Well, the problems are starting to arrive pretty regularly with my S80. Though it's been mostly reliable, the check engine light and various mechanical warning messages come on at least once every two days, all different stuff, mostly just ECM & emission glitches. Not actual problems but pending issues I'm sure. If I wasn't a decent mechanic, and just a regular car owner, I'd be pulling my hair out.

Most pressing right now is a front wheel bearing. What I need to know is, on the front wheel bearings, do you replace the whole hub, or is it common to replace just the bearings. I only seem to be able to locate whole hub assembly replacements from the online parts suppliers (at about $135). I haven't checked the dealer or brick & mortar suppliers yet.

Thanks for any help.

They only come with the hub attached.

I have to replace the right front wheel bearing on an S70 (if I buuy it). If you have ever replaced these FWD bearings, could you provide any hints or rather cautions to someone doing this job the first time around?

Carl

It is pretty straight forward. I did both on my S70. The hardest part was to remove the large axle nut. I think it was a 36mm, but it needed to be a deep well socket since the axle shaft sticks out. I had a shorter one and had to get a deep well. Make sure you have a torque wrench. Not very complicated.

Greetings db, what were the torque specs on the ones you did? Are there any special recommendations for tightening the axle nut? Thanks.

Thanks for the replies. All I could find anywhere were the hub assemblies. Brick and mortar stores were pricing them at $159 - $199, most online parts suppliers were at $135-$140 from various manufacturers. I ordered it from autopartswarehouse.com (Timken @ $135). I haven't put one on one of these cars yet but I don't anticipate much difficulty. There are a few threads here regarding changing the hub on an S80 and other late model FWDs. I'll post back on how it went.

I did the hub (r/f) on the 99 S80. The bearing was indeed bad and it's so nice and quiet now.
It went pretty smoothly, very straight forward. This is how I proceeded, I assume no responsibility whatsoever for anyone messing up their car using this method!

1. Jack & support the car, chock the rear wheel.
2. remove the affected wheel.
3. Remove the 2 caliper/steering stop bolts, pull off and support the caliper out of the way. It may be
necessary to relieve brake piston pressure by gently prying between the caliper and rotor.
4. Remove the guide pin/bolt from the rotor and remove rotor.
5. Remove dust shield (3 bolts).
6. Remove the axle nut.
7. Remove four hub-to-knuckle bolts from behind hub and slide hub forward and off. Turn wheels for
access as necessary.
8. Clean mating surfaces.
9. Install new hub in reverse order

I had to beat the crap out of the rotor with a mallet to get it break loose. It wasn't necessary to remove the steering knuckle, but the axle boot didn't allow much room to put a socket on the 4 hub bolts. I used the shallowest socket I had and was just able to force it on (only necessary for torqueing the at the end, I used a wrench to loosen them). It would be a simple matter to buy a shallow 17mm 6pt. socket and grind it down a little shorter, then there'd be no trouble at all. I took the dust plate off for easier access. Although I had air tools ready, I didn't use them (except for the twheel). I used a breaker bar for the two caliper bolts.

Other advise: Make sure the car is supported well, and not with just a jack. Make sure you have a sturdy wire to hang the caliper from. You might want to remove the ABS/STC sensor from the top of the knuckle so it doesn't get damaged by the loose axle and pulse wheel. Be careful not to damage the teeth on the pulse wheel. Inspect the seal on end of the axle, be careful not to damage it if your reusing it (early 1999 models may not have the seal ??). Clean off any rust or scale before matching with new parts. Follow torqueing procedures

As a first timer, It took about 1.5 hrs, working slowly and deliberately, taking care. the other side would take about a half hour or so if all goes smoothly.

Torque on the four hub bolts is (according to alldata) is step.1: 15 ft/lbs - step.2: 39 ft/lbs - step.3: angle tight 60°. The axle bolt is a 14mm bolt (on my 99' S80) that tightens to 35-45 ft/lbs. with locking compound (thoroughly clean the old compound out of the threads). I read some recommendations somewhere about using new bolts for reassembly.