Is this a horrible idea, or a good way to save money?

 

There's no way to prove that it is new.

 

Depends on what year your car is. For my 2000 V40 it's not a great idea as the front wheel hub, bearing and steering knuckle assembly is impossible to disassemble without a shop press and ideally, a Volvo special tool (fixture). This is not a job for an inexperienced wrench.

For later years I believe it's an easier job as the hub and bearing are replaced as an assembly.

If I were to buy on eBay I'd make sure it was not a Chinese bearing. Best to stick with Volvo factory bearings or equivalent.

 

If a wheel bearing has been installed it will have witness marks. A used bearing will be fairly obvious.

 

The P1 hub and bearing are one unit, but they are still pressed into the knuckle.

 

I understand that. But he's buying something he can't physically see. so the pictures might show it as new but that's not necessarily what he might get.

 

I guess you don't use eBay much as that's not going to be a problem. Seller ships you a used part, eBay gives you your money back. eBay policies are 100% in buyer's favor now.

Main problem with eBay bearings is they're usually Chinese junk.

 

This would be my main concern. A lot of times you get what you pay for. So "saving money" winds up costing more to do the job twice.

 

I agree with migbro. I've bought several wheel bearing from eBay/Amazon, never a problem. Just make sure the bearing is a "name brand" like Timken, NSK, SKF, INA... no-name or chinese and it will probably fail again within a year or so. I've stupidly tried using Autozone bearings in the past, (chinese junk), and have never gotten more than a year and a half out of them. Timken will be as good or better than whatever Volvo is using anyway, if they are not using Timkens already

However, I would not attemt this job without a 20-ton or better shop press. I bought a harbor freight 20-ton a few years ago with a coupon for $150. Needed to press the bearing out of a steering knuckle, similar setup as the S40's. You also need need an assortment of collars/bars/shafts whatever to push on the bearings themselves. You can't just use the pin on the press usually. I have alot of old bearing outer races of various sizes, and some old beat up 1"+ sockets that I use to push with.

Even with the cost of the press, and $50 or so for the bearing, it's still cheaper than paying a shop to do it. I was quoted $350 by several shops to swap out the front bearing on my old Focus. I've since used the press to do 3 more wheel bearings. Money well spent.

 

I had an issue with both my front bearings and it turned out to be cheapest to buy entire spindle bearing assemblies from the junk yard. Just make sure they come with the abs sensors as they are extremely difficult to extract from the hub. This significantly reduces the complexity of the job and makes it a very doable diy endeavour. Just need to disconnect the ball joints, strut and axle and switch the old with the new.

 

Only made the mistake of using cheap bearings once and will never do it again. Too many ways to get a good deal on a quality part. IPD or Rock Auto.

 

Exactly what I did - one side only so far.