Front Wheel Bearings @ 58K miles?

[HanibalTheCannibal]

Well, I have a 2001 Silverado 1500, 2wd, 5.3 with 58,800 miles on it.

I am hearing a growl or droning noise from front end. It changes slightly when I turn left or right but not very noticeable. I had the truck jacked up last weekend to change oil and I spun the front wheels and checked for play/slop. They spin freely and only thing I suspect is the driver side but I couldnt tell if the brake pad was causing the slight rubbing noise versus the bearing.

Just called my mechanic and he said $260-ish for one side (parts and labor). There are BCA bearings then there are some cheaper ones. he said he changes these bearings all the time in these trucks. I have never gone off road in this truck or anything I drive it like a grandpa with my two kids usually inside. I always go the speedlimit and never jumped any curbs or anything.

1. I have tools, and am mechanically apt to work on pre-1980 vehicles but I havent worked much on these newer ones. Is this bearing a job I can do myself? Any special tools required? I already know an alignment is not needed.

2. What is up with these trucks having such crappy parts/engineering? I have a 30 year old Ford that has had $10 bearings that last 200,000 miles and are serviceable.

3. Please let me know if there are any tricks to changing out these things. My wife and I are expecting a baby this summer and I just bought a laptop so money is real tight now.

Please reply.

Thanks!!

[HanibalTheCannibal]

O'Reilly has a BCA for $190.99

My goodness these are high!! UGH

Is it a bolt on installation? I imagine the calipers come off. ANything else I should know?

[muff34]

Caliper comes off,bolt on installation , 3 bolts hold hub on ,have to remove wss from hub , dust sheild ,no big deal. get a good Quaility bearing ,one with a life time guarantee if you can. I did about 3 or 4 on a car I once had and with lifetime warranty ,i would just buy the new one and return the old and get my money back no problems . this occurred all with in 2 to three years.no hassles .

I thought you were moving east ,did it not work out for you ?

[HanibalTheCannibal]

Originally Posted by muff34

I thought you were moving east ,did it not work out for you ?

Thanks for the tips I changed it out with a BCA (OEM?) which was the highest quality available. They only offered a one year warranty though. I got it for $190, CHanged it out in about an hour.

The noise is Gone!! Man I gotta tell you I feel strange knowing that my front wheels are held on by three 15mm bolts That just doesnt look right. But sure enough that old bearing was grindy and growling.

About the move, my wife is xpecting a baby in June, so we postponed untill august because she has maternity leave, insurance, and sick leave. So we are going to have the baby here. The house is almost prepared for us in New Hampshire, we just have to get there. I am readying my silverado for the 2300 mile trek. SO far I have a Jason Extreme camper shell, and I just acquired a laptop to use as a GPS. I have a new set of Michellin's, and before we leave I will be changing the brake pads, oil, serpentine belt, and have the front windows tinted to match the back.

[muff34]

glad to hear you got it done ,too bad it didn`t have a lifrtime warranty on it tho. maybe it`ll be good to go from now on . last bearing I put in my intrepid ,the hub was maybe half the thickness of the previous three hubs that were installed. man that gives you a sick feeling beleive me. Same part number and warranty but when you look updated hub you think holy crap....LOL


Good Luck with family and moving whenever it happens

[spackelman]

I just replaced my right front. Next is the drivers side. 94,000 mi.

The HD's have 4 mounting bolts. I know the feeling, 3 or 4 bolts holding the wheel on.

The biggest PIA was getting the caliper mounting bolts off. Had to use heat.

[HanibalTheCannibal]

Originally Posted by spackelman

The biggest PIA was getting the caliper mounting bolts off. Had to use heat.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I had a 1/2" drive socket and had to put one leg in fender well and use my entire body to loosen the darn thing

I hope this one lasts me at least 50k miles.

[n8zdogg]

Think those are puny - youd shit if you saw the dodge front wheel bearings! Honest no lie - the ones in my Honda Accord are about 30% larger and held in with 4 bolts.

[Bob B]

Hi,
Shouldn't you lube the bearings around 30,000?
2WD still has the bearing riding in grease applied to it right?
Bob B

[n8zdogg]

these are sealed units now - no lube can be applied. I know i'm partial to the old school where you could service the bearing rather than throw away.