Omega Owners Forum

Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: firemoth on 10 January 2015, 17:48:31

Title: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: firemoth on 10 January 2015, 17:48:31
Hi. Hot a noisy wheel bearing n/s/r on a 2001 estate DTI. Do anyone know a rough price it should be? Been quoted £175 which seems very high. Last one I had done (rover 400, same wheel) was £80. If anyone has any real life figures for theirs being done it would be helpful too.

Thanks
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: 05omegav6 on 10 January 2015, 17:53:42
Hub needs stripping to remove it... so disc, caliper and drive shaft all need removing, then hub itself needs pulling out, then you have to persuade the bearing out...

Estate bearings are different to saloon ones too, so buy carefully. £175 sounds alot, but depends on the labour rate... it could take two hours, or it could take all day... :-\

Bearing kit should be about £30...
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: firemoth on 10 January 2015, 18:35:21
Is anything on these things simple?  :( >:(
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: Nick W on 10 January 2015, 19:12:23
removing the hub is the bit that causes grief, I struggled with mine until I made a specific puller.
The bearing itself is easily removed/replaced with same kit that is used to do FWD cars without removing the strut. Any garage will have suitable kit for that.

£175 is actually a pretty reasonable price all things considered. Make sure that's a firm price though, as they might struggle!
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: Sir Tigger KC on 10 January 2015, 22:36:51
Is anything on these things simple?  :( >:(

No.  ;D
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: firemoth on 11 January 2015, 00:16:22
Is anything on these things simple?  :( >:(

No.  ;D

There goes my glimmer of hope......  :-\
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: Shackeng on 11 January 2015, 10:11:51
VX bearings were £34.67 +VAT on TC last Sept., and I paid my local indy £40 each to fit, so less than half your quote. :y
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: 05omegav6 on 11 January 2015, 10:45:33
VX bearings were £34.67 +VAT on TC last Sept., and I paid my local indy £40 each to fit, so less than half your quote. :y
:o

Bet he won't do the next one for £40 What's his number? :y
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: Shackeng on 11 January 2015, 11:13:17
VX bearings were £34.67 +VAT on TC last Sept., and I paid my local indy £40 each to fit, so less than half your quote. :y
:o

Bet he won't do the next one for £40 What's his number? :y

 :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ Ooops, sorry, just checked, it was £60 (+VAT ::)), still good value I think. The same guy just re-gassed my AC, properly, for £35. :y

He also recently pressed in two new rear W/B bushes for nowt. :y
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: firemoth on 11 January 2015, 11:18:37
VX bearings were £34.67 +VAT on TC last Sept., and I paid my local indy £40 each to fit, so less than half your quote. :y
:o

Bet he won't do the next one for £40 What's his number? :y

 :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ Ooops, sorry, just checked, it was £60 (+VAT ::)), still good value I think. The same guy just re-gassed my AC, properly, for £35. :y

He also recently pressed in two new rear W/B bushes for nowt. :y

Where is this fella? That price makes things more viable :)
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: Shackeng on 11 January 2015, 11:40:32
VX bearings were £34.67 +VAT on TC last Sept., and I paid my local indy £40 each to fit, so less than half your quote. :y
:o

Bet he won't do the next one for £40 What's his number? :y

 :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ Ooops, sorry, just checked, it was £60 (+VAT ::)), still good value I think. The same guy just re-gassed my AC, properly, for £35. :y

He also recently pressed in two new rear W/B bushes for nowt. :y

Where is this fella? That price makes things more viable :)

Probably too far for you, its in Wiltshire! :y
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: robson on 11 January 2015, 12:54:21
Dont tell Entwood :y
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: Entwood on 11 January 2015, 13:44:15
Dont tell Entwood :y

Why not ??  Mine was done by Sassenach in Trowbridge for the cost of the bearing and in 1 hour 40 minutes !! Great shame he no longer frequents the forum as he had a great deal of knowledge and some amazing home-built tools, as well as being an extremely helpful and friendly person.

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=102254.40

Post number #40
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: robson on 11 January 2015, 14:32:11
Just knew you were in Witshire. Read your old post.Fantastic what other members will do to help. My daughter lives in Chippenham so we might run into each other sometime.Not in our cars hopefully. :y
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: firemoth on 11 January 2015, 15:26:20
That's a shame. Well if there's anyone up Lancashire way that does DIY mechanics and fancies some extra pocket money feel free to let me know....
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: Diamond Black Geezer on 12 January 2015, 10:20:03
Front bearings a piece of wee-wees, you can - and I have - done it in a car park. The rears (which seem to last longer) are the difficult (and expensive) ones. Guy near me will sell you a decent used pair of fronts for a tenner  8)

Again, can only repeat, it's the time that's the cost, not the parts. And again, may take a few hours, or all day. Sadly need a bit of semi-specialist equipment fabricating to do the job, too.
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: Nick W on 12 January 2015, 11:21:45
If I figure out how to post pictures I'll show my Scrapbiniumtm hub extractor which was made on the car. It's a length of large bore hydraulic tubing, a pair of lugs with 8mm drilled holes, and a thick metal disc with a nut welded over a hole in the centre.  The lugs were bolted two of the brake backing plate holes, shaped to fit the tubing with an angle grinder, then all 3 pieces welded together on the car. Next I unbolted the part and welded the disc to the other end. Added a long M16 bolt, and refitted the complete extractor to the car. 30 seconds later I had the hub in my hand. We had struggled with other methods for 2 hours.

The tool looks horrible, but works well. No measurements were made, it was all done by eye. The only precision part of the job was the hole in the disc; I drilled and bored  it in the lathe as I didn't have a suitable drillbit, and hacking through 10mm steel with hand tools is not fun.

I do have a 3d model of the tool, that is waiting for an accurate layout of the boltholes. With that I would have a mounting ring laser cut in 6mm steel, face the ends of the tubing in the lathe, make the disc a stepped fit into the end, and TIG the assembly together on the bench. This would look much better and centre the push bolt over the hub for a straighter push. I'd also be happier about lending it out; it is the sort of thing that we should have available to forum members.
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: Diamond Black Geezer on 12 January 2015, 11:31:33
As you are clearly a man of experience with rear hubs.. if for example: you had a scrap car, with good rear hubs you want, let's say you can have anything off the car for free - what would have to come off the car, if one didn't have the means to make one of these tools? Thanks  :y
Title: Re: wheel bearing cost estimate
Post by: Nick W on 12 January 2015, 12:06:25
You would need the entire semi-trailing arm. If you're prepared to arse about replacing that for a £30 bearing that will last the remaining life of the car, then save your money. Remove your existing one, spend the money on a bearing, and have the hub and then bearing pressed out.

The rear bearings are not part of the hub, which is a part that should always be reusable.

Second-hand bearings are something that I find very  difficult to justify unless new ones are unavailable.