buck91
Aurora Watcher
Posts: 98 
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Post by buck91 on Jul 9, 2014 19:05:50 GMT -6
I'm seeing listing for "new style" and "old style" hubs on some suppliers; seems one is a plastic clip and one metal. Is there a necessary reason to choose one over the other or will both work?
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buck91
Aurora Watcher
Posts: 98
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Post by buck91 on Jul 16, 2014 5:37:39 GMT -6
FWIW the raybestos professional grade replacement I received had both plastic and metal clips for the ABS wire. I used the metal since that is what was originally there. Also to note: I live in the salt belt and this car was been a garage parked year round daily driver since new. Soaked the hub flanges in PB Blaster over night and they literally just popped right out with a few taps of the BFH (I do mean taps, well at least not HARD swings).
Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2
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Post by beiland on Apr 22, 2015 10:53:40 GMT -6
Nice article. I should note though that Auto Zone's hubs are some of the worst out there. I am familar with these hubs as it is almost he exact same thing the the Bravada's and other S-Series trucks use (probably the same hub, just a different bolt pattern). Auto Zone has one of the worst hubs out there, Advance Auto has a slightly better hub but it is probably around $170, CarQuest and I belive Napa have some of the best hubs but are probably around $200 a peice (might have a lifetime warrenty though). The best hub for these vehicles is the dealer one, but you will pay for it. Also, the stuck problem was with the hub and the CV shaft, not the spindle. Very minor point. Again though, great write up on the repair job. I was just recently driving back south from DC on #95 when I began to hear this humming sound coming from the front of my vehicle. I stopped and checked all fluids, belt etc but could not detect any unusual noise at idle. Back on the road and noise begins at 30mph plus. Steered hard right, then hard left, no changes in noise. Only increasing noise with speed. Finally stopped in southern NC at a nice tire/car repair shop, and service manger takes it for a ride,...says it has to be driver's side front wheel bearing. They replace it (MECACC, P001), and he takes it on checked run. Then tells me it still has a slight noise, but problem is fixed. I'm back on #95 headed south and the noise comes back, maybe only slightly less than original. I'm not happy, but I continue on home to St Augustine Fl. I make it, but with noise all the way. I'm beginning to think they fixed the wrong part?? Now I read that there are 'not so good new parts' out there?? How complicated can a wheel bearing be,....they are usually either good or bad ?? (I did bring the old part home with me) So yesterday (before I am going to visit another unknown repair shop) I jack the front end up and try rotating the front wheels by hand to see if I can detect any unusual noises or resistance?...no noises, but driver's side tire (the one that was repaired) does seem to have more resistance to turning. Could there be an error in the installation?...perhaps tightened to much?? I then turn on the motor and run the wheels up a little in speed,...no noticeable noise. I jam one wheel from turning and other one turns faster. I then release that one and jam the drivers wheel, and same reaction. but when I release the drivers wheel it does not recover its speed as did the other side. In fact it remains just barely turning. I am now highly suspicious that the drivers side is experiencing a LOT more resistance to rotating than the other side,....and this may be my continued noise up front. Any more suggestions as to test I might run, before consulting 'another expert'?? Oops....... 2001 Aurora |
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RCA1186
Administrator 
Rob
Go Pack Go!
Posts: 4,853
Staff Member
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Post by RCA1186 on Apr 22, 2015 11:44:33 GMT -6
Perhaps a dragging brake caliper?
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Post by beiland on Apr 25, 2015 17:48:52 GMT -6
I took my car to a shop here in St Augustine and it was diagnosed as the right front bearing rather than the driver's side I just had replaced. So now I ask myself what chance there is that BOTH of my front wheel bearings decided to give it up at the same time,...I just don't believe this.
This new shop quoted me a figure $367 to do that side which included a parts price of $239. When I questioned that price, and told him I had charged $159 for that part in NC. I have investigated the actual part utilized in my initial repair in NC, and found it to be a part sourced from NAPA. Seems NAPA has 2 grades of parts,...for a wheel bearing !!?....not like the good old days.
When I went on the NAPA store website here I found the price to be a special $88, marked down from a list of $97. There sure are some big price mark-ups going on here in auto repair work,....not like the good old days.
So now I have decided to replace my right hand bearing myself, and for curiosities shake I'm going to fix my right hand bearing by using the 'potential good one' that was taken out and replaced on the driver's side. Perhaps I'll find that the driver's side bearing was never at fault?
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Post by beiland on Apr 25, 2015 17:53:21 GMT -6
BTW, what about breaking loose the very tight axle nut just a little bit while the wheel is still on the ground (rather than wedging a bar/screw driver in the brake drum like shown),....sort of akin to breaking loose the lug nuts prior to jacking up the cars' wheels??
...and is there a method to having a notice sent to my email address when a new posting is made to a subject thread I have entered??
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RCA1186
Administrator
Rob
Go Pack Go!
Posts: 4,853
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Post by RCA1186 on Apr 27, 2015 8:12:54 GMT -6
BTW, what about breaking loose the very tight axle nut just a little bit while the wheel is still on the ground (rather than wedging a bar/screw driver in the brake drum like shown),....sort of akin to breaking loose the lug nuts prior to jacking up the cars' wheels?? Yup, that's how I do it, much easier. ...and is there a method to having a notice sent to my email address when a new posting is made to a subject thread I have entered?? Go to "profile" click "edit profile" and click the "notifications" tab. Scroll down to the option where you get notifications for a thread that you "participated in" and set it to email. The hub in my opinion is pretty easy to change, I never had a problem with it being stuck on like that, in fact the last one I did just fell off when I unbolted it. Those hub bolts are technically not supposed to be re-used. Torque to yield if I remember right but I could be mistaken, will have to check the shop manual when I get home. They are a dealer only part. Those are the hardest part of the job in my opinion, need a bit of force to break them loose in a semi tight area but not impossible with the right tools. |
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Post by sall on Apr 27, 2015 9:04:59 GMT -6
You are supposed to change the axle nut, but AFAIK the hub bolts are reusable.
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Post by beiland on Apr 28, 2015 7:56:10 GMT -6
BTW, what about breaking loose the very tight axle nut just a little bit while the wheel is still on the ground (rather than wedging a bar/screw driver in the brake drum like shown),....sort of akin to breaking loose the lug nuts prior to jacking up the cars' wheels?? Yup, that's how I do it, much easier. Good confirmation, I thought maybe so. ...and is there a method to having a notice sent to my email address when a new posting is made to a subject thread I have entered?? Go to "profile" click "edit profile" and click the "notifications" tab. Scroll down to the option where you get notifications for a thread that you "participated in" and set it to email. Thanks for that. I thought I had changed that sometime in the past when I had trouble with it before. Perhaps it reverted to 'no notifications' by some default method while I was away for a period of time? Anyway I do like to try and keep tabs on my posting on various forums,....boats, cars, trains, etc |
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Post by sall on Apr 28, 2015 8:00:23 GMT -6
I don't see any reason you can't do it if you have factory wheels or other with a center cap.
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Post by rorafan on Apr 28, 2015 20:31:49 GMT -6
Seems NAPA has 2 grades of parts,... I've noticed the same thing. Can't remember what NAPA calls the different grades but they have two very different ones. A lot of parts places (and parts manufacturers like AC Delco) seem to do this wherever they can. That's some serious parts markup at the shop too.  Good call on changing it yourself. I haven't done one on my 'rora yet, but the ones I have DIY'd have not been too bad. |
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Post by beiland on Apr 29, 2015 7:26:34 GMT -6
As I think I have already communicated it is my intention to do a little experimenting here in a few days. The new bearing that was put into my drivers side while I was in-route down 95 does not appear to have solved my noise problem, and now a local shop down here in Fl indicates it is the opposite side that is making the noise.
So what I have in mind is putting that bearing that was removed from my drivers side into the passenger's side to see if that eliminates the noise,....then I would know for sure that the original diagnoises was wrong. We will see.
Yesterday I was at an Advanced Auto store to check their prices on these bearings, etc. When I mentioned my problem to the older guy at the counter, he responded that it should be immediately obvious as to a defective bearing once the car is slightly off the ground and a pry bar is urtilized to see the 'loose play' in the bearing. He indicated that he had MANY experiences with these bearing jobs and that was always detectable. I came home and jacked up both whells individually and could NOT determine excessive 'play' in either side??
In older days where these wheel bearing were not totally sealed units, but rather seperated into bearing and bearing race components, you could definitely feel if there was excessive play in the bearing assembly, or if the race surfaces were worn. Not so easy these days.
(let me add that the fellow who did my latest test drive to determine that it was my passenger side bearing at fault seemed to be very knowledgeable, and convinced of his diagnoses. I could also hear the difference he pointed out when steering from side-to-side)
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Post by beiland on Apr 29, 2015 7:35:40 GMT -6
Seems NAPA has 2 grades of parts,... I've noticed the same thing. Can't remember what NAPA calls the different grades but they have two very different ones. A lot of parts places (and parts manufacturers like AC Delco) seem to do this wherever they can. That's some serious parts markup at the shop too. Good call on changing it yourself. I haven't done one on my 'rora yet, but the ones I have DIY'd have not been too bad. Seems most part's houses have 2 different grades. Can't really get my head around why this would be so, unless maybe we label one as Chinese, and one somewhere else? I would be suspect (leary)that the proper pre-lubrication grease was installed in the China ones? |
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Post by ohiobuckeye on Apr 30, 2015 7:41:05 GMT -6
At Autozone, and I suspect other places as well, there are 3 options. Chinese, Chinese with warranty, and an upper grade of Timken or SKF part. When it comes to wheel bearings, youz get what ya pay for.
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Post by gdouaire on May 16, 2015 23:07:42 GMT -6
Nice writeup. My passenger side bearing was making a lot of noise. Once remove, I realized how seized it was... very difficult to spin. Replacing : 90 minutes without beer, 120 minutes with beer...  I got the supercheap Chinese hubs, 30$ each. Curious to see how reliable they will be. |
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Post by beiland on Aug 30, 2015 22:31:57 GMT -6
As I think I have already communicated it is my intention to do a little experimenting here in a few days. The new bearing that was put into my drivers side while I was in-route down 95 does not appear to have solved my noise problem, and now a local shop down here in Fl indicates it is the opposite side that is making the noise. So what I have in mind is putting that bearing that was removed from my drivers side into the passenger's side to see if that eliminates the noise,....then I would know for sure that the original diagnoises was wrong. We will see. Just realized that I never followed up on my 'experiment'. I put the bearing they had removed from drivers side into the passenger side, and it works great. As soon as I started to remove the passenger side bearing I could tell it was the faulty one. So that repair shop up in NC had diagnosed the wrong side. I made them aware of that, and they actually offered to give me a partial credit, which they did. Restored some beliefs that not all car repair shops are rip-offs. |
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Post by oneye on Sept 7, 2015 6:27:10 GMT -6
I've had similar problems with similar results, ended up doing my own since. Just wanted to post for the sake of ethical behavior among men of good will everywhere: salutes to the NC shop.
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Post by aldrichd on Oct 11, 2015 11:06:59 GMT -6
Did my 99 Today. The only hangup was I did not get a deep well socket. Also a 33mm fit better. I did use the torch method and it worked very well. My hat is off to you for a very well documented procedure.
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Good call on changing it yourself. I haven't done one on my 'rora yet, but the ones I have DIY'd have not been too bad. 
