Super Silverado Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 My brother just told me to start saving my money for hubs as the miles add up (85,000 and counting) They just had to replace the driver side front hub on my dads 2006 2500HD Silverado, at 105,000 miles. They replaced my brothers front driver hub on his '01 Silverado Ext. cab v6 at 104,000. Is this a very common thing to happen on on these trucks? Is there some maintence that can be done short of replacing them or they just naturally wear out at a certain point? They aren't super expensive but at $180 dollars each from the auto parts store they aren't cheap either. Not experiencing any symptoms yet, and hopefully not soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSplaytoy Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 Driving habits like turning hard and fast with heavy wheels, rough terrain, and other various driving conditions will cause premature failure of the wheel hubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detjoe Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 pretty sure its not greaseable and not servicable. they will eventually wear out. the part is not too expensive but the labor to do it will add up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman31 Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 wear and tear causes failure, plain and simple..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bear Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 It seems as if your family got what I would consider typical mileage out of them, as they seem to last somewhere between 80 and 120k. At least that’s what most folks tend to report back. Of course there have been people that have had them fail way earlier and some that have went way past that. I replaced mine at 120k and they were still OK, but I was worried they may go out at any time and being my truck is my work truck, it would have been inconvenient as hell for one just to fail in the middle of the work week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerranger24 Posted January 11, 2010 Report Share Posted January 11, 2010 Working in a truck shop i have done a good amount of these. I have seen them go bad at as little as 15k on some lifted trucks. They are a sealed unit bearing and no maintenance can be done to them. They are fairly easy to replace if you have a jack, 1/2" impact, and a couple of sockets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cramer Posted January 11, 2010 Report Share Posted January 11, 2010 I used to be a test engineer for Delphi Automotive. I tested all the Wheel Hub units for every manufacture and prototype units. There were numerious tests that these hubs went through, and different failures from different types of tests. I saw failures from 20min tests with axil/radial loads, among many styles of hubs. The best thing and only thing you can do is to keep the seals and ABS area free of dirt and water. Don't spray a direct high pressure on them with air or water in this area as it can inject objects into the sealed area of the bearings. As stated above it depends on driving habits, aftermarket wheels, ride height, and alignment to prolong the life of the hubs. I have tested some that from the factory were loud for a bearing hub assembly, and they lasted 120k+. It's the luck of the draw when they do go out. When you have to replace one i reccomend doing both at the same time if funds will allow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadillacbob Posted January 24, 2010 Report Share Posted January 24, 2010 I used to be a test engineer for Delphi Automotive. I tested all the Wheel Hub units for every manufacture and prototype units. There were numerious tests that these hubs went through, and different failures from different types of tests. I saw failures from 20min tests with axil/radial loads, among many styles of hubs. The best thing and only thing you can do is to keep the seals and ABS area free of dirt and water. Don't spray a direct high pressure on them with air or water in this area as it can inject objects into the sealed area of the bearings. As stated above it depends on driving habits, aftermarket wheels, ride height, and alignment to prolong the life of the hubs. I have tested some that from the factory were loud for a bearing hub assembly, and they lasted 120k+. It's the luck of the draw when they do go out. When you have to replace one i reccomend doing both at the same time if funds will allow. I have to believe this guy... A dealer tech who did 6 (yes SIX) on mine 4 under warranty... said it would be better to go aftermarket...it was his OPINION (for what it was worth) that GM did not put enough grease in them... I have had them fail in as little as 15k, but the set on my truck now has over 60k...same type of highway driving...I think you might get what you pay for, and I would go with GM's supplier...So as to not have to pay the stealership markup...Something so critical, I would not 'cheap out' on...just my .02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pontiac1 Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 how hard is the hub assembly to replace on your own? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cramer Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 Not hard to do if you have the right tools. You don't need any speciality tools just the tools you would need to change the rotors and some other sockets. About the aftermarket hubs and OEM hubs they are basically the same manufactures. The big problem that the hub manufactures had is the hardening process on the bearing races and ball bearings. The other problem was the quality of materials that were from foreign countries. I could basically look at the bearings before I ran a test on them and predict how long the bearing would last on the test. In all honesty the hub units from the US is a far superior hub than the foreign made hub units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 how hard is the hub assembly to replace on your own? Not hard at all; after you take the tire and brake rotor off it's only 3 more bolts to get it free of the steering knuckle - if you have 4x4 or AWD then you have the additional hassle of removing the half-shafts, you will need a huge socket (34mm or 36mm???). I had to do this on my 2000 Buick Regal, it also has front hub assemblies just like the trucks and I had both replaced in less than 90-minutes. It's not hard, just a hassle... Mr. P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahoBLKss Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 we need a how-to on this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chpspecial Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 Not hard at all; after you take the tire and brake rotor off it's only 3 more bolts to get it free of the steering knuckle - if you have 4x4 or AWD then you have the additional hassle of removing the half-shafts, you will need a huge socket (34mm or 36mm???). I had to do this on my 2000 Buick Regal, it also has front hub assemblies just like the trucks and I had both replaced in less than 90-minutes. It's not hard, just a hassle... Mr. P. Its a 36mm socket... I already had to replace a half shaft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12'SROCK Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 If you have the proper tools it is very simple. It is a straight forward process, it really is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted February 4, 2010 Report Share Posted February 4, 2010 we need a how-to on this... Just follow the first half of my how-to on installing McGaughy's front spindles Mr. P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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