I had the unfortunate experience of having the left front wheel on my 4WD L3240HST fall off during operation. The wheel was tightly attached to the front axle, but the axle actually fell out of the hub after the bearing and collar failed. The damage seems to be limited to the hub cover and axle and the bearings holding them in place. None of the other components of the front hub seem to be damaged. I can order all of the parts, and I have the shop service manual (which does not go into great detail on this particular subject).
My question is, how difficult is it to assemble a hub from all new parts? I am pretty handy but I don't have any specialized tools except for a generic bearing puller. How difficult is it to press the bearings in and aassemble the hub. The dealer would like to charge me almost $200 for rebuilding a hub. (I pointed out that he doesn't have to take anything apart, just put it together, but he will charge me for a full rebuild). I would like to avoid the extra cost of assembly. It looks pretty straightforward, but looks can be deceiving. Anybody with experience that would shed some light on this?
My question is, how difficult is it to assemble a hub from all new parts? I am pretty handy but I don't have any specialized tools except for a generic bearing puller. How difficult is it to press the bearings in and aassemble the hub. The dealer would like to charge me almost $200 for rebuilding a hub. (I pointed out that he doesn't have to take anything apart, just put it together, but he will charge me for a full rebuild). I would like to avoid the extra cost of assembly. It looks pretty straightforward, but looks can be deceiving. Anybody with experience that would shed some light on this?