SPS

Does anyone know about the wheel bearings in the SL's? I've got a 99 SL1 and I am wondering if I can do the wheel bearings at home, or if it is better to have it done at a shop.

I' heard you need a hydraulic press to get them out. But, is there anyway Ican make this cheaper on myself, perhaps partially dismantling the hub or something?

Yeah, not sure if you are talking about front or rear here.

The fronts are definitely more difficult, as the bearing and hub/spindle must both be carefully pressed into the knuckle.

When I was racing the SC2 and replacing bearings often, I bought an extra set of front knuckles and paid someone else to press in the hubs and bearings. Then I carried around an extra set of complete ready to install front knuckles. This made it possible to do at the track with simple tools - though you will need to guestimate an alignment afterward.

The rears, on the other hand, are quite easy - because the entire bearing/hub/spindle assembly bolts on and off from the knuckle.

For the rears, just follow these instructions for the rear hub spacer http://www.spswebpage.com/Installation-Instructions/Installation-Instructions-for-Rear-Hub-Spacers.html

Just ignore the parts about inserting the spacers.

Sorry, I most definitely was talking about the front bearings.
So, is the cheapest way to get the done, to take apart as much as possible at home, and carry in to a shop and just have them doing the pressing? thats what I would imagine. is there any tips or look outs I should know about?

Yes. Take the entire knuckle assembly off the car, then take it along with a new hub, bearing, and retainer spring to a shop and pay them to press it all together.

Tricks:
1. Always use a new bearing AND a new hub/spindle. The old spindle will warp and cause even a new bearing to self-destruct quickly.
2. Always use a fresh washer at the axle nut to ensure even pressure on the bearing face.
3. Torque the axle nut to spec (130NM, I think...double check me) and then put a breaker bar on it and turn it another 1/4 turn.

Crowdogg, I'm not sure if you're in the Dayton, Ohio area but if you are I can highly suggest American Driveline & Clutch on Troy St. (937-461-9214). They did a bang-up job removing the busted axles from the steering knuckles on my Eclipse and pressing in new bearings. Just an fyi if you are in the area.

So I got the wheel bearings on the front done on may 2nd. Total labor time for both sides was only like 2 hours. I paid a shop to press the hub and bearing in/out of the knuckles. wasn't too bad. I saved over 400 dollars doing it myself, compared to saturn's shop fees.