Once again... car is at the stealership.

2066 Views 19 Replies 10 Participants Last post by djbrun, Sep 5, 2010

Dephect

Discussion Starter · Sep 1, 2010

So I recently purchased the extended warranty from Mazda shortly after purchasing my MS6 (platinum coverage ~$2500) and had to have the 30k service done in order to comply with the warranty. I also had some wobbling sounds coming from the tires and some other things I wanted checked out. Turns out its not just ONE but BOTH front wheel hubs and wheel bearing setups. They are sold seperately but both have to be replaced at the same time. Est. cost ~$907. The paperwork hasn't been filed by the warranty service yet so will NOT be covered. So I walked into the dealership and cancelled the warranty. It's going to cost me ~$1500 out of my pocket ( hubs, bearings, and the 30k service) plus the ~$2500 for the warranty ( piece of sh*t assholes).

I got my money back for the warranty and gonna just order the parts and have a local shop do it hopefully for less. But all this JUST after I purchased my vehicle is unsettling to say the least. I would be doing the work myself but I don't have a press!

Sorry just a little rant. :swearin:

P.S I think I might be investing in a FSM VERY soon...

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djbrun

· #5 · Sep 1, 2010

OK, how do they know your hubs are bad until they press the bearings out first. Is there a problem with the inner race spinning on the hub?
Maybe it is needed for the abs, but I have never had to replace a hub because of a bad bearing.
First verify your issue. Jack the car up and put it in nuetral, spin the front wheel while holding the coil spring. Any vibration from a bad bearing will translate through the spring and your hand. Very easy way to tell if a bearing is going bad.
Any good shop should have a press to press the hub out of the bearing, and then the bearing from the steering knuckle assembly. Then they would need a bearing clamp with the press to remove the inner race from the hub.
Maybe you can verify your issue, then take the knucles off yourself and just bring them to a shop to save some money.

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djbrun

· #18 · Sep 4, 2010

I just got my factory manual in, and according to Mazda the inner race is not as easy as it was on the 626. They show that the inner race had to grinded down and broke free with a chisel to be able to remove it.
So it looks like they are telling you that you need hubs so they don't have to deal with that. You can put some heat to the race and use a clamp in a press to remove it. Your hubs should be fine.
As I mentioned about checking wheel bearings, if you can feel them wobble you waited to long to check what the niose was in the first place. A wheel bearing will make noise and the noise can be changed by quickly turning the wheel while driving at a low speed. (Preferably in an empty parking lot) which will change the load on the bearings. Then jack up the car, grab the spring and spin the wheel.
The wheel wobbling means the bearings are real bad, not that your hub is bad unless the race spun on the spindle.
Take the steering knucles off and bring them to a good shop and they will take care of it at a much lower cost.

DJ

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djbrun

· #20 · Sep 5, 2010

I am sure that your hubs are fine. You should be able to get away with labor and the bearings. I know a bearing going bad can be mistaken for a tire noise, it is common.
In the future just follow my grab the spring and spin the tire method. It will pick out a bad bearing long before it has play. I am sure your friend will be able to help you at a cost lower than the dealer.

Good Luck!

DJ

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