Front Wheel Bearing Replacement

[markf]

My son and his 1999 k2500 4x4, 54,000 miles, just came back from Monro muffler. They told him he needed new front wheel bearings. The price they quoted him for the job is $1590, I was stunned to say the least. The truck has ABS. However, I did not think that ABS would make that much of a difference. Monro stated that if there were no ABS, the job would be half. I have done bearings in the past, but without ABS. Is this something left to the pros?
Also, he has gone thru two sets of tires within 20,000 miles. He does pull a trailer with lawn equipment twice a week and there are no burnsouts, doughnuts etc. The back ones wear extremely quickly. Any thoughts?
Thank you.

[pbergmann]

Markf,
I cant help you with the wheel bearing problem but the tire wear out problem reminds me of when I was younger and my dad got a new 72 Monte Carlo 454, he bought it because he liked the color, he had no clue what the 454 meant, well long story short he never did figure out why the rear tires only lasted 7k miles. Before he passed away we told him of the saturday night drags and the neutral slams. He got a big kick out of it the story though.

[simple_country_guy]

They can be replaced by you. I actually replaced mine on the side of the road after we went and got the proper parts. The only "special" tool you may need is a ... I think it is a 39mm socket to pull the axle bolt off. Everything else is hand tools. I can not replace mine in about 15-20 min a side. It is really not that difficult. HERE IS WHERE IT GETS EXPENSIVE!!! Each one of the hubs is going to run you $250-$300 dollars. Break out the check book. lol. You are also going to have a hard time finding the correct ones for you truck if it is the new body style 99. The ones for the older truck WILL fit! Make sure they are the right ones, very hard to tell the difference. New hubs are threaded where the bolt threads into the hub and the old hubs have no threads.... I only found them throught the dealer. Good luck.

[monksblood]

Check the front end for bad ball joints, pitman arms, bushings and the rear springs. Also recheck the wheel bearings. Replace any bad parts, then go for a wheel alignment. Thats why your tires are wearing out so fast