front wheel hubs (bearings)

Cheekster96 · November 18, 2005

hey gang. well, i have discovered more problems with my 03 Sierra 4wd.

i noticed, coming off the turnpike, slowing down, and going thru the off ramp (slow right hander), the front tire area was starting to make a sound like it was grinding and groaning.

couple days later, i tried it again, and sure enough, it did the same thing. I tried to repeat it goin left and it didnt do it. I dont hear it when i am travelling on a straight line but more so when more weight is transferred to that side of the truck.

today, i jacked up the front end (put jack stands under of course) and checked the radial (correct term?? hands on top of wheel and bottom) movement and it wobbled pretty bad. i rotated the tire by hand and could hear the grinding noise coming in behind the tire...from where the halfshaft coneccts to the hub assembly. i went to the passenger's side and noticed it is wobbling a bit too, but not nearly as much. so, i suppose i have some work ahead of me.

my question is...is it common for a three year old truck to develop this problem? it has 64,000 miles on it and i am the second owner. has lived its life in Maine.

i am pretty good working on engines (built a 383 for my camaro) but havent really did much suspension work on a truck. is this something a do-it-yourselfer can tackle or am i better off goin to the dealership? i dont really trust the local garages here..they are kinda shabby in their work.

i priced the hubs and they are from $150-$200 a piece. YIKERS!! so much for christmas shopping.

any thoughts or suggestions?

Lee

chris_kucia · November 18, 2005

I can't speak specifically to your problem, but I've found that there are very few things that can't be done at home if you have the right information and tools.

Whenever I purchase a vehicle, my first purchase is always a set of factory service manuals. They're usually $100-200, but well worth the investment. For our trucks, the factory manuals are a four-volume set printed on that extremely thin paper - there's no way an aftermarket manual can contain all the info that is in the factory manuals.

The downside of the manuals is the often call out special tools that may or may not be substitutable. That's were common sense, a little bit of experience, and access to resources like this board come into play. Often, you can rent tools from the parts store and this can be a great alternative for that one-shot repair.

I replaced one of my front driveshafts and found that to be a pretty easy repair. IIRC, the only thing I needed was a socket big enough for the large nut holding the axle to the hub.

I haven't looked at the bearing, but on most FWD cars (which are similar to the setup of our trucks) the bearing is an assembly which simply unbolts. You'll probably need to remove the wheel, unbolt the brake caliper and tie it up, remove the caliper retaining bracket, remove the rotor, remove the big nut that holds the driveshaft to the bearing hub and then simply unbolt the bearing assembly.

Reinstalling would simply be the reverse, but I would pay particular attention to the torque settings in the manual for the hub retaining bolts, the caliper bracket bolts (which probably need locktite) and the axle nut. I don't remember, but there might have been a cotter pin on the axle nut.

I think when I did it, I took the axle hub nut cap off, then put the wheel back on the truck and set it back on the ground so I could easily break loose the axle nut w/o straining the drivetrain, then jacked it back up and took the wheel back off.

Cheekster96 · November 18, 2005

thanks for the response chris. yeah, i am slacking in the manual department. all i have is the chiltons and hayes brands.

i think the only thing i dont have is the socket that fits the hub. will have to look at it and take a trip to sears probably.

will be working OT for sure now..lol

thanks.

Lee

Bish · November 18, 2005

thanks for the response chris. yeah, i am slacking in the manual department. all i have is the chiltons and hayes brands.

i think the only thing i dont have is the socket that fits the hub. will have to look at it and take a trip to sears probably.

will be working OT for sure now..lol

thanks.

Lee

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I replaced both of my huubs at 145K. I was getting the same grinding noise out of both and they would not spin freely. Since I was rebuilding the front end, I decided to replace them both.

As for the replacement, it was fairly easy to do. I had to by a socket for the big nut and used my 1/2 inch impact to remove and re-install. Had to disconnect the lower balljoint in order to get the hub replaced. It should take around 30 minutes per side once the wheel is off.

Cheekster96 · November 18, 2005

Bish, what size socket did you use? I have a decent size 1/2 breaker bar. I think i even have a 3/4 incher with various sockets.

Thanks.

Lee

rjirvine · November 19, 2005

I just replaced the right hub/axle assy on my 97 K1500 (4x4). I had almost an 1/8" of play in it @162k miles. Mine came as a sealed unit, and I found the best price at advance auto parts ($159). I had to get the 36mm socket for the axle nut. Replacing it was pretty straight forward. The bolts were very rusty and I had to buy new ones at the dealer (3 at $8 apiece). They are close tolerance bolts. The bolt heads on mine are between the axle flange and the steering knuckle, so I had to go thru the holes in the flange with a 15mm socket. I think the newer styles use bolts with the heads towards the inboard side of the truck. Therefore, see what kind of hub you have. If the bolts heads are on the inboard side, you need a hub thats threaded, if they come from the outside, you'll need a hub that isn't threaded. One of my bolts was so rusted I had to hacksaw the head off and pull the hub, then use a 16" pipe wrench to get the shank out...even though the threads were soaked in PB Blaster....In the process I invented a few new swear words.

As for them going bad "early" check your brake caliper bolts and bushings, if they are frozen it can cause your brakes to drag causing excess heat on the bearing and causing it to fail early....let us know how you do!

Bish · November 19, 2005

Bish, what size socket did you use? I have a decent size 1/2 breaker bar. I think i even have a 3/4 incher with various sockets.

Thanks.

Lee

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I used a 1 - 7/16 socket with 3/4" drive. I bought a 1/2 to 3/4 adapter also. I had an old nut from when I replaced a half-shaft and I took it down to Napa to match the socket. I believe the 36mm mentioned is close enough that they both work.

The problem I had was holding the assembly from rotating while applying pressure. I can't remember what my Helms manual suggested but I grabbed by 1/2" impact and it pretty much came right off reasonably easy. When I re-assembled, I used the impact to tighten it. I can't recall the torque spec but it was higher than the 140ft-lbs of the lug nuts so I cranked until it would move no more. I also marked the nut position before removing so as to have a point of reference for retorqueing.

rjirvine · November 19, 2005

My manual said to loosen the nut with the wheel on the ground about a quarter turn, i did about a full turn, then used a hammer with a rag on the top against the lug to hold it from turning.

SteveCZ · November 21, 2005

Wow, must have been the weekend to replace wheel hubs.

I had to change mine out (front left one). I had to do a brake job anyways so I had the rotors off too.

I got the big nut off with a 1" 3/8s nut, and a 3/4 " Drive socket, that was the easy part.

I then got the three hub retaining bolts out from the back, no problem there.

Then I tried to get the hub to come out, gave it a coupla whacks with a hammer (per Haynes manual), and it didn't even move. Soaked it with WD-40, heated it, used a puller on it, broke one puller, got a bigger one, it FINALLY came out (the hub out of the knuckle). I then had to get the assembly off of the driveshaft spline, that was a nightmare, almost had to cut it off. soaked it with heat and with WD-40 and a coupla good whacks on the puller, and it FINALLY came off.

Just make sure you have a good quality puller, and some patience, it will come off, just need to be patient. I'm dreading to have to do the passenger side, cuz I know it will be just as bad, if not worse.

BTW, truck is a 1999, with about 63000 miles on it, and I'm in Upstate NY, so must be something with the salt and crap from the winters up here.

sxmax · November 21, 2005

Aftermarket rims with big offset are killers on these wheel bearings.... In my part of teh world you can only get them at the dealer at $330+ a pop... They always have them in stock. Must be a common part. I too had to replace my left front this summer... Just waiting for the right side to go out....

Cheekster96 · November 21, 2005

im driving my old 87 K20 right now..what a brute! luckily, my gf has a 05 Malibu that gets awesome mileage so i use that to commute to work back and forth.

i think i have decided to go to Pep Boys and let them do it for me. They are reasonable and have a warranty too..dont neccessarily trust the local garages (no warranty) and the dealer costs (80 bucks an hour labor!!!!!! ).