Wheel Bearing Replacement

[JoulesWinfield]

I have herd both stories, "gotta replace the whole hub", "you can just replace the bearings".
Never done it myself, but my neighboor had a Bravada that needed a wheel bearing and it only cost $50 bucks for the local shop to replace the bearing only. Even the Chiltons says the whole assembly.

All I know for sure is the bearing was bad when I looked at it, and when he got it back from the shop the bad bearing was now good.

[BlazerLT]

Originally Posted by JoulesWinfield

I have herd both stories, "gotta replace the whole hub", "you can just replace the bearings".
Never done it myself, but my neighboor had a Bravada that needed a wheel bearing and it only cost $50 bucks for the local shop to replace the bearing only. Even the Chiltons says the whole assembly.

All I know for sure is the bearing was bad when I looked at it, and when he got it back from the shop the bad bearing was now good.

It's a sealed unit. It cannot be opened to replace the bearing without significantly damaging it unless it was a bearing shop and they were able to somehow open it up with damage.

[JoulesWinfield]

Originally Posted by BlazerLT

It's a sealed unit. It cannot be opened to replace the bearing without significantly damaging it unless it was a bearing shop and they were able to somehow open it up with damage.

Im just telling you what happened. Go ahead and say it cant be done, but it was. For me, if I needed to replace my wheel bearing, I would by the hub and swap it out. But this isnt the first time Ive had someone tell me that they changed just the bearing.

[LS19962DRBLAZER4X4]

Just don't let a dealership do the job. I had my hub done for $290.00
labor parts included. My service station did the job back in 2001.
96LS 2Dr 4x4 S-10 Blazer

[Emmitt101]

Bought my hub from Autozone for $112. Not a hard fix. About two hours. Be sure you have the socket and torque wrench.

[skyzend]

I've replaced about 3 myself and 4 under warranty ... Ive got another one to do this weekend ... they don't last long about 80KM or so. My 1999 Blazer is over 300KM.

I have examined the bearing many times on either side and I fail to see how anyone could just replace the bearing in the hub assembly. The whole thing is sealed and contains the antilock stuff. There are no access points at all for even special tools ... It is definately a throw away.I'd say anyone who says that they can do it for only the cost of a bearing is waiting to get you on a hoist with the hub off before they spring the bad news on you. I even bet the parts list includes ball joints and more.

If it was possible to do the bearing I'm sure the final result would not be properly sealed. One thing I can say is that the bearing lasts a very long time once it starts to "hum" indicating it is worn. On other vehicles I have owned once the bearing starts to make noise it needs to be replaced right away or it will outright fail destroying the rotor and brake pads. The blazer hub starts to make a loud hum and I have driven for thousands of KM and never had an outright failure.

[BlazerLT]

Originally Posted by Emmitt101

Bought my hub from Autozone for $112. Not a hard fix. About two hours. Be sure you have the socket and torque wrench.

Watch those china hubs, they are known to fail fast.

[wirenut699]

From what I've read here at AF the older blazers (pre-1998?) has replaceable bearings.

Is it possible someone retrofitted an old wheel assembly onto the newer blazer thereby making the bearings replaceable?

Is it even possible? Maybe done after a serious collision.

[BlazerLT]

I have a 1995 and it is a hub.

4x4's require a hub replacement. 2x4's are replaceable bearings.

[JoulesWinfield]

Im not sure how some people say they can replace just the bearing.
But I would think it would be easier to just swap out the assy all together since the races would be damaged and Im sure would be pressed in.

[metallica21156]

i don't know if mines a bearing or not. about 2 months ago i hit a curb on the drivers side. ever since then its been driving me mad. swaped out the front axle due to play on the drivers side, drivers side cv axle since it crushed the thing and you could hear and feel it clunking around. all is fine with that but still when i go around a right turn at 45 or higher i get a humming kind of noise. it pulses. only turning right and only about 45. could it be the hub and how would have hitting the curb killed it. 88,890 miles on it now.

[BlazerLT]

Yip, sounds like it would be that.

[metallica21156]

ok. just checking before i replace it and didn't need to.

[DelCoch]

Originally Posted by skyzend

. . . The whole thing is sealed and contains the antilock stuff. There are no access points at all for even special tools ...

On my '95 4x4, without realizing the front bearings were the sealed type, I put a wheel puller on it and with a lot of great effort I pulled the hub. Seeing it was a sealed unit I put it back together with an impact wrench and a big hammer. That was about 15K ago. I then expected the bearing to fail, but so far, so good. (knock on wood) If a replacement bearing was/is available I could have replaced just the bearing.

[tcjimmy]

Any comments on where to get a new hub assembly. I replace one 40000 mile ago it is going bad again. Or is 40000 miles average for these?

Thanks
TCjimmy