Which hub?

Instrumental

Original poster
Member
Jan 29, 2012
268
I'm pretty sure I've got a wheel bearing headed sown the tubes, but I'm not sure which one.

I get increased noise when I turn left, less when I turn right. So, which hub is going bad on me?
 

Denali n DOO

Member
May 22, 2012
5,596
Instrumental said:
I'm pretty sure I've got a wheel bearing headed sown the tubes, but I'm not sure which one.

I get increased noise when I turn left, less when I turn right. So, which hub is going bad on me?

Mine was noisy going left and quieter going right. The left was the one that was bad. I could feel and hear it when I took the wheel off and turned it. I replaced both anyways figured the other wasn't too far behind. Just did them last week. Expensive here, $638 for both including 10% off.
 

hockeyman

Member
Aug 26, 2012
726
Instrumental said:
I'm pretty sure I've got a wheel bearing headed sown the tubes, but I'm not sure which one.

I get increased noise when I turn left, less when I turn right. So, which hub is going bad on me?

Although I cannot say for certain, I'd guess that your left hub is the one that needs replacing. When my right hub was going bad, it made a noise as I was making a slight right turn at/above 25 mph. Take a look: http://gmtnation.com/f77/wheel-bearing-bad-6842/

I followed the installation instructions that are found here in the FAQ section, and it wasn't a hard task at all.

If you're going to replace one (or both), I'd recommend Timken brand hub's. They're about twice the price of the standard replacements, but the quality is worth the extra money ...and so is the piece of mind.

I'll also add that a new hub made a whole-world of difference in the ride quality! The interior is nice and quiet again when I'm driving on the highway.
 

Numbnutz

Member
Dec 11, 2011
295
Instrumental said:
I'm pretty sure I've got a wheel bearing headed sown the tubes, but I'm not sure which one.

I get increased noise when I turn left, less when I turn right. So, which hub is going bad on me?

I would guess the right, when you turn left the weight would shift to the right side of the truck, more pressure on the bad bearing would make it louder IMO.

Any car Ive ever had needed the other one changed within a few weeks of the first, so I would suggest doing both at the same time if you can.
 

jfkmk

Member
Mar 7, 2013
91
I recently replaced my hub assemblies. There's different ways to try to tell which one is bad, more noise turning one way than another, jacking up the truck, putting your hand on the spring, spinning the tire and see which one "feels" bad. But, the bottom line is, if one is going, chances are the other is right behind. In my case, they sounded really bad driving, but it was pretty hard to tell for sure which one it was. So, I opted to do both. They ran 177 each, but with a promo code, got them for 120 and change each. Also, since you have to pull the brakes completely off, if they're not brand new, it is worth it to replace them at the same time. It really isn't a hard job, just follow instructions found on this forum.

When I did get the bearings off, they didn't feel too bad. It is hard to believe that they had made so much noise. But, it is now like a new truck!

Good luck.
 

gmcman

Member
Dec 12, 2011
4,656
Numbnutz said:
Any car Ive ever had needed the other one changed within a few weeks of the first, so I would suggest doing both at the same time if you can.

+1

Whichever one is failing, the other one isn't too far behind depending on mileage. If you haven't smacked any curbs and have around 100
k I would change both.

I highly recommend Timken, Autozone has great prices.
 

Instrumental

Original poster
Member
Jan 29, 2012
268
Thanks all! I've done new brake pads on this truck already, and hubs on a couple other vehicles, so I'm feeling pretty good on this repair.

Autozone has the Timken for 165, only way to beat that is online but not by much. I'd rather by local if I can anyway.

Got a double header lacrosse game for my son this afternoon and then it's on to repair time.
 

meerschm

Member
Aug 26, 2012
1,079
I replaced mine in pairs too, but want to share that the mechanics on a VW site I also frequent swear there is no relationship between end of one hub and the other side.

these are on a FWD passenger car, so are much smaller and have less load.

have any folks replaced only one hub?

Mike
 

jrSS

Member
Dec 4, 2011
3,950
meerschm said:
I replaced mine in pairs too, but want to share that the mechanics on a VW site I also frequent swear there is no relationship between end of one hub and the other side.

these are on a FWD passenger car, so are much smaller and have less load.

have any folks replaced only one hub?

Mike

I have.....
 

CaptainXL

Member
Dec 4, 2011
2,445
meerschm said:
the mechanics on a VW site I also frequent swear there is no relationship between end of one hub and the other side.

Mike

It's not absolutely necessary to replace both at the same time. It doesn't save any time or money since doing one side does not make it any easier to do the other. Ok, maybe not having to get the jack out twice and setup jack stands again, but that's minor.

Hubs don't last forever and replacing both sides at the same time on a higher mileage (>120,000 miles) vehicle should theoretically give you piece of mind not having to worry when the next one will go out. It's reasonable to think that when one goes out the other isn't far behind. Especially when the vehicle is running factory hubs still and has higher mileage as mentioned earlier.

You just don't know. It could be another 5K, 20K or 50K before the other does go out. Impossible to say.

I would say if you got the time and money and want piece of mind...do both. Otherwise just go with the flow. It's not like the wheel is going to fall of without at least some warning. My .02:thumbsup:

http://www.offroadtb.com/articles/how-to-guides/front-wheel-bearing-replacement/
 

The_Roadie

Lifetime VIP Donor
Member
Nov 19, 2011
9,957
Portland, OR
Usually, the bad one is the one on the outside of a turn when it gets more stress, but one of my many replacements fooled me and it was the inside hub.

In general, hubs get noisy WAY before they fail altogether. I let one go too long, but still got around 1000 miles from first notice to almost losing the wheel. I was just being curious about how bad it would get, and too lazy to want to change one by the side of the trail in winter. (Less than 50 degrees is bone-chilling to me now.)

Here's a discussion about the carnage I posted on my offroad site: OffRoad TB - View topic - Really, really dead wheel bearing

[video=youtube;B_Q8Cmruxic]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_Q8Cmruxic[/video]
 

Instrumental

Original poster
Member
Jan 29, 2012
268
Done! Had to take a little gamble on which was bad. I put the front end in the air to check both sides (love the frame, makes that easy) and couldn't really pinpoint it. I went with the logic of outside tire has the most stress, and my test drive was a quiet one.

Not sweating the other side, when it gets noisy I'll do it, cost and time aren't any different to do it together or separate.
 

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