Mustang65

Vehicle: 2006 Cobalt SS 2.4l

Part: 5 Bolt ABS Hub Bearing Assembly
Carquest Part #: 513206


Removal

Step 1: Park vehicle and set parking brake. Jack up the front end and ALWAYS use jack stands to support vehicle in the approved frame spots.

Step 2: Remove lug nuts and remove wheel.

Step 3: If you have a friend handy, have them apply pressure to the brakes to lock the hub and rotor in place. then You can use a breaker bar and 30mm socket to break loose and remove the axle retaining nut.

(note: If you don't have a friend handy, an impact gun and socket work nicely for removing and installing this nut.)

Step 4: Remove pressure from the brakes and unbolt the caliper assembly from the hub mount. (2 bolts: both 15mm) Then tie the entire assy to the spring up and out of the way with something.

Step 5: Disconnect the wheel speed sensor at it's clip.

Step 6: Unbolt and remove the Hub Bearing Assy. (3 Bolts: all 15mm)

Step 7: Remove the two retaining clips that are holding the hub and rotor together. Save them, you'll need them on the re-install.)


For those experienced the removal should take about 10-20 min. very easy.

Mind the metal ring that is between the hub abd the mount and it's position for the re-install.

(note: ensure that no one applies pressure to the brakes with the caliper assy removed from the rotor.)

Take the Hub with you to the part store and ensure that the one you get is identical. This saves you trips back to the store to return and get the right one.




Installation

Step 1: Pass Wheel Speed Sensor through the mounting bracket along side the axle. Place metal ring between the hub and hub mount in apprpriate place. Put in the bolts and hand tighten. Torque to 85 ft lbs.


(note: whe putting on the hub, take care to make sure and align the splines of the axle and the hub assy. A little shimmying and it should slide right on.)

Step 2: Reconnect the speed sensor wires and clip it into place.



Step 3: Place rotor on hub and thread retaining clips back down so that the rotor is held in palce with just a little bit of play.


Step 4: Put on caliper assy and bolt back into place. Torque to 85 ft lbs


Step 5: Re-install washer and nut on the end ofthe axle and tighten down. (Torque to 81 ft lbs.)


Step 6: Put back on the wheel and lug nuts. Tighten them, torque them properly and then, using a jack, jack the vehicle up. remove the jack stands and lower the vehicle to the ground.

Now! take it for a test drive and be amazed at how much nicer a car with good wheel bearings is.

Happy Wrenching!

P.S. Credit to Coblasts for getting me the torques.

kapster

iTrader: (1)

thanks mustang. can you possibly let us know some symptoms of a bad wheel bearing ?

esfkotaro

in my '99 mustang, it was a VERY audible (and more so with speed) squeal.

sucked. lol

great write up

Coblasts

Found this for you
I thought it was higher.

Wheel Drive Shaft Retaining Nut
Tighten
110 N·m (81 lb ft)

montecarloman

Hubs can be a bitch to diagnose and they fail in a few ways.

You could hear a buzz or growling noise that will get worse the longer you drive the car and higher pitch the faster you drive. When the hub is making noise it can also throw the noise around the car. When you drive your car swerve left and right at speed to load the bearings. If the noise is louder when you are swerving left then the right side bearing is most likely bad and vice versa. This is not an end all diag either. You'll swear the buzz/growl is coming from the drivers side front of the car but when you replace the bearing its still making noise. Don't be discouraged, just but the other hub back on the other side of the car. If its still making noise well get another hub and replace them both.

Hubs can also get loose without making any noise believe it or not. Periodic checks of you suspension are warranted to catch them. Don't assume your rear hubs are good either. Check them along with the fronts. They see less stress but can still fail.

Mustang65

Very true. In my girlfriends cobalt the car sounded like a jeep on super swampers going down the highway as you accelerated. That was early on a sign. First it got noisey like that and at that time there was minimal vibaration in the steerin and a bit through both pedals and the floor board.
****Note: If the vibration get's stronger when braking it's most likely a warped rotor and not a bearing.

Bearing vibration sometimes can be felt most after you accelerate and then let off of the throttle.

So, let's recap:

SYMPTOMS
1.) Vibration in the steering wheel and/or through the floorboard and pedals.

2.) When turning one direction the the vibration is heavier. (i.e. usually then, it's the opposite side that's bad.)

3.) Loud whining, whiring or growling noises. Can sound like they are coming from anywhere.

4.) Alignment is off, despite not having hit or run over anything. (Yes, a bad bearing can mess up your steering if not caught quickly.)

DIAGNOSIS

1: Jack up the car and put it on stands.

2: Grab the wheel and try to move the tire on both it's Y and X axis. If you have movement, you have a bad bearing.
***Note: When jacked up, the steering is will move back and forth as you grab the wheel and pull and push it on the X axis. That's normal.

If you don't find a bad one this way don't be discouraged. I didn't find mine this way either. It didn't have that much play.

3: Remove the wheel and turn the hub by hand. It should spin fairly easily by hand. If it feels jerky or makes a soft grinding noise, it is bad. Compare the hubs to one another. If one hub feels much harder to turn or is noise, it is likely your culprit.

P.S.

When you have the car on stands to check for a bad bearing or do breaks or anything, check your ball joints and the other suspensions items for excessive waer and/or damage.

Ball joints are easy. while it's on stands, use your jack underneath the lower control arm to remove tension from the system. Then using a pry bar, check for excessive play on the ball joint. If it moves around a lot and clicks, replace it. This is especially good to do as your car get's up there in mileage.

Viper33884

Nice write-up, hard left turns the right side makes a noise....I'm thinking I have to replace some things.

css9450

Alternatively, you can put on your spare or steel winter wheel and break the nut loose while the car is still parked with all four tires on the ground.

At the junkyard, I've just jammed a big screwdriver through the top of the caliper and into one of the cooling fins of the rotor; it usually works but I've bent a few screwdrivers by doing this.

Preowner

Is the part # the same for an 06 SS/SC?

I see it's 5-lug but wasn't sure if axle dia. was different or somethin.

My drivers side is starting to squeak when lightly turning left.

css9450

Yes it is. (I used the Timken bearing and ordered it from rockauto.com; it was much cheaper)

You say yours is starting to squeak.... Sure its not the brakes or something? Wheel bearings kind of buzz and howl when they go bad.

By the way, I'd forgotten about this thread. I just did this job last weekend; I couldn't get my bearing out of the knuckle so I ended up removing the whole knuckle and taking it into the shop to have it pressed out. I used a little anti-seize on my new bearing to make it go a little easier next time. All is good now except I need to get the alignment checked because I had the knuckle disconnected.

Preowner

Looks like it is available @ MI Bearings site for $145 including calculated shipping to my zip. Much cheaper than the 5-lug front hubs @ rockauto.

Though the manufacturer was listed as "Wheel Bearings Inc." in *******, MI

..well maybe when they go realy bad; I've had that happen on my truck, and the wheel eventually wobbled so bad it would hit the upper ball joint. I've had several cars with the wheel squeak/sqeal. It's realy annoying. Right now it will sort of squeak in pulses if I go around a slow left hand bend and it will stop if I turn harder left or straighten it out. I don't know what else it could be; it doesn't seem to do it if I'm applying the brakes. I've only just noticed it the past few days

[EDIT] Fixed the issue. It appears to have indeed been the brakes... I knew I needed brakes, but wasn't hitting the squealer yet. Uppon replacing the pads today I noticed the drivers side squealer was ever so slightly burnished (IE a few specs of shiny surface on the end of an otherwise lumpy black mass). Looks like the squealer was lightly dragging to make the squeaks at just the right angle, but the pad wasn't worn down enough for it to kick in under braking.

Lorth

My bearing is making lots of noise atm, is it still secure to drive with it untill I get it fixed? Is there any chance my wheel jump off the car?

Hobbitjones

iTrader: (1)

i notice it sounds like a thumping kinda noise while driveing and it gets louder as it gets faster. Thought it was the CAB changed that and now it is not knocking or hard when braking and fixed part of the issue. But not that thumping think this would be wheel bearing? and sounds like its coming from drivers side for sure but could it be coming else where? and where is cheapest place for the ss 5 lug to get it?? thanks all

Black SS/SC 06

iTrader: (6)

Just found this posted in the wrong section. Moved it to how to. Might be useful for some.

08SSTCRD

Corrections:

There are some glaring errors in this writeup that will result in broken bolts and failed hub assemblies!!

The axle nut needs to be torqued to 155 lb/ft.

DO NOT torque the caliper bolts to 85 lb/ft. You will snap them off instantly. The correct specification is 25 lb/ft. That is for the bolts that hold the caliper on, they screw into the guide pins.

The caliper bracket-to-knuckle bolts are to be torqued to 85 lb/ft.

silver cobalt

where did you find this out? are you sure that these torques are correct??? and what do you meen caliper bracket to knuckle bolts? i only know of 2 bolts to the caliper.

08SSTCRD

Directly from Snap-On Shopkey. Shopkey gets the information right from the manufacturer of the vehicle. And yes, the torque specs I listed are correct.

There are 4 bolts on the brake caliper assembly. There are 2 larger bolts that hold the brake caliper bracket to the steering knuckle, and there are 2 smaller bolts that hold the brake caliper to its bracket. In the picture posted in the writeup, the author is tightening the caliper-to-bracket bolts.

silver cobalt

ok cool thanks! im literally going to try and do this stuff tomorrow so i needed to know this lol

theandies

I have a slight grinding noise when I brake. It dosen't happen when I turn or accelerating just braking (see my post "Help me diagnose a grinding noise while braking).
I think I may need to replace my bearings after reading this thread. What do you guys think?

FraGmE

the bearing noise has nothing to do with your brakes. You will hear a bad bearing mainly when your on the highway and your car is just coasting or on cruise control. Its a loud and constant noise.

08SSTCRD

Unless the wheel bearing is completely trashed and has enough lateral movement to allow the rotor to touch the caliper bracket while the vehicle is turning.

theandies

Took both hubs off today ( as the author says very easy and I've been wrenching on my own cars for 30 years so I have a lot of exp.) They seem OK. I think I'm going to just change my brake rotors for now and see what happens (in my other post a member said that is what he did and the noise went away). It's cheap and easy. I'll keep ya'll posted.
John

theandies

It was the rotors - just when you think you've seen and heard it all you learn something new. I did a brake job about a month ago and had my original rotors turned at the time and they were still in spec.........go figure. Oh well, if I ever have a bearing hub go bad I'll be able to NASCAR pit crew replace them.