swmic

I need to replace my front wheel bearing in my 91 C4. The shop (stealer) I took it to is saying it's going to cost around $450. I have a new bearing and wheel nut, so I don't have to purchase the parts from them. I'm thinking that's a bit steep.

Anyone else have this done recently?

Thanks

Tom W

Do you have the huge torque wrench that's required and the special tools required to pull and insert?

It doesn't sound too bad if it includes both labor and parts. An independent may be a bit cheaper. I don't have an invoice handy to see what I paid the last time.

Strega(UK)

Hate to say it, but that does sound about right..... Damn it!!!

swmic

No, I don't have the tools, but at this price I think I'll get them. That way when the next one goes, I'll be all over it. I'll also be able to lend out to the rest of you all.

MisterRisky

You may not need the special tools (not that I am one to discourage the purchase of new tools). See Phil's comment in this thread:

https://rennlist.com/forums/964-forum/100759-wheel-bearing-noise.html

He recommends the blue wrench and a hammer. Get the old one out and use the old one to press the new one in.

Geoffrey

I changed a front on one of the Cup cars at the track this past weekend and it took less than 1 hour. I did have the proper tools with me.

J.PELLEGRINO

The job is a bit more work on a c4 than a c2...but you can try it. The proper tools will cost most of the price you were quoted. And bear in mind, the dealer is not making anything on the parts, so I am sure he is factoring that into the quote. I am not sure most dealers (or any professional shop for that matter) would happily install costumer supplied parts....Try going to Mortons and ask them to cook the 16 oz. sirloin you walked in with...Just another perspective...Good luck, Jerry

MisterRisky

Sorry to be a contrarian, but I don't buy for a second that dealers don't make money on parts. At a minimum they make a 25% margin, and in many cases more. I would be surprised if their margin on mechanic time and shop capital is more than 30%. So I call triple BS on the assertion that the dealer "is not making anything on the parts."

J.PELLEGRINO

I did not say the dealer did not make money on parts, of course they do, they need to. My point was the original post stated that he had already purchased the parts ( I assume elsewhere) and was now asking the dealer to just install them...maybe I misunderstood....if so, sorry.

swmic

I'm sure dealers make money on the parts they sell. What shop doesn't. The price I was quoted was for labor only. Anyhow, I went ahead and purchased the bearing removal tool from EBS ($135). I'll get to it next week and will report back on how it went. I don't have a large torque wrench but will drive the car to a local shop I deal with and have them set the proper torque.

MisterRisky

Jerry, I totally misunderstood your comment. You are TOTALLY right. I retract my rant.

You are exactly correct in that the dealer is not getting the margin on parts AND labor/shop time but only on labor/shop time since Swmic already had the parts. Thus the dealer might pad labor a little more. That makes good sense. Sorry that I jumped all over your earlier comment. Kudos to you for a restrained clarification.

MisterRisky

Swmic, since you ordered the tool from EBS, I presume you read this:

http://p-car.com/diy/bearing/bearing.htm

swmic

JD,

Thanks for the link. I've searched the archives long and hard and have seen this procedure. Since I'm doing the front, it will be a little different. I'll try to take pictures and write up a procedure since there is not one for the front.

Shawn

MisterRisky

I'm looking forward to reading it! When you do the deed, would you please take ID and OD measures on the wheel bearing and some pictures of the tool too? I'd like to come up with an alternative tool that is cheaper than the EBS tool. There are a number of less expensive bearing puller tools on the market and it would be nice to figure out which one fits our front ends. I guess since I have a C2 I'll have to figure out if my front bearings are the same as yours.

swmic

I believe when I ordered the bearing they listed C2 & C4 with the same part number.