Axle bearing warning

[nvmtnlion]

Tim,

Glad you are okay and it all worked out for the best!

I am SO glad you were being watched over and it was not time for you to go to him!

 

[Turbine Doc]

I too am glad it wasnt worse.

What brand of bearing did you replace it with?

I work at Timken Research and they are constantly testing GM Wheel bearing assemblies, I will ask the techs if/what they are finding is causing this problem and maybe how we can prevent it.

Bought replacement assemblies at NAPA, not sure who's bearing the NAPA assemblies have in them.

 

[Turbine Doc]

Both my rags got 170K on them. Anyway to check ? The ABS unit is unplugged in my 95 but it was due to bad ABS unit.

When I did the tie rods & ball joint, I did the std play check one does for bad bearings & found no bad play. I retrospect I did feel vibe at 80 mph driving over the week before, thought I had lost a wheel weight, had tires rotated and balanced, and was going to get front end aligned, that was when we found bad tie rod, so I rebuilt it all, pitman, idler, both tie rods, and slighlty worn lower ball joint pass side.

Did not realign shop was closed, but I set tie rods to same length as old ones, test drove it tracked straight on test drive and steering wheel in same place as with old tie rods; I drove from Ms to Ga 440 miles vibe better than the drive to Ms from Ga. but still a slight vibe that I put off to minor misalignment.

Possibly by stiffening up the rest of the steering linkage I accelerated the bearing fail, since all play in worn components put on the last item not changed was transferred to the bearing assemby, drives like new now, well I guess it is all new now.

 

[Edzzed]

my left wheel bearing went KAPUT. GM WARRANTIED IT as i had just bought the truck used. i have read somewhere that they have an issue with bearings. try googling it. i looked into it shortly after my bearing incident but has been a while now. something about graphite comes to mind. Ed

 

[bk95td]

I had the threads rust off a tie rod end on my 95 k2500ld. The tie rod fell out of the adj. sleeve. Luckily only at 25mph. The truck jumped like it had hydraulics on it . Scared the hell out out of me. Note the complete front suspension rebuild on my sig. Something else to keep a eye on for those of us in the road salt area is the u-bolts on the rear axel. When i parted out my 91 k2500ld the u-bolts were rusted down to 3/8 ". The last thing i did with that truck was towing close to 10,000 lbs. Yikes!!!!!

 

[TurboTahoe]

Hey Tim,

"Absent with the body, present with the Lord" We're glad you're still around buddy.

-Rob

 

[Sunshine]

Hey Tim thanks for the heads up. I am about to do new rotors so am considering bearings whilst I am in there. Is it possible to replace just the bearing or did you have to replace the bearing and hub assembly as a whole?

cheers
Nobby

Nobby let me know how you get on as i`m planning to do mine as well.

I know there is some help in the DIY section, U/Front wheel bearings
,and i`m not sure if you have the same system as mine but to try & get those 15mm bolts out of the back they wouldn`t move even when being heated up. with all the salting on the roads here, they must be rusted to the back bone.

Take Care..

 

[mfgguru]

Do the 1500's and 2500's have the same style of hub? I know when my front driver side went, it was noisy as heck, but didn't fail. Seems to me the 2500's have a different hub. No spindle, but an entire assembly that is replaced and the drive shaft goes through the center. Changes out in about an hour. Easy easy.

 

[bk95td]

The bolts that hold the hub on are lock-tited. Easy acess on 6 lug to heat. On 8 lug you have to break the rotor to get acess to heat because the rotor mounts on wheel studs behind hub face. Hub must be removed to change rotor.

 

[Sunshine]

The bolts that hold the hub on are lock-tited. Easy acess on 6 lug to heat. On 8 lug you have to break the rotor to get acess to heat because the rotor mounts on wheel studs behind hub face. Hub must be removed to change rotor.

bk95td Y`ve given my the good news & the bad, i don`t think there is no other way around it,, i`ve been there untill my balls were behide my ears with pain trying to remove those bolts...really appreciate your help..

I like this site,,, as it is... :iagree:

 

[Detroit Dan]

Mine went at around 130 or 140k, not too long after I started punishing the frontend with a 950lb snowplow. Just got a lot of vibration, no wheels parting company. I changed one side with an ACDelco, but couldn't get another so I bought an Autozone POS, saved $50. Second winter the Autozone one failed completely. Was going to the shop anyway to do something, and since it was shaking I jacked up the frontend to check it. When I jacked that side the wheel flopped over about 3 inches as soon as it cleared the floor. The wheelbearing/hub assembly was broken clean in two, but the wheel didn't come off. I don't know if maybe because the axle was intact that's what was holding the wheel on?
So, the moral of my story is don't cheap out on wheelbearings.

 

[preachermic]

How do you check ABS codes?

 

[Turbine Doc]

my snap on scanner has separate ABS code reading section,

 

[Sunshine]

How do you check ABS codes?

This is what i learnt to do if you haven`t got a snap on scanner.

Locate ADL port below dash.
Insert paperclip or similar wire into A-H (key off) is what you short to display ABS codes,KOEO (Key On Engine Off) watch ABS light.

Light will blink out codes. It will flash, then short pause, then flash again, then long pause between codes. Example: flash, (pause), flash, flash (long pause) is code12 for no RPM. This code is always present.

Example 2: Flash, flash, flash (pause) flash, flash, flash, (long pause) = code 33. The computer will continue to scroll through the codes and generally begins and ends with 3 code 12's, with important codes being shown in between.

Hope this Helps, i`m sure others here at DTR can add & explain it better..

 

[Turbine Doc]

Found this handy how to do it for the later model trucks http://www.handymanlyness.com/archi...nt_bearing/GM_truck/hub_replace_99_Jimmy.html

 

[BigBlueChevy]

Thank you Cheyenne and the IFS! Thank God I don't have to worry about that.

In all seriousness its good to know your ok Tim. Especially with new turbo testing and just driving in general.

 

[Matt Bachand]

Thank you Cheyenne and the IFS! Thank God I don't have to worry about that.

.

What do you mean by that statement BBC?

 

[Matt Bachand]

That thought did occur to me when I saw that wheel tucked into the fender well, was scary enough at 25 mph, I had some serious retrospections of failure at hiway speed, I have had many a close call, Lord has always managed to pull me through it, I don't know what HIS plan for me here is, but HE ain't ready for me up there yet.

His choice is wise, and let you stay down here and help fix all these 6.5's...

One hassle even the lord doesn't want!

 

[Fysh Guide]

I too am glad it wasnt worse.

What brand of bearing did you replace it with?

I work at Timken Research and they are constantly testing GM Wheel bearing assemblies, I will ask the techs if/what they are finding is causing this problem and maybe how we can prevent it.

I find this thread intriguing as those bearings have always been in the back of my mind. Turbine Docs' experience really started me thinking.
I recall reading somewhere that you can lube the bearings through the ABS port with a needle fitting. This raises the question, if that is true, what lube would you use, and how often? Maybe the Timken techs would know?
The ABS sensors on my truck were disabled by the PO and I don't intend to reconnect them. It would be a handy option to be able to lube these units.

Why wouldn't a manufacturer make these with a grease zerk fitting?

 

[ak diesel driver]

The 2500s are seperate sensors the 1500 are integral so I don't know if you could remove them. On the 2500s maybe you could rig up a short hose like PMD cable guy did for opsu.