Wheel Bearings

[H3T]

I have read about having to replace hubs on 4X4's. I have a 2003 1500 Silverado 4X4 that the bearings are shot. I called around for the best price, and Oreilly's said that they carry the bearings. All I have ever heard was you had to change the whole hub out. If it is true, would it be that hard to change? Anyone else do this, change the bearings only? Thanks

[Ape0r]

The hub contains a sealed for life bearing. The hub is easy to change if you have an impact wrench, and only a little harder as long as you have a decent breaker bar.

[mountain_man]

Just did ball joints and wheel bearings/hubs on my '99 Silverado 1500 4x4. If you've done brakes on your truck, wheel bearings/hubs are fairly easy (ball joints are another story). Beside usual hand tools you'll need a good breaker bar, 36 mm socket (Sears has one) and a hefty torque wrench (165 ft/lbs). I used the Haynes Repair Manual as a guide (I disagree with their ball joint procedure though). Send me your email and I'll send you some pix's of the details (since I haven't figured out how to post pix here without hosting the pix somewhere else).