How to Replace the Left Front Wheel Bearing on a 2000 Buick LeSabre

The 2000 Buick LeSabre was built on the General Motors front-wheel-drive H-body platform, as are the Buick Rivera and Pontiac Bonneville. The LeSabre was equipped with a 3.8-liter V-6 engine with sequential fuel injection and automatic transmission. Independent front suspension is provided by MacPherson struts. The front wheel bearings are integrated into a hub assembly that includes the wheel flange and studs and must be replaced as a unit.

Instructions

Removal

1

Park the LeSabre on a level, paved surface and set the parking brake. Place wheel chocks behind the rear wheels. Clean the threads on the end of the axle shaft with a wire brush. Loosen the axle nut to turns with a breaker bar and socket. Loosen the lug nuts. Raise the front of the LeSabre
with a jack and support with jack stands. Remove the lug nuts and wheel.

2

Stick a Phillips screwdriver through the inspection hole in the caliper and into the rotor vents to keep the rotor and hub from moving while using a ratchet and socket to finish removing the axle nut and washer. Discard the nut.

3

Remove the bolts from the caliper with a ratchet and socket. Pull the caliper from the rotor and tie it to the coil spring with a piece of wire. Do not let the caliper hang by the rubber hose. Unclip the ABS sensor wire from the dust shield. Disconnect the sensor from the wiring harness by depressing the clips on the connector and pulling it apart. Note the position of the sensor wire in relation to the hub so you can install the new hub the same way.

4

Pull the rotor from the axle flange. Remove the three hub bolts with a ratchet, extension and Torx bit. Discard the bolts. Remove the dust shield. Attach an axle flange puller to the hub flange and draw the hub from the end of the axle shaft. Once the hub is partially pulled off the axle, you should be able to finish removing it by hand.

Installation

5

Apply a little bit of multipurpose grease to the axle splines and the inside of the knuckle. Guide the ABS connector through the opening in the steering knuckle. Make sure the hub is oriented the same way as the old one in relation to the ABS wire. Push the hub onto the axle shaft. If it will not go on all the way, install three new hub bolts until snug. Use a new axle nut and draw the axle into the hub. Remove the three hub bolts, attach the dust shield, reinstall the three hub bolts and use a torque wrench, extension and Torx bit to torque the bolts to 70 foot-pounds. Shift the transaxle into Neutral.

6

Reconnect the ABS sensor to the harness and clip it to the dust shield.

7

Mount the rotor on the hub. Mount the caliper. Install the bolts and torque them to 38 foot-pounds. Stick a Phillips screwdriver through the inspection hole in the caliper. Install a new hub nut and snug it down with a ratchet and socket.

8

Mount the wheel and snug the lug nuts. Raise the LeSabre, remove the jack stands and lower it to the ground. Torque the lug nuts to 100 foot-pounds. Torque the axle nut to 118 foot-pounds.