How do you replace the front wheel bearings on a 1990 Honda Accord?

Answer 1

The large nut will not come off, any suggestions?

I used a bent jack handle...put it in between the lug nut bolts until it hit the ground and wasnt turning anymore, got a 1/2'' rachet about a foot long and a socket to fit and stood and jumped on it til it come off...i have a 93 im trying to replace the wheel bearing on passenger side and it's a bi+c4 to get to anything, you have to beat the axle back into the car and take off the 12-side headed bolts (4 of them)...which im doing it the red-neck way cuz im too cheap to go get it done...so i went and bought the part myself and did it myself...going to do it now as a matter of face...later good luck

I bought a 1/2" drive socket (I think it's 34 mm) at AutoZone for around $18, and I bought a 24" 1/2" drive ratcheting breaker-bar at Harbor Freight Tools for around $15. Also bought a "pickle fork" ball joint separator for around $10.

Remove wheel cap, use breaker bar and socket to loosen the big nut BEFORE JACKING THE CAR. Then jack the car, remove the wheel. Remove the large nut the rest of the way. Remove the brake caliper, do not disconnect the brake line, tie the caliper from the upper control arm with a piece of heavy wire. Remove cotter pin and lower ball joint castle nut. Remove the bolt from the lower control arm that connects the bottom of the strut to the lower control arm, (called a damper fork) You don't need a spring compressor, you are Not decompressing or removing the strut/coil spring. Use the pickle fork and a BFH to separate the ball joint/lower control arm from the bottom of the spindle. Pull spindle toward you to separate it from the splined drive axle. There are four bolts that hold the hub assembly to the spindle, (14mm, I think). Soak them with WD-40, they may not come easy.

On this vintage Accord, the assembly comes out from the front of the spindle, the hub assembly is a unit that bolts in, and is NOT pressed out by a machine shop. They rust in place and are sometimes extremely difficult to get loose from the spindle, even with all four bolts out. Heat it up with a torch if that's available to you. I've done it a couple other times where the hub comes right out easily. One other option is to separate the spindle from the upper ball joint, (again, leaving the strut in place) and work on the whole thing on the bench if possible. Don't forget to unplug the ABS wire (if you have ABS) from the engine compartment and thread it through the hole, I don't recommend trying to disconnect that at the spindle.

The bearing hub costs less than $25 each on eBay, and they interchange all the way from 1990-1997 if you're the junkyarding type.

Good luck and have fun.