Seems Like I am Always Replacing Ball Bearing/Joint...

[VCM]

Hello all,

I drive a 2004 Mazda 3 with 155,000 kms.

Seems like I am replacing front driver and passenger ball bearings every 2 years.:bang. Has anyone experiencing a similar problem?

ps. I do try to avoid pot holes and catch basins on the road.

Thank you for you time.

VC

[stock3]

My 06 is at 180,000 km an on its original wheel bearings. I suspect that whatever caused the originals to fail, the replacements afterwards were either cheap, installed incorrectly or both.

Edit:
I see in your sig. that you are running RX 8 wheels. Are you using spacers? In any case, oversize wheels are pretty much always the cause of premature wheel bearing failures.

[Default User]

What tire size are you running?

[VCM]

Thanks for the replies.

I am running 225/40/R18 for the RX-8 rims.

I use stock snow flakes - 17" tires in the winter months.

If I get spacers for the RX-8 rims, will it solve the problem?

[stock3]

The spacers will make the problem even worse. This is the price you have to pay for going outside of the OEM spec. Larger wheels have a higher unsprung weight and change the suspension and steering geometry, putting more lateral loads than designed for the bearings.

[Shawn]

It is a crap design with under spec bearings, that will always fail. I have replaced with Mazda OEM installed by Mazda, only to have it fail in 8 Months, that was stock rims.
That is why they changed the bearings and front suspension design for 2007, or 2006, not sure which year.

[p-o-g-i]

RJ3 is going through a similar situation right now if I'm not mistaken. From what I saw on FB, he's currently looking around for quotes to repair.
His ride is an 04 as well. Not sure if this is the 1st time for him though.

[MazdaMike02]

The bearings for the old cars are shit..but I don't see them wearing out that often. I've done maybe a handful, the 2nd gens go through bearings too.
Whos doing them? Do they torque the axle nut every time? Over and under-torquing can cause premature bearing failure.