Replaced front hub, now this

CapitalTruck · January 21, 2012

Replaced my drivers side hub/bearing unit after it started making noise/vibration (second time, the part was still on the last 4 months of it's two year warranty) . Of course I had to wail on it to get it off. Put everything back together and hit the road. Hit a bridge joint at about 60mph and holy cow, major shake in front end. Like a sequence of events was started and wouldn't quit until I hit the brakes and slowed down. I thought I was about to lose a tire or something.

Took to a good shop, the tech couldn't find anything. He said it looked like one of the rack bushings might be barely starting to go, but nothing near what would cause this. Tie rods and ball joints looked good apparently. Also, all of the bolts were tight (as I'm glad they were since I was the one that did the job).

One thing I did without thinking, when taking the bearing/hub off, I had the wheel turn so as to get more access to it. Do you think when hitting the bearing with a sledge to get it off some of the impact would have been transfered to the steering gear since it was in full turn (as opposed juse being transferred to the grounded tire on the opposite side of the car as it might if the wheel was not at full turn).

What could it be if the front end parts look like they're okay. Could something be f***ed up in the rack and pinion unit? Wouldn't a defective out of the box bearing be detectable from a thorough steering inspection (i.e. wheel assembly with play?) It was an SKF.

Scared the crap out of me, kept me from driving from DC to Detroit yesterday for the car show

Any ideas?

00Silverado4x4 · January 22, 2012

Tire possible throw a weight? If you hit a joint its possible a tire is just out of whack for balance.

ruggedlife · January 22, 2012

oh good old death wobble... step one make sure your tires are not chopped up at all, step two balance the tires, step three check all steering related components tie rod ends, ball joints, all sorts of shit, also make sure all the bolts are tight that you worked on...

bbwb · January 23, 2012

I had the same thing happen to me...only 42,000 miles at the time. I also could not find the culprit and finally wound up changing all tires (Bridgestone Duellers) to Michelins, and knock on wood, have not had the same problem come back.

bbwb

CapitalTruck · January 24, 2012

Ok, well, you wouldn't believe this. Bad part right out of the box. So, to get the SKF bearing on the truck you have to basically suck it in with the bolts from the back. You can't just push it in. This might have had something to do with it (however, on the SKF that I put in last time I had to do the same thing and it lasted 1.5 years). Today I said the heck with warranty and everything else, I went to the local Delco dealer and got an OEM hub unit. The thing fit into the bracket perfectly. There was no need to pull it in using the bolts.

I haven't taken it out of the highway yet at high speed, but I think the problem is solved.

I have lost a lot of respect for SKF. I thought they were a decent name brand. However, the first one didn't last through its warranty period, then this one (the warranty replacement) was for crap right out of the box. When I say the OEM fit like a glove compared the SKF it is an understatement. I skipped a trip to Detroit to see the car show because of this nonsense. The SKF was close enough, I thought it was normal to have to use the bolts to pull the thing into the bracket. The OEM part proved that to be wrong.

For parts like this, and also brakes, it pays to go with OEM the first time. The key is finding a good Delco jobber so you don't have to pay dealer prices for the same thing.

I'm going to try to get some $$ back from Pep Boys (when I did it the first time this was the only place open) for their POS. We'll see how that goes.

If this doesn't solve the problem I'll pass it on.

govener71 · January 24, 2012

If you could only feel it in one wheel is is possible you slightly bent the wheel out of round. Often times balancing will fix it but when I hit a pot hole the same thing happened and needed to replace the wheel. At low speeds it wasnt enough to feel but high way communte I could tell it was shaking.