On the Carry’s very first post-crossmember-replacement run I heard the unmistakeable drone of an unhappy wheel bearing. Reluctantly waving goodbye to yet another month of seat time I parked the Carry back up and started building another MegaZip shopping list. It never rains…

Stripping both front hubs down I found that the driver’s side bearing was completely trashed, the likely result of water getting past one of the seals on the 4×4 in the Forest event and making merry with the bearing surfaces whilst I waited for the new crossmember to arrive. Although the passenger side looked in fine condition I’d already decided to renew both bearings (and seals!) anyway, dismantling and prepping everything in advance of the parts delivery to speed things up and get the Carry back on the road ASAP.

Sometimes it’s really nice to work on smaller cars – everything feels like it was built to be worked on by a normal human being. Whereas replacing the Jeep’s front ball joints required press-bending levels of force (and a strong nerve whilst waiting for them to “pop” in!) swapping the wheel bearings on the Carry was a much more delicate (and pleasant) affair – removing the hubs was an easy one-person job and the bearings only required gentle tapping and squeezing to remove and fit. No press required!

As a simple vehicle it’s also a surprisingly straightforward job – there are no vacuum lines or ABS rings to worry about and the order in which everything unbolts and bolts back up is pretty obvious too. And no rust either… bliss 😀