How to Replace the Front Hub and Bearing on Tesla Model Y

A front hub is one of those chassis jobs that looks obvious from the driver’s seat and is full of traps in the bay. On a dual-motor Model Y the LH front hub and bearing is correction code 31010802, flat rate 0.42 hours — and behind that number sit a 300 Nm halfshaft nut, a hydraulic puller, and an explicit ban on impact tools for the wheel fasteners.

If you are chasing noise, this is also a job where the diagnosis matters more than the labour. A Model Y wheel bearing replacement ordered on a hunch is an expensive way to find out the roar was a scalloped tyre.

Complaint Mapping

Symptom on the ticket	What it usually means
Drone that rises with road speed and changes when steering left or right	Classic bearing race damage — unloading one side changes the note
ABS or wheel speed related fault codes	Damage or contamination on the hub’s magnetic tone ring
Play felt with the wheel raised	Bearing has failed; keep driving it and the splines go with it
Noise only in one narrow speed band	Rule out irregular tyre wear before you condemn the bearing

Torque Specification

Fastener	Torque	Tool	Reuse or replace
LH front drive unit halfshaft nut	300 Nm (221.2 lb-ft)	32 mm deep impact socket	Replace (1115558-00-A)
LH front rotor to LH front hub	5 Nm (3.7 lb-ft)	10 mm socket	Reuse
Front brake hose bracket to LH front knuckle	5 Nm (3.7 lb-ft)	10 mm socket	Reuse
LH front caliper to LH front knuckle	94 Nm (69.3 lb-ft)	External Torx E18	Replace (1088969-00-B)
LH front hub and bearing to LH front knuckle	85 Nm (62.7 lb-ft)	18 mm socket	Reuse

Two of those five lines are replacement hardware, not reusable hardware. Note also that the halfshaft nut torque is specified as a final operation with the vehicle on its wheels, not hanging on the lift. Equipment called out by the procedure: hydraulic hub puller 1096075-00-A and magnetic field viewing card 1062500-00-A.

Removal

1. Raise and support the vehicle. If equipped, remove the LH front wheel centre cap.
2. Loosen the LH front halfshaft nut first — long breaker bar and 32 mm deep impact socket. This is far easier with the car on the ground.
3. Loosen the wheel lug nuts. The procedure carries a caution here: use hand tools only on these fasteners, and use a 6-point socket — no impact tools, no 12-point, no specialty sockets.
4. Remove the LH front wheel.
5. Remove and discard the halfshaft nut and washers. The washers are captive to the nut.
6. Position the hydraulic hub puller (1096075-00-A) onto the LH front wheel studs and hand-tighten five lug nuts onto it.
7. Separate the halfshaft from the hub assembly by turning the puller handle clockwise while holding the hub in position.
8. Remove the puller from the studs.
9. Remove the bolt attaching the front brake hose bracket to the LH front knuckle (10 mm).
10. Remove and discard the bolts attaching the caliper to the knuckle (External Torx E18) and hang the caliper aside with an S-hook.
11. Remove the bolt attaching the rotor to the hub (10 mm) but leave the rotor in place for the moment.
12. Remove the rotor from the vehicle.
13. Remove the bolts attaching the hub to the knuckle (18 mm).
14. Remove the hub from the vehicle.

Installation

1. Use a magnetic field viewing card to check the new hub’s tone ring before it goes in. Skipping this is how an ABS light rides out of the bay on a brand new bearing.
2. Apply Molykote M-77 lubricant paste to the outboard side of the halfshaft. Clean the shaft first if needed, and apply no more than 1 gram.
3. Line up the halfshaft splines and install the hub onto the knuckle.
4. Torque the hub-to-knuckle bolts to 85 Nm (62.7 lb-ft).
5. Install the rotor and torque the rotor-to-hub bolt to 5 Nm (3.7 lb-ft).
6. Fit a new halfshaft nut and hand-tighten it.
7. Install new caliper bolts at 94 Nm (69.3 lb-ft) and remove the S-hook. The procedure asks you to mark the bolts with a paint pen once tightened.
8. Install the front brake hose bracket bolt at 5 Nm (3.7 lb-ft).
9. Install the wheel and hand-tighten the lug nuts.
10. Lower the vehicle until the tyres are touching the ground.
11. Fully tighten the wheel lug nuts to specification.
12. Fully tighten the new halfshaft nut to 300 Nm (221.2 lb-ft).

Mistakes That Cost You the Comeback

• Rattling the lug nuts off with an impact. The manual forbids power tools here and specifies a 6-point socket. The wheel fasteners are not the place to save ninety seconds.
• Reusing the halfshaft nut. It is a replacement item (1115558-00-A).
• Trying to press the halfshaft out. The specified method pulls it out with the hydraulic puller mounted on the wheel studs.
• Torquing the axle nut with the car in the air. The final 300 Nm is specified after the vehicle is lowered onto its tyres.
• Not checking the tone ring. Thirty seconds saved, one ABS comeback earned.
• Reusing the caliper bolts or forgetting the paint mark. Those four fasteners are single-use.
• Reaching for a 1/2-inch wrench that tops out well below 300 Nm. Use a tool that actually covers the value.

When to Stop and Get Help

Without a hydraulic hub puller, do not start — the halfshaft is an interference fit in the hub and levering it out damages the splines. If the shaft will not separate, the nut rounds off, or the knuckle bore is already scored, the car needs knuckle-level work rather than a bearing. And if an ABS fault survives a correctly fitted hub, the fault is in the wheel speed signal or the vehicle’s diagnostics, not in the part you just installed.

Source

Procedure summarised and rewritten from the publicly published Tesla Model Y Service Manual, Hub – Front – LH (Dual Motor) (Remove and Replace), correction code 31010802. All torque values, single-use part references and tooling numbers are taken from that document. Always work from the current official procedure for the vehicle’s build and software version.