Last time I went into the dealer to get some work done I was told that I should consider front wheel bearings in the near future. They of course offered to do them at the time but my time and budget wouldn't allow it. So my question is how hard are these to replace on my own. Are they pressed in/on to a point where I need to have a special Honda doodad to get them off and on? I've replaced front wheel bearing on my Dodge ram which didn't need to be pressed but that's a different animal all together I'm certain.

Aside from the noise being made by the somewhat aggressive tread on my tires the front bearing according to the dealer seem to be making some added noise on top of the tires. I've had an alignment around 9 months ago and the car is pushing 184,000 miles. I drive it every day 100+ miles to work and the noise is starting to get annoying.

Any ideas are welcome I'm just looking to save time and money by doing it at home on my terms and a smidge cheaper if possible. Quote from Dealer was around $550 and change.

 

According to this you do need special tools and a press.

Best opened in IE so the photos show. to see photos click on the small grey boxes.

Knuckle/Hub/Wheel Bearing Replacement

 

You can do it yourself if you have access to a press and an impact gun or high torque cordless gun. Must have axle socket, normal wrenches, and a hammer. I've changed mine a few times due to the bad offset with the 20mm spacers I had on. It's not hard to do by yourself if you have access to tools. It can take me an hour on a good day.

 

I wonder how much a complete knuckle would cost with bearing intact? If you could get that, you wouldn't need the special tools and could more easily do it yourself right?

 

It would be the same. You would need to buy a wheel bearing and a hub to make it as easy as possible.

Edit: buying the knuckle is not preassembled.

 

The front bearings are part of the CV joint assembly, if I'm not mistaken. It's important to make sure the CV joint boot is not leaking, for the boot protects the front bearings. The car's front bearings have lasted a long time, and most shops that do front end work should be able to do the job probably a bit cheaper than the dealer.