wheel bearing

[Lil Bandit]

I just completed a wheel bearing / hub assembly change on my 03 Montana.

I was disappointed to learn that my barely two year old vehicle with 100,000 kilometres on it needed this already, but that's life! Anyway, with the brake caliper and bracket off, the big hub nut backed almost all the way off, and the three hub bolts out, I tapped the back of the hub so that it let go of the steering knuckle. I then placed a thin wrench between the knuckle and the hub and tapped the end of the drive axle with the big hub bolt still on it so that the axle let go of the hub. I did this a couple of times with progressively wider "spacers" until the hub was completely off. All this since I couldn't find my wheel puller in my, shall we say, "disorganized" garage. With the new hub / bearing assembly in, brakes back on, all bolts torqued properly, it was time for a road test! Perfect! buzzing road noise gone, everything back to normal.

The point of this story is: This job is well within reach of a decent backyard mechanic with the basic tools and a torque wrench.

A couple of tips:

Jack your vehicle up and support it properly, no need for drama here.
Have a torque wrench ready.
A puller will save you the trouble I went through.
Shop around for the bearing assembly, I got quotes ranging from $365 to $200 bucks!
Don't get hosed by the dealership, I was knocked for a loop to learn that folks were paying as much as a grand for this fix!

Good luck, and go to it!

[1999montana]

Originally Posted by Lil Bandit

"Anyway, with the brake caliper and bracket off, the big hub nut backed almost all the way off, and the three hub bolts out, I tapped the back of the hub so that it let go of the steering knuckle."

Good info...I may end up doing this repair ... in the not too distant future.

Questions:

1. What did the parts cost you?

2. Was the interference fit between the hub, knuckle and the half shaft loose enough that you could 'push' the hub out without a puller?

(The last hub I replaced on an import ended up going to the shop to be pressed out and then in again.)

Also, PartSource and CTC will let you borrow the right tools to get the job done. Came in handy a number of times. Makes what might look like a specailty job that much easier.

Bob

"In the heart of GM country!"

[rubberman]

yes the dealership is outta control on prices. My work vans is an Astro. They quote me $125 to replaces the belt. I know the belt costs $25 but $100 for labor is crazy. Easy to get to and should take 15 minutes to replace.

[Lil Bandit]

Originally Posted by 1999montana

Good info...I may end up doing this repair ... in the not too distant future.

Questions:

1. What did the parts cost you?

2. Was the interference fit between the hub, knuckle and the half shaft loose enough that you could 'push' the hub out without a puller?

(The last hub I replaced on an import ended up going to the shop to be pressed out and then in again.)

Also, PartSource and CTC will let you borrow the right tools to get the job done. Came in handy a number of times. Makes what might look like a specailty job that much easier.

Bob

"In the heart of GM country!"

The wheel bearing comes in an assembly which includes the bearing, the hub and a wheel speed sensor, the best price I found was at an aftermarket supplier for $208 (canadian funds).

The fit between hub, knuckle and half shaft is snug but does not require pressing. A good size wheel or hub puller would be a definite help, and remember, don't pull the hub out completely if it's still engaged to the half shaft. You could scramble the bearings there. Also, go slow with pulling out the wheel sensor cable and clip, it's a close fit through the steering knuckle with the hub off, but it'll definitely go.

All in all this is not a difficult job, it took me about an hour with basic shop tools.

Good Luck!

[1999montana]

Thanks for the reply. Good stuff!

Originally Posted by Lil Bandit

The fit between hub, knuckle and half shaft is snug but does not require pressing... don't pull the hub out completely if it's still engaged to the half shaft. You could scramble the bearings there....

I'm a little confused. Do you mean the bearings inside the hub or the CV joint?

Please advise.

[Lil Bandit]

Originally Posted by 1999montana

Thanks for the reply. Good stuff!



I'm a little confused. Do you mean the bearings inside the hub or the CV joint?

Pleas advise.

The hub / bearing assembly is safe enough, it's the cv joint you don't want to pull apart. A puller to remove the hub / bearing assembly makes this easy, using the method I described of tapping the hub a little ways off, placing a spacer between it and the knuckle, and the tapping the end of the cv axle with a soft hammer / piece of wood, accomplishes the same thing.

Good Luck

[maj154]

Where did you get the wheel bearing from? I looked around in Canada and the best price I found so far is $280.

Thanks

[Flatrater]

Only thing I could add to this is some more hints. If you take off the big nut on the axle, leave the nut on the very first few threads and smack the nut with a good size hammer. This will break the axle loose from the hub. Then the only thing left holding on the hub is the rust.

If you are not sure what hub is bad and you can hear the humming coming from the hubs. Drive the van down the road making small turns. The noise should come and go while making the turns. If the noise goes while making a left turn change the left side bearing. In a left turn you remove alot of stress from the inside turn hub causing the noise to change. Also jack the van up and put your hands at the 12 and 6 oclock position shake the wheel, net do the same at 3 and 9 oclock and see if you feel any play.

I work for a GM dealership and I won't argue with you about the prices there. But when you buy a hub make sure it isn't the cheapest hub, you want quality in the hub and the cheaper ones lack it sometimes.

The hubs on these vans go bad all the time, it is a common problem that GM needs to address.


rubberman the standard labor on a belt replacement is 1/2 hour of labor, most belts are in the 50 to 60 dollar range. All GM parts have a 100% markup on them in a dealership. Buying the part directly from the parts department sometimes will save you money instead of buying the belt thru the service department.

[gmack221]

I was wondering if anyone could give the torque specs for a 1999 Montana front wheel hub (hub to the knuckle) & the CV shaft torque.

What size socket do you need for the CV shaft nut?

I found a different post that was for a 2002 Montana and it said 96 ft.lbs for the hub to knuckle & 118 ft.lbs for the CV shaft. Is this the same for the 1999

Im doing a friend a favor & want to make sure everything is torqued correct for him. The socket size is so that I don't have to have him wait while I make a run to get the correct size. Thanks in advance for any help you give me.

[justbryan]

Originally Posted by gmack221

What size socket do you need for the CV shaft nut?

I realize this post is nearing ancient status, but after doing this job this past weekend, and not being able to find this info in the service manual or on here, I'm posting it mostly just so when someone else searches for it, it's on here somewhere.

The axle nut size is 34mm.

I measured (incorrectly, obviously) went and rented a 32mm axle socket from Autozone, got home...swore at it, then went back to exchange it for the 34... 45 minutes of my life I will never get back.

Whew, I feel better now. Some weekend mechanic will thank me someday!

[Oryan]

Could you please give the correct torque specs for a 2002 Montana. I am doing this job on Friday and I am unable to find this info anywhere else. Thank you in Advance

Ryan

[maxwedge]

Welcome to AF, what specs? If it is the axle nut the spec is different for AM bearings, the info is provided with the part. This thread is a year old, any further queries will require a new thread, please.

[kcarlen]

Anyone find the correct torque? I used another threads information to torque, and it read 200 ft/pounds.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...xle+nut+torque

Is this correct? The van is running fine now, just wondering if this is excessive......
Seems to be alright though....wasn't hard to do with my torque wrench...