2012 Honda Civic Wheel Bearings

R

R18Civic

Joined
Jan 14, 2017
Messages
1,272
Hey all. Been a while since I've created a new thread.

The honda I just acquired gets great gas mileage and rides/handles like a dream but I'm hearing what sounds like bad bearings up front.

First I noticed humming and clicking sounds at regular speeds, but at 60 mph the driver front howls. I'm not willing to take it any faster.

The car has 167xxx miles on it and I'm not going to be replacing the individual bearing, I'm going to be replacing the whole knuckle with a fresh bearing pressed into it.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
I have replaced a couple bearings and next time i think I'll just replace the knuckle. I have always marked the strut camber bolts and strut position so you know where to set it and eliminate an alignment. Should be a pretty straight forward job. Look over the axles when you have it apart, they can click also and maybe a couple sway bar links while you're in there.
 
What level of help? Jack it up, remove wheel, remove brake caliper/bracket/rotor, and suspend caliper with hook or similar (do not hang from soft brake hose). There's about 4 bolts and a ball joint to undo. If BJ needs help coming off, I'd rather user a puller or even put the nut back on and hammer it, than using a pickle fork that might cause damage. Maybe something more, you'll see it when you get that far along.

Put penetrant on ahead of time if they're rusty. The connected parts are the alignment adjustments so in a perfect world, if you marked that position then the replacement would be dimensionally identical to the old and you wouldn't need an alignment. In the real world, I'd factor in the value of the tires and maybe be swayed towards getting one. If your front struts haven't been replaced in over 50K mi, I'd do them too while you're in there. Some people say 100K mi, YMMV.
 
That is what I would do.
The difficult part will be pressing the old bearing out because it will fall apart.
At least that is my experience when doing it for my former Sienna.

So, with new knuckles and bearing, you pressed the new bearing to new knuckles.
Buy a new retainer ring, etc.
They are ready.
If you don't have a pressed, you can bring it to a mechanic who can do it for you.

So, it is ready to install as soon as you get the old one out.
 
I would be getting a WJB knuckle/Bearing assembly which has good reviews. $141. I'll upload a video of the noise as well.
 
atikovi said:
I would avoid those "loaded" knuckles with unknown bearings probably made in China. A USA or Canada bearing is $30. How much would a shop charge to press them?
Click to expand...
Yes, I agree. They sound good on paper but you don’t know what bearing you’re getting.

The last time I did it, I rented a bearing press kit from an auto parts store and with my electric impact the job w my pretty well. The most “difficult” part was cutting the inner race with my grinder to get it off the knuckle.
 
Yeah I did some research and WJB uses cheap Chinese specials. Just going to save my money and have a local shop throw in a Timken bearing.

Shop owner told me to check for play, if none is there I'm good. He says you can drive for years on bad bearings in a Honda.
 
Last edited:
you usually dont need a press to remove those sealed bearing... just a BFH and large punch... of course then you want to put the new bearings in the freezer and warm up the hub in the oven, maybe to 225 to 250,,,, you'll be surprised how non difficult it will go. . just find yourself a suitable diameter driver ( as in a socket) and use it to knock the new bearing in.
 
3800Fan said:
I would be getting a WJB knuckle/Bearing assembly which has good reviews. $141. I'll upload a video of the noise as well.
Click to expand...
if you think it is a wheel bearing, if the noise changes when you corner and gets progressively louder with speed ,that is what it is... then jack it up and spin the wheels and check for play... that usually gets you in the ballpark for identification... my old Ford Focus used went thru a couple rear wheel bearings in 200,000 miles. . my Nissan Versa has had 1 so far at the 50,000 mile mark. My old Cavalier never needed any and that car went past 300,000 miles..
 
3800Fan said:
Yeah I did some research and WJB uses cheap Chinese specials. Just going to save my money and have a local shop throw in a Timken bearing.

Shop owner told me to check for play, if none is there I'm good. He says you can drive for years on bad bearings in a Honda.
Click to expand...
Check pretty often! I had a rear bearing make noise for quite a while last winter(waiting for a warm snap to change it) with no play ,and then at the start of a weekend it had a tiny bit of play, and then 200 miles later it was a lot of play! It got changed sunday night in the cold...
You can swap wheels front to back as well to see if its just a tire, spin each bearing, and while you have the tire off you can look around, check the CV axle and brakes.
 
IndyIan said:
Check pretty often! I had a rear bearing make noise for quite a while last winter(waiting for a warm snap to change it) with no play ,and then at the start of a weekend it had a tiny bit of play, and then 200 miles later it was a lot of play! It got changed sunday night in the cold...
You can swap wheels front to back as well to see if its just a tire, spin each bearing, and while you have the tire off you can look around, check the CV axle and brakes.
Click to expand...
I felt no play whatsoever. I'm safe for now.
 
This is what I will be purchasing. Just need to find out if the mechanic who fixed the fuel line can do this or if he recommends a whole knuckle assembly.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20230328_175548_Chrome.jpg
    Screenshot_20230328_175548_Chrome.jpg
    80.6 KB · Views: 19
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Twisted1
Can WJB wheel bearings compete with SKF, BCA?
Replies
17
Views
3K
thescreensavers
G
1991 Honda Civic Si (1.6L, D16A6) Injector recommendation
Replies
8
Views
277
kschachn
M
P0128 - Honda Civic
Replies
6
Views
234
Sayjac
H
Subaru Wheel Bearing?
2 3
Replies
46
Views
3K
Vern_in_IL
mosaud1998
2013 Honda Accord front left wheel bearing replacement. How hard of a DIY?
2
Replies
31
Views
4K
D60
Back
Top