Wheel Bearings?

[Load n Go]

I have a 2010 chevrolet silverado wt 3500 6.0l auto 2wd drw 115,000 mls. and am having some humming noises and some vibes. I took it to a shop and they said it was both front wheel bearings. Does this sound like the wheel bearings? Could it be anything else? The shop said it would be $1600, so if it is the wheel bearings i am going to try and tackle it myself. I have some mechanical experience, but nothing dealing with wheel bearings. What does it take to accomplish this? Any tips? Also what brand is good? Thanks for any info.

[tyhuck]

Wow, 115K on a '10. You are a travler my friend. My 05 only has 94K on it.

 

But, I just had a wheel bearing replaced, and I didnt get any unusual effects from it. I didnt even know it was bad until I went in to get an allignment. The jacked up the truck and put a crow bar under the tire. you might try the same. Pry up on the bar and see if the tire wobbles without the rest of the truck moving. That will tell you for sure if its the bearings.

 

I dont think there is much to it on a 2wd, but the parts are expensive.

[Load n Go]

Thank for the info. I jacked it up last weekend and tried moving them by hand and nothing. But i think i will try the pry bar technique. The miles come from us hauling turbochargers all over and we've only had the truck eleven months. Our last truck was a '07 3500 classic 6.0l and we had it 3 years. When we traded it in on this truck it had 316,xxx miles. It is sorely missed. By the way, nice red 1500.

[SsgBulldawg]

i actually had that same humming sound right before my drivers side wheel bearing locked up. i was on the freeway when it happened, lucky for me nothing bad happened until was on base then the wheel went into a huge negative camber. that was an actual wheel bearing failure though. and if you jack up the front end like Z71 AST stated and it didnt move by hand when shoving and pulling on the top of the wheel then id take a look at your ball joints as well. for my hub assembly lucky i had a shop discount then it was only 100 bucks for that side. have you done your 100k service yet?

[Load n Go]

Thanks for the help. I'm not getting any movement, but i haven't tried the prybar technique like Z71 AST yet. Its looking like its going to be $300 per side for a good Timken part for my truck.

[Load n Go]

Anyone got any tips for replacing the wheel bearing hub assembly? Do's or dont's?

[scottmoyer]

Anyone got any tips for replacing the wheel bearing hub assembly? Do's or dont's?

 

I recently tackled this on my 1500 and it wasn't that bad to do. I am not a mechanic and wasn't willing to pay the exorbitant prices. I did a youtube search to see what was needed. Hopefully, you'll be able to find one for the 3500. I did have to buy a 35mm socket for the hub nut, but that was still cheaper than taking it in somewhere. If the 3500 hubs are similar to the 1500s as far as replacement, it's actually quite simple.

[scottmoyer]

Anyone got any tips for replacing the wheel bearing hub assembly? Do's or dont's?

 

I recently tackled this on my 1500 and it wasn't that bad to do. I am not a mechanic and wasn't willing to pay the exorbitant prices. I did a youtube search to see what was needed. Hopefully, you'll be able to find one for the 3500. I did have to buy a 35mm socket for the hub nut, but that was still cheaper than taking it in somewhere. If the 3500 hubs are similar to the 1500s as far as replacement, it's actually quite simple.

[Load n Go]

Yeah, i got the socket for the hub nut yesterday. But it seems that the caliber mounting bolts on the hd's needs to be torqued to 221 ft/lbs, seems like a lot. Thanks for helping.

[tyhuck]

Yeah, i got the socket for the hub nut yesterday. But it seems that the caliber mounting bolts on the hd's needs to be torqued to 221 ft/lbs, seems like a lot. Thanks for helping.

 

 

Better eat your Wheaties on the morning you actually tackle it then.

[Load n Go]

Yeah, i got the socket for the hub nut yesterday. But it seems that the caliber mounting bolts on the hd's needs to be torqued to 221 ft/lbs, seems like a lot. Thanks for helping.

 

 

Better eat your Wheaties on the morning you actually tackle it then.

 

 

Haha, maybe an extra bowl for good measure.

[Load n Go]

 

Today i got the new wheel hub assemblies. It hurts to spend $600 at the autoparts for something like this, but small price for safety. Anyway, took a little longer than i thought (6hrs total), but it was super easy. Torquing the bolts wasn't that bad. The bearings were definitely going bad. When i spun the hub i could hear a clicking sound and a grinding sound. When i held on to the hub assembly by the mounting flange (knuckle side) while spinning the hub i could feel grinding and vibration. I'm glad it's done and now i have the knowledge of changing them. I appreciate everyone's help and information.

[Jsdirt]

In case anyone else is having this same problem:

 

Sometimes you can have a bad bearing with zero play. The best way to check is to find a road or a big parking lot where you can get up to 40 mph or so and be able to swerve left to right, & listen to the hum. Listen for any changes in the sound as you swerve. That usually tells you right away if it's a wheel bearing or not (90% of the time, a hum at speed is).