cost of wheel bearing replacement?(not a 'retta)

[themadness]

my wife's 02 civic just started making a humming noise on the front passenger side tire. i have inspected the tire itself and it doesnt have any nails, etc in it. i'm gonna jack it up tomorrow and try the wheel play test and do a front back rotation to see if that helps. my only other hunch would be wheel bearing. the cost of the part is about 50 bucks and i have heard everything from 150 dollars to 500 to replace it.

any idea what a fair price is to replace one...it is a pretty intensive job from what i understand.

[scannerman]

If it's anything similar to the beretta it's about a 30min-1hr job and is rather simple.

[themadness]

i wonder if we are talking about the same thing though? best i can tell you have to disassemble quite a bit of the front end on a honda. this is the most thorough write up i found on the procedure...
http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=1567042

i wish japanese cars were as simple as ours. life would be alot easier. we are taking it in on monday for the 100k service and timing belt change to the tune of 375 dollars(roughly).

[BerettaLove32]

That's definitely way more involved than a Beretta wheel bearing. You'll spend a decent amount on that repair probably.

[spacecadetz26]

its rougly 1.3 hours labor so whatever your shops labor rate is. my shop would be $120.

[themadness]

i got a quote for 160 today. the wheel started growling around 45mph and a metallic, somewhat rythmic squeal starts around 60mph. when i apply the brake though the small squeal immediately stops. that sounds exactly like a bad wheel bearing confirmation to me but my old man suggested it may be the brakes as well.

the question now is how long will it last until i can get it fixed? if i can get to the shop monday it would be great but at the latest it will be thursday....

[themadness]

updating this......

i had my mechanic check it out and the bearings were fine. the metallic scraping noise was the brake pads so i did i whole brake service to the tune of 70 bucks. but the growling/roaring still persists. just short of swapping each tire with the donut and riding around i have done everything else that i know to do. the tires are less than six months old so i dare say its not those but its not impossible. the sound is louder in the cab than out. the only thing i can think of now is to swap each tire with the donut and cruise around to see if it changes.

the car doesnt pull to either side enough to raise a flag. could it still be an alignment issue.....i'm bumfuddled

[berettaboi]

is the brake shield (behind the disc) touching the disc slightly? happens often on older beasts with rust issues usually. if it's not that, then it's your bearing (unless you didnt clean the caliper slider pins and freshly lube them)

[themadness]

i will have to give it a look. it doesnt have any rust issues though. the mechanic did the brake job so i'm not sure about the caliper bolts. given that the roar was there before the brake service i wouldnt think that was it. i also noticed today that the brakes rub when they get wet. which is perfectly normal for new brake pads but this seems to be a little more for some reason. this car is getting to be a pain in the rear. we have dropped a little over 450 in servicing this month and this problem is still hanging around.....i hate japanese cars.

i think the donut wheel test is going to be the next step.....

[3X00-Modified]

There's nothing wrong with Jap cars.... There is an issue of something failing and you just haven't found it. I'm sorry but stuff like this happens on any car and unfortunately some shops just are not good at troubleshooting stuff so you end up throwing money at it till you find the issue.

What test did this Mechanic do when he a'OK'd the bearings?

[themadness]

he did a spin test, 12 and 6 position push/pull to check for play, and did a visual of the brake assembly, cv boots, and turned the rotors. the wasnt any noises from the spin, no play in the wheels, and the boots were good. granted he isnt a suspension specialist but he is a good all around mechanic. the only thing he didnt do is the stethoscope and spring vibration test.

best i can tell he was pretty thorough.

as far as jap cars go, i just dont like them all around. compared to cars like ours they are just stiff and uncomfortable. not my cup of tea. and locally there arent too many shops that like to work on them for whatever reason. they are tough as nails but i'd much rather have a chevy

[3X00-Modified]

I have one of each and honestly I can't complain about jap cars if a 140k motor is taking 19PSI of boost with no issues... and its far from stiff and uncomfortable... Just remember your dealing with a Civic... not the highest grade there.