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In this video, we show you how to replace the front hub and bearing on this 2003 Honda Civic. It’s the same for any 2001-05 Civic, as well as some other vehicles.
You'll need a new front hub and bearing assembly from 1AAuto.com, 10 to 19mm sockets, wrenches, extension, ratchet extension, a 32mm socket, air tools, breaker bar, tire iron, torque wrench, small hammer and rubber mallet, needle-nose pliers, flat head and Philips screwdrivers, Jack and Jack stands, pry bar, paper punch and you will need a press or access to a press for this repair.
Remove the front wheel, held on by four 19mm lug nuts. If you have a different style hubcap, you'll need to remove that, but just use a breaker bar or your tire iron and loosen the lug nuts while the tire is on the ground. Now raise and support the vehicle. Now remove the lug nuts the rest of the way and the wheel and tire.
Using a tapered punch, remove the band from the axle nut. Using the pry bar on the wheel studs to prevent the hub from turning, use a 32mm socket and breaker bar to loosen the axle nut. Using a 17mm socket and ratchet remove the caliper bracket bolts. Remove the caliper and caliper bracket assembly, hang it out of the way using a bungee cord, mechanics' wire. You can use a zip tie, anything you have to keep it up and out of the way somewhere where it's safe. We're just going to hang ours up on a strut with a bungee cord. You'll be able to access this just fine on the Jack and Jack stand.
Going to undo this cotter pin at the bottom of the ball joint, and just bend this tab out, pry the pin out with a pair of needle nose and undo the nut on the bottom of the ball joint. Using the 17mm socket and a breaker bar, going to unbolt the bottom of the ball joint. Before the nut comes all the way off, use a hammer, tap up. If that won't release the ball joint, tap on the sides. If hitting the nut on the bottom of the ball joint or the sides of the control arm don't free it, you can always use a ball joint separator or pickle fork. Using the 22mm socket, remove the bolts from the strut. Remove the bolts themselves.
Using the 10mm socket and ratchet, unbolt the wheel speed center from the spindle. Remove the sensor. You may need to use a pair of pliers to work the sensor. Tap the center of the CV axle to free it from the hub. Remove the spindle from the vehicle. At this point, you'll need a hydraulic press, and first you want to press the hub out of the bearing. There's the hub pressed out. Then you'll want to remove the three screws that hold the backing plate on and remove the backing plate. Now there's a snap ring here that needs to be removed. Use snap ring pliers or needle nose pliers, squeeze the snap ring and pry out with a flat blade screwdriver.
Now using the appropriate adapters, press the bearing out. Now press the new bearing back into the steering knuckle. Replace the snap ring. Replace the backing plate, put in the three screws and tighten them. You're actually going to put support on the back of the inner bearing.
New hub from 1AAuto will go right in. You do press it in until it bottoms out. The spindle, new hub, new ball joint. You install the lower ball joint into the hole in the control arm, make sure your ball joint seated into the control arm. Get your CV axles lined up, line up the bolts with the top of your strut, install the bolts through your strut into your spindle. These are going to go from the front of the car with the nut toward the back. Torque the strut bolts to 116 foot-pounds with a 19mm socket on the bolt side and a 22mm wrench on the nut.
Using a 32mm axle nut socket, install your axle nut. Use the pry bar to stop your hub from rotating and torque your axle nut to 134 foot-pounds. Using a punch or chisel, dent the outer ring of the axle nut into the keeper groove on the axle. Reinstall the wheel speed sensor into the hub. If you have to you can give it a couple of taps in with a rubber mallet, reinstall the 10mm bolt. The cast nut from the bottom of the ball joint has windows that need to align with this hole so we can install the cotter pin after it's tight. The torque spec is 43 to 51 foot-pounds, as you may have to tighten it up a little to get the windows to align. 43 is pretty close, send your cotter pin through the slot, take the longer side, bend it underneath, take the shorter size, trim it down.
Reinstall your brake rotor. Be sure to install the beveled hole of your rotor, over the screw hole in the hub. Reinstall your screw with a number 2 Phillips. Remove your caliper from wherever you hung it. Spread your pads in the carrier, reinstall the assembly onto the rotor in the back.
Tighten up your 17mm caliper bolts. Torque your caliper bolts to 80 foot-pounds. Put your wheel back in place. Start your lug nuts, we'll tighten them preliminarily and torque them when the vehicle's back down on the ground. Tighten your lug nuts 80 foot-pounds and just cross in the pattern.
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