'04 Colorado play in rear wheel

[saturnthegiant]

I have been noticing a bit of "sway" in the rear of my truck when driving. It seems to be coming from the rear passenger side. Today I noticed a slight roar from the rear, and jacked up the rear passenger tire to check it. With hands on the 3 oclock and 9 oclock positions on the tire, I have quite a bit of side to side play in the wheel. Could this be a bad rear wheel bearing? I have changed the front bearings before, but no experience with rear bearings....I have the manual for the truck. Can anyone tell me if this seems like the right diagnosis, and how hard they are to change?

[Blue Bowtie]

That sounds like a failed bearing. They are not that difficult to change, but it can be time consuming and requires opening the rear axle housing and removing the differential pinion shaft, it lock bolt, and then a C-clip. The rest of the work is done from the wheel flange. There are retainer/cover bolts to be removed after the brake is disassembled. Plan on installing a new outboard seal. The bearing is pressed in place on the axle shaft, but almost any decent auto parts store can pull/press the new bearing. BTW - That leaves out most of the chain parts stores except for maybe Car Craft.