remove the 3 bolts securing the hub bearing to the knuckle. Be EXTREMELY careful not to damage the CV boot when doing this. The bolts are 13mm

After removing the 3 bolts, the brake shield will be loose and you can actually pull the bearing out of the knuckle. DONT HAMMER on the axle, instead work smartly and get a 2 or 3 (preferred) jaw puller. Be sure to add some lubricant to the spines to help the removal. Be sure to disconnect the ABS sensor from the knuckle before removing the bearing!!!!

Clean the knuckle for dirt and brake dust. I even a light coat of grease on the spines and on the mounting surface of the bearing to help in the install. Just a very light coat. If you overdo this, you will have grease all over the inside of the wheel and probably on the rotors. If in doubt, use some light oil.

Now time to install the new one....

Carefully snake the ABS connector thru the knuckle and axle, don't connect it yet. Align the brake shield with the holes and slide the new hub bearing. Screw the axle nut HAND TIGHT and screw the hub bearing bolts, again, be very careful when doing this!!

Also, notice that the bolts have some coloring to it. DONT REMOVE IT!!!

That is some sort or thread lock and a cool way of knowing which bolt goes.

Don't torque them yet.

Be sure that the axle is straight and there is no binding, then start torqueing the bolts in steps up to 85 ft/pounds, to prevent binding. I went from 25, 50 and final torque in a criss cross pattern.

DONT TIGHTEN THE AXLE NUT YET!!

Install the brake hardware then and only then you can torque the axle nut, AFTER securing the rotor from rotating CLOCKWISE, again to prevent strain on the tranny. Again, torque in steps. I went from 50 to 100 to 125 to 159 just to be sure.

Reconnect the ABS sensor cable and harness, if you have some dielectric grease, now it's a good time to add some at the connector seal to prevent moisture and water inside the connector and to ease removal in the future.... just in case.

Do a final torque check on all bolts, put the car in neutral and rotate the axle. Check the CV boots for damage, check the axle for binding and the ABS wire for rubbing. Mount the tire back if all clears ok.

Go and do some test drive!! Enjoy the sound of silence!!!