Guys, I'm looking for advice here. The dust shields behind the front rotors are rusted away badly, and were rubbing on the hub, making a terrible noise.
I bought new ones from the dealer, and have taken the passenger side apart. The knuckle/hub assembly is now attached only by the ABS sensor wire. I have the knuckle propped up on wood to relieve the tension on the wire. (It was a bit of a deal to get this far - I removed the wheel, the caliper, the caliper mounting bracket, the rotor, the spindle nut, and the lower control arm. The knuckle is now separated from the outer tie rod end and the strut.
The plan for tomorrow is to take out the three big (I think they're 17 mm) bolts on the back of the hub assembly, which I hope will allow access to the dust shield. (I was running out of daylight, so had to pack it in for the evening.) If not, then I have to decide whether to press out the bearing, which I imagine will destroy it. The bearing hub assembly is pricey - the SKF unit is C$242.47 per side from Rock Auto, and likely costlier from NAPA here.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/kia,...b+assembly,1636
The van has about 117K km on it (c. 73K miles), so normally I would expect a lot more years out of the bearings.
So my question is whether it's worth it to proceed if doing so involves a lot more work and money to replace the bearings. I'm not sure exactly what purpose the dust shields serve, but figure they're there for a reason.
One alternative is to replace them without splitting the hub and bearing, by modifying the dust shield. This gentleman shows how:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=combbON_ZmY
That method is not my first choice, but I would consider it.
I'm glad I went ahead with this work so far, because I will clean up the bolts with a die, and will anti-seize everything. Then I'll have assurance that if I ever do have to replace the LCA or wheel bearings, things will come apart OK. (Some of you may remember the fun I had removing the seized-in splined axle shaft from the hub of our Mazda 5 last year, to be able to replace the LCA. I was so glad the Kia wasn't seized.)
Thanks in advance to all who can offer advice.
I bought new ones from the dealer, and have taken the passenger side apart. The knuckle/hub assembly is now attached only by the ABS sensor wire. I have the knuckle propped up on wood to relieve the tension on the wire. (It was a bit of a deal to get this far - I removed the wheel, the caliper, the caliper mounting bracket, the rotor, the spindle nut, and the lower control arm. The knuckle is now separated from the outer tie rod end and the strut.
The plan for tomorrow is to take out the three big (I think they're 17 mm) bolts on the back of the hub assembly, which I hope will allow access to the dust shield. (I was running out of daylight, so had to pack it in for the evening.) If not, then I have to decide whether to press out the bearing, which I imagine will destroy it. The bearing hub assembly is pricey - the SKF unit is C$242.47 per side from Rock Auto, and likely costlier from NAPA here.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/kia,...b+assembly,1636
The van has about 117K km on it (c. 73K miles), so normally I would expect a lot more years out of the bearings.
So my question is whether it's worth it to proceed if doing so involves a lot more work and money to replace the bearings. I'm not sure exactly what purpose the dust shields serve, but figure they're there for a reason.
One alternative is to replace them without splitting the hub and bearing, by modifying the dust shield. This gentleman shows how:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=combbON_ZmY
That method is not my first choice, but I would consider it.
I'm glad I went ahead with this work so far, because I will clean up the bolts with a die, and will anti-seize everything. Then I'll have assurance that if I ever do have to replace the LCA or wheel bearings, things will come apart OK. (Some of you may remember the fun I had removing the seized-in splined axle shaft from the hub of our Mazda 5 last year, to be able to replace the LCA. I was so glad the Kia wasn't seized.)
Thanks in advance to all who can offer advice.