Bad wheel bearing

[Humvdood]

I know some of you have had to fix busted wheel bearings. My front RH bearing is bad and getting worse - before I tear into it and drop some cash - any tips to keep this cheap would be appreciated.

 

[Best4x4]

I've found complete units for 79.00 with a lifetime warranty. It's not an OEM Timken unit, but it's half the price complete with the ABS sensor. Have you verified it's the hub vs other parts of the front suspension?

 

[Humvdood]

I haven't pulled it apart yet. I'm a full time mechanic and know what it sounds/feels like when they go. Wouldn't surprise me if there's suspension problems along with the bad bearing though. I did run over a toyota Echo I've just run into problems with nearly everything ive done on this hummer and wanted to see what other people have gone through and found to be the cheapest/best fixes.

 

[08H3]

The process is simple, but if the hub is seized to the knuckle, it becomes a nightmare. If you're a mechanic (and I assume the proper tools i.e. a press), you'll be fine.

 

[Humvdood]

yup, and if I don't have a certain tool, it's a write off - woot woot. I'll post pics when I pull it off this weekend. I pulled the wheel off in between jobs just a minute ago and nothing looks jacked up. That bearing is going to be shattered though.

 

[Best4x4]

Mine were on there pretty good, but I soaked em, then installed the bolts and used them to break it free. (Had to remove em for the CV install).

On my Alpha I have a pop thru some bumps, but it's not the ball joints, shock, sway bar links, or upper bushings. Hub is good and tight with no wobble, so I'm thinking lower control arm rear bushing which looks like fun to replace! Couldn't find any poly replacements either..

 

[Happy Hummer]

Get the Timken. It is worth it.
Just did this in may and it is a bit of a procedure.
Chris

 

[Best4x4]

Timken's are what comes on our H3's from the factory. I haven't had to replace any hub's on my either of my H3's but I did replace the ones on my 05 Wrangler with the pro brand ones. Saved some $$$ (basically got both for the price of one OEM unit), and I wheeled the heck out of that Jeep. Creeks, mud, some beach runs, and I got a lot more life out of them vs the OEM ones (not sure what the brand was). If you can afford them go Timken, but if you can't I don't see any issues with the pro brand with their warranty.

 

[4speedfunk]

The hubs like to weld themselves to the knuckles. If your hubs are not cooperating...use a slide-hammer (hub puller) or remove the knuckle entirely and press them out. You can use the pry method but, if you do...have some new backing plates standing by. They rarely survive the pry bar treatment.

 

[Best4x4]

My Alpha doesn't even have the front dust shields. Dunno what the previous owner did but zero issues without em. Reason I'm not worried is my 04 Grand Cherokee came from the factory without them and I got 140k on the original rotors. I've got ceramic pads on the Alpha so brake dust really isn't an issue.

 

[4speedfunk]

They're missing because they got mangled by prior hub work. You don't need them...strictly cosmetic.

 

[Best4x4]

Yep exactly my thoughts! I honestly found them to cause issues on TJ/LJ's and removed them anyways. When I saw they were missing on the Alpha I didn't even think twice about it.

 

[Renagade132]

It does make the rims look better though! lol

 

[06PullUouT]

Did this last weekend... Found OEM on Amazon. $102 + free shipping. Took me about 4 hours of which 3 hours were trying to get the hub out of the knuckle! Recommend drinking some protein shakes and carbing up the night before! [emoji14]

 

[Humvdood]

Yeah I pulled it apart as far as I could. Its seized on there... tried everything for 2 days and threw in the towel. I'll put up with it sounding like I'm driving on highway rumble strips until I get a few big jobs to cover a new assembly...

 

[08H3]

You lost me. What do you need to get the jobs for? If it's to cover the cost of the hub assembly, you realize you were going to have to purchase it anyway, right? The bearings are not serviceable separately.

 

[Best4x4]

I think he's saying he now needs a new knuckle as it's seized to the actual hub.