wheel bearing question

Westlotorn · May 19, 2015

Moog does offer the hub assemblies, they have them in Premium and entry level quality.

It is tempting to buy the lower priced ones but how many times do you wish to do this job?

Nanotech Environmental · May 21, 2015

Moog does offer the hub assemblies, they have them in Premium and entry level quality.

It is tempting to buy the lower priced ones but how many times do you wish to do this job?

There's been no proven difference that the expensive ones last longer. It's tempting to believe so, but for every guy that claims the expensive ones last longer, there seems to be 2 guys claiming no difference. It's all anecdotal and hearsay at best anyways.

I just buy the cheaper ones, as I've had several name brand ones crap out sooner than they should have. If the name brand ones would warranty for 100,000 miles or something, it would be a different story.

SouthCo · May 21, 2015

Wife's Yukon's OEM passenger side wheel bearing went out around 130,000 miles. I replaced both sides with OEM AC Delco units which have Timken bearings. Don't know which ones last longer as I've never used cheap ones.

Nanotech Environmental · May 22, 2015

I've had one Timken that only lasted about 30-40,000 miles and one that has so far lasted over 50,000. Original OEM delcos only lasted a short time. One went at just over 30,000 miles while still under warranty, the second one crapped out at around 45,000 miles. Based on what's been posted about them & my own experience, there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to how long they last or which brand is better.

davoaz · August 23, 2015

couple of questions. Mine just went out at 98K. Guess I'm lucky about 50mi out of town ABS light came on. After a 500mi within 10mi from home noise got real bad. After I figured out what went wrong, I bet 50mi on it and the wheel would have come off.

Anyways to my questions, I think I might tackle this job myself but need to get some tools.

What size socket do I need for the main hub nut?

When I bolt the main hub nut back on, what does it need to be torqued too? Last time I did a front wheel bearing it was the castle nut tighten by hand insert kotter pin deal.

What torque for the bolts on the back of the hub?

ABS light came on when bearings started to make noise. When I relace the hub will the ABS light go off or would that be indicative of a separate problem?

As stated earlier I was ion a road trip when it went out and I put ~ 500mi when the bearing went kaput. The pass side it pretty crunchy. Should I expect my axle to be toast too?

If it is, are those fairly easy to fix or a PITA?

Thanks

ifixedit · August 27, 2015

I don't remember the exact size of the nut on the end of the axle shaft, it's big, but most of the auto parts stores will have the socket for sale just for this very job of changing wheel hubs. I bought one from the local auto parts store, was like $15.00 bucks if I recall. Everything else is also metric. Not a real hard job, take your time. The calipers and brackets all have to come off in order to remove the hub, no need to remove brake lines or you've just created another job. I just lay the calipers up on top of the upper A-arm, just make sure they stay put and don't fall and you end up tearing off a brake line. Torque specs should be available on line somewhere, I just tighten them good, no need to go crazy. The bolts will have a locking compound on the threads, not a bad idea to use some blue thread lock on them at re-assembly. Yes, when the hub bearing goes bad it usually sets off the ABS light which should be off after the new hubs are installed. Sometimes the plugs that connect from the hub can be a bit fussy, make sure they are securely connected or the ABS light will be on, not a bad idea to use a little dielectric grease on the connections. No, your axle should be fine, it's the inner part of the bearing making the noise, I'm sure you will find things are quite rusty. While you're in there, make sure the boots around the CV joints are intact and there are no tears in them, otherwise the grease is likely long gone and you need new front axles too, but if the boots look good you should be fine.

Explorer · August 29, 2015

Are the eBay hub assembly worth the time they're super cheap like 70 bucks. Do thy compare to what advance auto sells for double the price ?

Can't speak to this application, but my son bought replacement hubs for his "06" Impala and they came without the provision for the ABS sensor.

Nanotech Environmental · August 30, 2015

couple of questions. Mine just went out at 98K. Guess I'm lucky about 50mi out of town ABS light came on. After a 500mi within 10mi from home noise got real bad. After I figured out what went wrong, I bet 50mi on it and the wheel would have come off.

Anyways to my questions, I think I might tackle this job myself but need to get some tools.

What size socket do I need for the main hub nut?

When I bolt the main hub nut back on, what does it need to be torqued too? Last time I did a front wheel bearing it was the castle nut tighten by hand insert kotter pin deal.

What torque for the bolts on the back of the hub?

ABS light came on when bearings started to make noise. When I relace the hub will the ABS light go off or would that be indicative of a separate problem?

As stated earlier I was ion a road trip when it went out and I put ~ 500mi when the bearing went kaput. The pass side it pretty crunchy. Should I expect my axle to be toast too?

If it is, are those fairly easy to fix or a PITA?

Thanks

The main nut is 36mm IIRC. It needs a fair bit of torque, something like 300ft.lbs or more. Most 1/2" impacts do not have enough grunt to loosen them. A 3/4" impact with at least 125-150 lbs of air is usually needed, or a long breaker bar. I use about 3-1/2 -4 feet of bar and a lot of pull to break them loose and re-torque them on.

The bolts on the back of the hub are also torqued pretty high for their size, probably 150ftlbs or more, IIRC. You need a good quality flex joint or flex sockets to remove and replace them.

I use red loctite when re-installing everything.

If you live in the rust belt, chances are you'll need an air chisel to split the hub from the knuckle, as it will be thoroughly rusted in place. You have to be careful not to destroy the brake dust shield when doing this. I coat all surfaces with anti seize when replacing to make things a lot easier next time. You also need to pay attention to how the brake dust shield goes on when replacing, as it's easy to install backwards.

Westlotorn · November 23, 2015

There's been no proven difference that the expensive ones last longer. It's tempting to believe so, but for every guy that claims the expensive ones last longer, there seems to be 2 guys claiming no difference. It's all anecdotal and hearsay at best anyways.

I just buy the cheaper ones, as I've had several name brand ones crap out sooner than they should have. If the name brand ones would warranty for 100,000 miles or something, it would be a different story.

Maybe on the Forum there is not proof but in fact there is proof. Cut one open and look at the size of the bearings on the inside. I worked for National/Moog and we carried samples cut open to show customers so they could see first hand the differences. The bearing is very important of course but the Seal that keeps the dirt and moisture out is equal in importance. Cheap hubs will use a single lip seal, quality hubs use a triple lip seal with dirt excluders.

So the bearing will be 25-40% larger/stronger and the seal is 3 times better at minimum and if you could see how this is done I think you would change your opinion on cheap hubs vs quality hubs. I sold both for the same application a cheap hub could cost $60 while the premium hub is $145. and many customers jumped on the cheap one for the savings.

I also wrote warranty for many large WD warehouses, the places that sell thousands of these every year so I got to see failures first hand including the notes as to how many miles and how long they lasted.

I know there is a difference but run what you choose my opinion is based on a far larger sample than most get exposed to.

Sorry for the slow response I don't visit often.

Nanotech Environmental · November 24, 2015

Maybe on the Forum there is not proof but in fact there is proof. Cut one open and look at the size of the bearings on the inside. I worked for National/Moog and we carried samples cut open to show customers so they could see first hand the differences. The bearing is very important of course but the Seal that keeps the dirt and moisture out is equal in importance. Cheap hubs will use a single lip seal, quality hubs use a triple lip seal with dirt excluders.

So the bearing will be 25-40% larger/stronger and the seal is 3 times better at minimum and if you could see how this is done I think you would change your opinion on cheap hubs vs quality hubs. I sold both for the same application a cheap hub could cost $60 while the premium hub is $145. and many customers jumped on the cheap one for the savings.

I also wrote warranty for many large WD warehouses, the places that sell thousands of these every year so I got to see failures first hand including the notes as to how many miles and how long they lasted.

I know there is a difference but run what you choose my opinion is based on a far larger sample than most get exposed to.

Sorry for the slow response I don't visit often.

On the engineering shop floor, your experience makes sense and maybe that carries over to the real world on some hubs for certain vehicles or maybe for that specific brand. However, I have two cheap ones in my 06 1500 4x4 now that have long outlasted 2 consecutive sets of expensive mainline brands such as AC Delco and Timken. I have a spare sitting on a shelf collecting dust & it's been there a while. It's there to replace the cheap ones that were supposed to have died many km ago. They are are still fine every time I check them.

I'm not the only one that has had this experience.

00Silverado4x4 · November 24, 2015

The experience I had on my previous '06 truck was the only "redo" I had to do was the driver side. It was replaced under extended warranty at 50k miles. It was Timken hub bearing. I replaced that around 120k miles. The passenger side was a cheapo that was replaced at around 80k miles and was still working when it was wrecked at 136k miles. On my current truck I replaced the driver side as it was at 376k miles on the truck. No idea when/if that was ever replaced. I used a Moog hub bearing so we'll see how long it lasts. Eventually I will most likely have to replace the passenger side. From all the threads I've read here and other forums it seems luck of the draw on how long your hub bearing will last regardless of truck usage, mileage and price of part.

Westlotorn · December 1, 2015

Remember Moog and AC Delco and others sell two lines of hubs. A quality hub and a price line hub. They are not built the same and for that reason they have different costs.

Saying you bought Moog or saying you bought Timken or AC Delco does not mean you bought the premium product.

00Silverado4x4 · December 1, 2015

I can't agree or disagree with you on that. When I went to Advance Auto there was only one listing for the Moog hub bearing for my truck so I couldn't tell you if it was the cheapo or the quality hub. The same with my previous truck with the hub bearing I replaced. The hub said "Timken" on it so I have no idea if the dealership that installed it used one or the other.

fyrplug · July 7, 2016

Replaced the Left Hub on my 04 Z71 around 205k and recently replaced the Right Hub at 267k. Guess I got lucky - very lucky.

CapitalTruck · July 10, 2016

Just an FYI, GM shop manual advises that that hub nut is a one time use job. It has a lining of loc-tite or something. When I've done my hubs I've always heeded that advise and replaced that hub nut with a new one. It's not all that expensive.