how long are your wheel bearings lasting?

[crushNchowda]

I suspected I've had a driver's front wheel bearing on its way out for some time, mentioned to the dealer 3x & every time they told me "its fine" - now of course, out of warranty had my regular mechanic check out & confirmed my suspicions. 

 

I ordered Timken part#HA590491 from rock auto for $135 (dealer/shop price is $300-$350 if you can believe that) - I only ordered the one that was noisy & opted to go w/ Timken since it was actually a little less than the AC Delco/OEM part- and considering the factory part starting going @ 45-50k miles (now truck is @ 55k miles & it clearly needs replacement) - figured I'd try an alternative.

 

Anyone else had to replace wheel bearings yet? How long they lasting & what brand did you go with? How many hrs labor should I expect from a shop?

I'm contemplating just doing this repair myself it seems very straightforward, just wish I had the part when I was doing brakes 6 weeks ago.

 

My truck has had bilstein 5100's all around top height setting for the last 40-45k miles + 1" taller rear blocks. Not sure if that really made a difference or not w/ the life of the bearing, I do use 4wd fairly regularly in the winter months & maybe 1-2x per month in non-winter.

 

[btj_z71]

My 2014 Silverado has aluminum a-arms and I have been running 2" spacers for around 2 years now. Currently at 62k and no issues.

[Nanotech Environmental]

18 minutes ago, crushNchowda said:

I suspected I've had a driver's front wheel bearing on its way out for some time, mentioned to the dealer 3x & every time they told me "its fine" - now of course, out of warranty had my regular mechanic check out & confirmed my suspicions. 

 

I ordered Timken part#HA590491 from rock auto for $135 (dealer/shop price is $300-$350 if you can believe that) - I only ordered the one that was noisy & opted to go w/ Timken since it was actually a little less than the AC Delco/OEM part- and considering the factory part starting going @ 45-50k miles (now truck is @ 55k miles & it clearly needs replacement) - figured I'd try an alternative.

 

Anyone else had to replace wheel bearings yet? How long they lasting & what brand did you go with? How many hrs labor should I expect from a shop?

I'm contemplating just doing this repair myself it seems very straightforward, just wish I had the part when I was doing brakes 6 weeks ago.

 

My truck has had bilstein 5100's all around top height setting for the last 40-45k miles + 1" taller rear blocks. Not sure if that really made a difference or not w/ the life of the bearing, I do use 4wd fairly regularly in the winter months & maybe 1-2x per month in non-winter.

 

I'm at almost 75,000km (~47,000 miles) & mine are still fine. They are doing waaaay better than my old '06, which had both replaced by this many KM. I had to replace them on that truck about every 50-70,000km regardless of which brand I used.
If it's similar to replacing them as on the GMT 800's, it's about a 1-3 hrs job, depending on a few factors & what tools you have access to. 

[kickass audio]

I have the OEM's on my 14 with 48k miles and they are perfect. In my previous vehicle (04 GMC Envoy) I replaced the bearings on the fronts 4 times. They are pretty much the same as my envoy to do on the silverado. All you really need is a good socket set and a cheater bar to crack the bolts loose. If you have an impact gun and some swivel extensions it will work easily for you. I used the impact gun to take off the CV nut and then my ratchet and extension to take off the 3 bolts behind the steering knuckle to remove the bearing.

 

From past experience with my Envoy, I used Napa pro series for the bearings and didn't have to replace them and I put 30k miles on those before I traded it in for my silverado. I had the cheap ones from advance auto and I went through them once a year and I had no lift, modifications, never go off-roading, anything that would degrade your bearings life. I knew mine were failing when I would go to stop at low speeds and the ABS would kick in for a second. Then as it progressed I would hear the moaning when I would turn the wheel at highway speeds.

[Centex14]

117k and counting. Seems most of my vehicles regardless of make get between a 100-130k out of them. Did have a Dodge go through the driver one in 80k miles but the passenger one went 200k miles.

 

 

2014 z71 LTZ

Volant Intake

Borla Exhaust

Diablo

Bilstein 5100

Rough Country Level

 

[cjlet]

Had to do both side upper and lower ball joints, around 105k, but no wheel bearings yet.

[mookdoc6]

Seemed like something that I did way more frequently back in the day...Now, it seems like I forget about the bearings as they last so much longer and they are now all in one units! 

[Black02Silverado]

2002 Silverado with 192k no problems.

Edited September 26, 2019 by Black02Silverado

[rjpoog1989]

I suspect one of mine is on its way out. Just under 60k miles. Good to hear it’s not an expensive part, and I’ve done them before on different vehicles. It’s probably not hard.

 

Do any of you guys know the tourque spec for the axle nut on these trucks?

 

What made you suspicious of yours? My truck sounds funny on the highway when turning slightly to the left... 

[aseibel]

Just had an original hub replaced on my work beater @ 190,000 miles. Not the same parts as the truck, but that one got Timkens. I had a local mechanic install it for me and it was maybe 2 hours of labor tops.

 

The only way I know how to tell is by the howl/ growling sound. And the key is the noise is directly proportional to wheel speed.

[Black02Silverado]

56 minutes ago, aseibel said:

Just had an original hub replaced on my work beater @ 190,000 miles. Not the same parts as the truck, but that one got Timkens. I had a local mechanic install it for me and it was maybe 2 hours of labor tops.

 

The only way I know how to tell is by the howl/ growling sound. And the key is the noise is directly proportional to wheel speed.

Yes, you can usually tell which side by the sound when you make a turn.  If you turn right and it gets louder it is the left front wheel and turn left it is the right front wheel. Basically the extra weight that is applied to that wheel when you make the turn increases the noise.

[ata3001]

14 LT. RF wheel bearing at 54k miles

[Eddie 70]

107k on mine and on the stocks still. Hopefully they last quite a while longer.

 

Timken used to be the go to for bearings. Is this not the case anymore?

[crushNchowda]

On 10/14/2018 at 10:37 AM, Eddie 70 said:

107k on mine and on the stocks still. Hopefully they last quite a while longer.

 

Timken used to be the go to for bearings. Is this not the case anymore?

that's the brand I ordered. I haven't gotten around to install yet but it really shouldn't be difficult - as another poster mentioned CV nut then 3 bolts that attach the hub + the wheel speed/abs sensor plug, that's pretty much it. I imagine I'll have to use a wedge/chisel/mallet to get the bad one off, probably stuck pretty good. I will get some pics of the old bearing once it is off.

[J-man67]

150k and stock bearings.  I have them ready to go as I know I'm getting close.  I'm extremely pleased with this truck.  She hasn't had an easy life and it's holding up just fine!