Hub replacement - criticality ?

[Reprise]

Figured out today that I'm likely going to have to replace at least one hub on the Envoy. Started growling yesterday; got a little louder today (both days were about 50mi each day, and that's a lot of miles for me in a day with this truck, these days.)

Question - assuming the Envoy is occasionally used (but will be my only ride while I'm working on the Sierra) -- how long do I have until something 'serious' happens? This would be 'in general'; I know it's impossible to predict exactly.

In a best case scenario, I leave the Envoy, finish the Sierra, spend the winter someplace warm with the Sierra and come back and do the Envoy in the spring. Is that realistic, or do I need to address this 'right now' ?

If it's a 'right now' scenario, I may need to take it to a shop, and I'd like to avoid that, since I know how to replace them (I did the one side a couple of years / 10K ago; hopefully it's not the one that's shot. Although I may do both & replace them with 'lifetime' parts, this time (I can't find what I used last time, but seem to remember it was Cheap Chinese Crap))

My thanks in advance for your replies, gentlemen

 

[northcreek]

If you have noticed a difference in noise in just one day you are probably on the slippery slope to a road side failure. Personally I wouldn't feel good driving it knowing that it could disintegrate at any moment...

 

[budwich]

I drove a 4w vehicle with significant noise on a cross country trip (over 6kkm). The rumble was louder near the end of the trip but it never failed completely. The "final straw" happened in terms of noise when I was turning in a parking lot at home and could hear a very loud grinding. It wasn't the hub though, it was the mount for brake / caliper. Because of the hub "play", there was enough "tilt" that the rotor was rubbing on the mount.

If you are doing very little driving and in not very remote / rough roading, then my guess is that you can probably get away for a long time before having to replace the thing.

 

[NJTB]

I drove mine with the hub howling for about a month, then replaced both of them. When I took it apart, there was no play in them, but it did set a code without a check engine light.

 

[Reprise]

Thanks for the replies. I'm gonna replace them now; the noise bothers me. No sense being anxious about it or having to fix more later by ignoring it now.

 

[Sparky]

Fwiw mine on my Silverado (which appears to be basically the same design) failed without any noise or warning and half separated, causing the wheel to go all wobbly and terrible grinding. Though I didn't figure that out right away and put another 80-100 miles on it doing that

I did drive with my Trailblazer years back howling like a banshee for a couple trips.

Prob not the best. I wouldn't normally want to go much distance with bad bearings. Ive seen aftermaths of vehicle wheels flying off (bad bearing or otherwise) and it is not pretty.

 

[mrrsm]

You certainly know "How To Do..." Everything listed in this "Mis-Placed" but On Topic Thread... However... I'm pretty sure there will be some interesting additional information (and Plenty of Images in the Last Post) that might prove helpful in speeding up the R&R whenever you finally get to it:

SOLVED! - 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (Grinding Noise @ Right Front)

EDIT: Even though I got Very Lucky in Diagnosing and Solving THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM... The number of things that can go "Bang and Bump and Grind" under our vehicles is HUGE... So Please.... Start with viewing Drew's @MAY03LT "One Over The World" Suspension Noise Diagnostic Video to get a...

gmtnation.com

 

[BrianF]

When my OEM hubs went out, they hummed for many thousand KM before I changed them. On the flip side, I have seen a friends 2008 Chev 1500's front wheel come loose, taking out the brake. thankfully she was in town and driving slowly. Had another guy with a similar vehicle and the hub spewed grease all over the thing and nearly caught fire.

Change them. Everything is fine until its not.

 

[northcreek]

I changed a hub that was perfectly quiet only because the sensor was bad. I cut it open to take a look inside and it was loaded with rust and water, who knows when that would have grenaded.
Since then, if a hub is talking I'm going to listen.

 

[seanpooh]

Had a Silverado at the shop last year with a bearing so bad it caught on fire. Repairing that damage was much more than the easy replacement of the bearing.

 

[DocBrown]

I replaced a bearing on my Sierra in Dec. about 4 years ago. In March we were loading up a U-Haul trailer to move my daughter 240 miles away and I heard a little crunching noise. Oh oh. I had a feeling the other bearing was going. I *knew* I should have replaced the other bearing! Made more and more noise the farther we went. The bearing finally fell apart on the return trip, with just about 300 miles since I heard the first sign of it. Not much holding the wheel on. Little pieces of the bearing on the ground. Had I driven another mile with it the wheel would have fallen off. Lesson learned.

If you drive yours don't do anything more than trips to the grocery store.