how long are your wheel bearings lasting?

[swathdiver]

The average life of a front hub on a 1500 SUV is about 100K miles.

[davester]

I just did the front hubs/ball joints on my '04 3500.  If it's 4wd, I would suggest just smearing  anti-seize on the splines of the front axle, the nut doesn't need it (if you put the cap on the hub so it's sealed in there).  I did this 5 years ago when I upgraded my truck to 4wd, and the axles slide out of the hubs like butter.

 

And on another forum I follow (dieselplace.com), it's been suggested to periodically remove the front wheel speed sensors, and inject wheel bearing grease in the hole...

[sigmonster]

I just had the right front bearings in a 2017 replaced at 48,000 miles.

Bad luck for me.

 

My son has a 2014 with 130,000 and no problems

[diyer2]

Every thing we buy is a roll of the dice.

Problem item or not.

[DonWarren]

2017 Yukon XL 4wd with only 28k miles. 6 months out of warranty (of course)... Paid GMC dealer $472 including parts & labor to replace left front hub assembly today. Same hub used on 1500 Sierra

Edited April 30, 2021 by DonWarren

[Grumpy Bear]

135K and 7 years on the Silverado and all good. Just replaced the front left on the Terrain at 140K. Speed sensor failure. 

[ftwhite]

$150 part, that relies on grease for wear protection. Fairly simple bolt on job. 2-3hrs in the driveway.  

I guess for me its less a question of how many miles I can squeeze out of them, and more a question of how often should they be replaced as part of preventative maintenance. 

 

I've never had one fail before 50k (lucky me maybe, but probably strong odds). But I'll never drive them past 100k because it just seems like taking a risk you don't really need to at that cost. And I bet new bearings get better gas mileage. 

 

If you keep having hubs fail before 100k, I'd be looking for the cause other than bad luck.

 

[Grumpy Bear]

I expect my total miles lifetime driving runs well into 2 million. Only a few wheel bearing failures ever. So rare it surprises me. I keep cars/trucks/bikes a long time too. That said wheel speed sensor failure is more common and still requires a bearing change. Good job OEM's. 

[reardiff]

Heavy wheels or tires will make them wear considerable faster too. seems like most of the ones I've seen go out are with someone who has heavy LT tires.

[RHM]

wheel bearings failed at50,000 miles. 90% freeway miles. Tires and brakes lasted longer than the wheel bearings. Something ain’t right here

 

[dieselfan1]

On 5/4/2021 at 12:37 PM, Grumpy Bear said:

I expect my total miles lifetime driving runs well into 2 million. Only a few wheel bearing failures ever. So rare it surprises me. I keep cars/trucks/bikes a long time too. That said wheel speed sensor failure is more common and still requires a bearing change. Good job OEM's. 

You don't drive much Grumps

I'm at 2.85 million miles on my 16th Chevy truck.

In all those miles 

I've replaced 2 wheel bearings same truck 2003 2500HD Duramax. Keys cranked may have had something to do with it . 

Anyone worried about wheel bearings failing should worry about something else. 

[16LT4]

93k miles on my original bearings, still silent and smooth.  I run stock size wheels, tires and ride height though, avoid potholes in the road, and slow down to a crawl over speed bumps, though.

[Grumpy Bear]

3 hours ago, dieselfan1 said:

You don't drive much Grumps

I'm at 2.85 million miles on my 16th Chevy truck.

In all those miles 

I've replaced 2 wheel bearings same truck 2003 2500HD Duramax. Keys cranked may have had something to do with it . 

Anyone worried about wheel bearings failing should worry about something else. 

I just mean things with 4 wheels on paved roads Jim.  Me and Oliver, the Electra Glide (and a dozen other) have been all over the USA, northern Mexico, southern Canada multiple times. Been known to log a thousand miles in one day. 5K in a week. Well, except Delaware. That place just isn't on the way to anywhere  and not exactly a destination vacation. 

[16LT4]

On 6/26/2021 at 10:25 AM, Grumpy Bear said:

Well, except Delaware. That place just isn't on the way to anywhere  and not exactly a destination vacation. 

 
Well sure it is. I can’t get to FL, OBX or Norfolk without spending a few minutes in DE. Lack of state sales tax also makes it a destination for purchasing big ticket items, like generators and outboard engines.

[Grumpy Bear]

13 minutes ago, 16LT4 said:

 
Well sure it is. I can’t get to FL, OBX or Norfolk without spending a few minutes in DE. Lack of state sales tax also makes it a destination for purchasing big ticket items, like generators and outboard engines.

 

I may change my mind. Just read that it is the most retirement friendly state in the USA tax wise