How do you replace the front wheel bearing on a 2004 Kia minivan?

Answer 1

well to replace the bearing you need a press, the bearing needs to be pressed out of the hub and pressed back in.I just finished doing the front drivers bearing on a 2003 kid sedona. the work to take out the wheel assembly is not hard at all . first take off the tire now remove the brakes and the brake assembly undo the 2 bolts that hold the strut to the wheel assembly do not take them off just take off the nuts and leave the bolts in place now undo the bolt to the steering shaft it is a 10mm bolt that has a cotter pin take that cotter pin out and take the nut off, this bolt needs to be take out off the steering shaft with a ball joint separator ( or a big hammer put a piece of wood on the bolt and hit it with the hammer it should come off) now look under the wheel assembly there is a bolt that runs across it is the swivel part to the assembly take that bolt out there is a 1/8 slit there stick a crow bar and open it mybe a 16th of an inch very little now there are 2 bolts left they are on the a frame under the half shaft the rubber boot is on top of them take the nuts off these bolts , okay now undo the big nut holding the hub assembly to the drive shaft first you need to take the crimp off the nut so it will turn I think its a 33 mm nut take that nut off now the only thing holding it in plce is the bottom swivel take a long bar and have some one stick it between the swivel and the a frame and press down this will loosen the swivel and the assembly should be loose now hold on to the assembly and have someone take out the strut bolts off the assembly is heavy hold it well. now you can take it to a machine shop or you can do it a home with a sledge hammer and a torch if you have any questions e-mail me at runningjalapeno@msn.com

Buffalonumber5 expands on what runningjalepeno wrote: (sorry, I was unable to insert the photos I had hoped to also post)

How to Replace the Wheel Bearings on a

(2004) KIA Sedona Mini-van

Note: To replace the Kia Sorrento's front wheel bearing, you need a press, because the bearing needs to be pressed out of the hub and pressed back in. It is probably easiest (and cheaper, unless you plan on fixing a multitude of KIA mini-vans) to disconnect the whole assembly (with the old bearing race intact - they can press out the old bearing race and put the new one in… so bring the proper new bearing race to the shop) and then take it into a machine shop. So here is how to do all of that:

Tools Needed to do this Job (Have them on-hand BEFORE beginning this job!) :

1 heavy-duty socket driver-bar (at least 14" long)

1 long-handled ratchet driver

1 regular and 1 deep 17 mm socket

1 21mm socket

1 17mm box end wrench

1 21mm box end wrench or a large crescent wrench

1 two-foot length (approximately) of ¾" pipe for extra leverage (use it to extend the length of your heavy-duty socket driver bar… you WILL need the extra leverage on many of these nuts if your car has more than a few thousand miles on it)

Band wrench for rubber housing bands

Optional Tools & Supplies (but VERY useful to have on hand):

WD-40

Hacksaw and 2 blades (I had to cut off one of the bolts that would not budge, and replace it with a similar case-hardenedbolt & nut that I bought at the automotive supply store)

Portable light supple

Floor jack & safety supports

First, take off the tire & remove the brakes and the brake assembly.

1. Undo the two 17 mm bolts that hold the strut to the wheel assembly (do not take them off just take off the nuts and leave the bolts in place). This is what you need the heavy-duty 17 mm deep socket set-up for. These bolts can be a problem to get off. One of the two bolts I had to hacksaw off.

THESE are what you may need a piece of pipe and a long socket handle for… I needed about 2 or 3 feet of handle to get the needed leverage to break the nut free on the second bolt!

2. Next… (or optionally before the previous step) undo the bolt to the steering shaft (it is a 17 mm bolt that has a cotter pin); first take that cotter pin out and then take the nut off. This bolt needs to be taken out off the steering shaft with a ball joint separator (or use a big hammer… put a piece of wood on the bolt and hit it with the hammer it should come off).

3. Next step: look under the wheel assembly; there is a bolt that runs across (it is the swivel part to the assembly); take that bolt out. There is a ⅛ inch slit there… stick a pry bar or extra large old screw driver in the gap and open it maybe a 16th of an inch (very little) so that it slides off the post.

4. Now there are 2 bolts left; they are on the frame under the half shaft the rubber boot is on top of them take the nuts off these bolts.

5. Next undo the big nut holding the hub assembly to the drive shaft first you need to take the crimp off the nut so it will turn (It's a 33 mm nut). Take that nut off. (If the nut is frozen on, try soaking the area with WD-40… then bang on it with a hammer. If all that fails, heat the nut with a small propane torch for a minute or so, then wrestle the nut off.) The nut unscrews counter-clockwise, just like most standard nuts do.

6. Now the only thing holding it in place is the bottom swivel; take a long bar and have someone stick it between the swivel and the frame and press down; this will loosen the swivel and the assembly should be loose.

7. Hold on to the assembly and have someone take out the strut bolts off… the assembly is heavy so hold it well. Now you can take it to a machine shop (or you can do it at home with a sledge hammer and a torch.)

8. Final note: My half shaft (short axel) was frozen onto the bearing assembly, so I had to separate the assembly further inside of the rubber large joint with the metal clip band (shown above-right) in order to get the bearing assembly out from under my car.

When you re-assemble (all of the pieces you previously took apart using the previous instructions) I recommend using a lubricating product to prevent the bolts and nuts from freezing up.

Also, when I asked the machine shop guys about tools I would need to replace the metal clip band, they told me that they just used heavy-duty zip ties instead of the metal bands. This saves buying more tools and getting involved with all the complications that replacing the metal bands would have required.

P.S. I wish to thank runningjalepeno for his excellent information on this site (which helped me get my job done). Hopefully, the pictures and extra hints will be of help to someone else who faces this same job.