Front Hubs - Good or Bad?

[JTodd]

What visible signs are there that a front wheel hub is going bad? I have some bearing related noises, and need to figure out if one or both of my hubs are bad. What should I look for?

[Phil Holmen]

Jack the front end up and see if the noise is present when you spin the wheel by hand. Also check for play by moving the wheel in and out top and bottom and side to side. I just replaced the hub bearing in my '95. Pricey but an easy fix if caught before any other damage occurs. I had to replace the outer cv joint because by the time I had figured out what the problem was, the bearing heated up the boot and cracked it and cooked out all the grease. Not a fun rebuild. Keep us posted.

[CareyWeber]

Originally posted by Phil Holmen:
Jack the front end up and see if the noise is present when you spin the wheel by hand. Also check for play by moving the wheel in and out top and bottom and side to side. I just replaced the hub bearing in my '95. Pricey but an easy fix if caught before any other damage occurs. I had to replace the outer cv joint because by the time I had figured out what the problem was, the bearing heated up the boot and cracked it and cooked out all the grease. Not a fun rebuild. Keep us posted. Phil,

How many miles (US Miles?) did you have on yours when you had your hub bearing go out?

Carey

[DA BIG ONE]

Just had mine done both sides at 98,000 miles. Drivers side bearing was toast.

[Chad Mac]

160K miles and my passenger front was bad. Accidently found it while going through the front end with new ball joints, tie rods, axle (CV joint) boots, etc. A pricey item but didn't cost me any labor. I replaced both hubs at the same time so I didn't have to tear it apart again.

[Bruce Ostien]

I regreased my front hubs as a preventive measure while I had every thing apart for front brakes. Made an adaptor for my grease gun using an air blow gun tip, and greased thru the ABS sensor hole. Greased and rotated by hand several times until only clean grease came out around the seals. Hope this extends the life, two hub assy's are the price of an intercooler which I don't yet have.

[kowsoc]

On my 94 I used a grease needle to grease the front bearings. You can carefully insert the needle under the lip of the seal when the brake caliber is removed. They both took a lot of grease! The reason the bearings fail after a while is probably from lack of lubrication. ;)

[DA BIG ONE]

Originally posted by Bruce Ostien:
Hope this extends the life, two hub assy's are the price of an intercooler which I don't yet have. Yep, To the tune of $769. w/labor US dollars for me.

[JTodd]

Is there a logical reason these hub-centric rotors where not designed to be full floating? The rotor bears no weight and bolting the wheel to the hub would trap the rotor in place. Most cars, at least the newer German ones I have and work on are designed like this, with only a small set screw to keep them in place when the wheel is off.

Would it be acceptable to use lugs that are pressed into the HUB from the back (not through hub and pressed into rotor). Then enlargen the lug holes in the rotor SLIGHTLY to allow the rotor to slid over them to the hub. The rotor could then be changed very easily. I am not going to do this now, I need to get the rotors changed and the truck back on the road, but if I have to do this again, I may think about it.

[CareyWeber]

Originally posted by JTodd:
Is there a logical reason these hub-centric rotors where not designed to be full floating? The rotor bears no weight and bolting the wheel to the hub would trap the rotor in place. Most cars, at least the newer German ones I have and work on are designed like this, with only a small set screw to keep them in place when the wheel is off.

Would it be acceptable to use lugs that are pressed into the HUB from the back (not through hub and pressed into rotor). Then enlargen the lug holes in the rotor SLIGHTLY to allow the rotor to slid over them to the hub. The rotor could then be changed very easily. I am not going to do this now, I need to get the rotors changed and the truck back on the road, but if I have to do this again, I may think about it. My 90 K1500 gasser was that way, but the 8 lug 2500 & 3500 aren't.

[JTodd]

Now I see. I only had the rotors and had not looked at it with the wheel off. Rotor is trapped behind the hub.

[JTodd]

I was able to get the hub and rotor off. Driver's side grinds considerably. I will be ordering a new one right away. I noticed they are about $275 at AutoZone. Is this the best place and the best price?

[b757200er]

I changed both last summer. GM sold each of them at 950.00$ can. Canadian Tire, NAPA et other auto parts supplier sold them about 500-600$ can.

So I called a bearing supplier. The same part (SKF) cost me only !!! 335.00 $ each. I saved big money...

[StephenA]

WOW... -What supplier was that? Got any contact info on them? Say, does anyone have any experience with non OEM hubs? I would think they would be juat as good as ones from the dealer, but I have now knowledge to this effect.

[Seven-Time]

I replaced the left side this fall, Oem price was around 500.00. cdn. GM's price was expensive because they don't sell just the hub but rather hub and rotor.
I called general bearing service they were a little cheaper at around 450.00. When I was talking to the service guy at GBS I asked if there was a way to press out the old bearing, he said they had done it once , so I am going to take the old hub and see what they can do, as I will have to replace the right side this spring.
I will post a follow-up

[Phil Holmen]

My bearing went out at 390,000km and i have owned since 145 so I believe it to be original, I have atempted to have the old bearing pressed off of the hub but they had no luck, When i noticed mine making noise I was 2500km from home and by the time I was able to take it off it was almost welded together. Needless to say I have to rebuild the outer cv joint as well due to the heat created...

[jdmetcalf57]

Do you guys know whether the axles on the front have to be installed for the hub assembly to stay together. I have my front differential out to take the pan off and find my cracked block but I probably will need to get it to a dealer and don't want to put the dif. back before the new motor is in.

[Alf]

Yes, without the cv joint installed and properly tightened the bearing will tend to come apart.
Even just putting vehicle weight on it, say nothing of rolling it around. The failure might not be seen imidiately, you'll hear it soon enough.
An easy solution is to buy a large bolt with flat washers and a nut to take the joint's place.