2003 Yukon denali Bad wheel bearings

Its been awhile since ive posted, first off, I never tinkered with the hub assembly's before but what happen was while driving, there was this sudden grinding noise, it was hard to tell which side but I knew for sure it was the front, when I got home, I jacked up the truck and checked the front tires, the driver side wiggled pretty good while the passenger side is just starting to get play..

This is on a 2003 Yukon Denali, wives truck so I don't want to screw this up lol

Now ive changed a transmission and starters, alternators and such.. but never tinkered with Barings before.. also, how do I know for sure that its the hub assembly bearings and not a CV joint.. or could it be both?

also any tips or ideas what a guy all needs to change the front bearings?
I know that the axle nutt is 36MM.. and that your suppose to put some white lithium grease I think its called? on the splines? and what needs to be torqued? any idea by how much?

Correct me if im wrong.. this is the first time I ever did anything like this so any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

There's a few videos on YouTube. I did mine and it's easy, there's just 3-4 bolts on the inside plus that big axle nut. Mine was 35 mm; I bought a 36mm also since I heard it could be either one and I returned the 36. The trick is keeping the hub from turning when removing/ installing and torquing the axle nut. I used a piece of 1/2" pipe and put it between 2 wheel studs and used the ground to brace it against. Kind of like a long stick that can't turn because the ground stops it. The hub needed some persuasion with a big hammer. Just use axle grease when installing it just so it goes on easier. The hub has a sealed bearing which needs no grease itself.

So is it just the axle nut that needs to be torqued? or do the ones on the hub it self also? and do you by chance know by how much?

I can check. The axle nut is 165 lbs or so, more than my 1/2" torque wrench goes so I torqued it as high as it went than used a breaker bar to add a little more. You can Google it too. The other bolts have a torque value too but aren't too critical. I just YouTube that stuff.

Yup. Buy Timkens from Rockauto and use the discount code in the vendors section. 35 or 36 on the axle nut. If you have an impact, you're good. If not, @Red Rocket way is good. That's what I had done also. I have pics of you need them. I think it's 18mm to remove the caliper /bracket assy, and 3 15mm (iirc) into the back of the hub. There's a good A1 Auto video with the torques. Not really critical, just get it good and tight. You may want to get new dust shields while you're in there.

I was thinking of getting the timkens off amazon, thou I have not compared with rockauto yet. I have a impact, just was not sure if a person should use that or try breaking the nut loose then use the impact.. at lest its what I seen in a few videos.. thank you guys for the tips so far!

TimWolve said:

I was thinking of getting the timkens off amazon, thou I have not compared with rockauto yet. I have a impact, just was not sure if a person should use that or try breaking the nut loose then use the impact.. at lest its what I seen in a few videos.. thank you guys for the tips so far!

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Don't forget you can't use the impact to re-tighten / torque them so something else like my method is needed. Actually I think it's @HiHoeSilver 's method, it wasn't my idea.

TimWolve said:

I was thinking of getting the timkens off amazon, thou I have not compared with rockauto yet. I have a impact, just was not sure if a person should use that or try breaking the nut loose then use the impact.. at lest its what I seen in a few videos.. thank you guys for the tips so far!

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The Timkens are $100 each on Rock auto. Plus you can use the 5% code from the vendor section. You can break it by hand if you want to (I did), but in retrospect, use the impact if you have it. Just don't use a 36 mm socket on a 35 mm nut. People argue about the size. Mine was 35.

Well I got my Timken bearings but I have a big favor to ask, I only have net access via work but I cant really watch videos, no sound on the PC, is there any chance someone could get me the torque speks for a 2003 Yukon denali XL 6.0 both front driver and passenger side bearings
sorry about this, I should have explained that earlier about my situation, I do have both axle nut sockets, 35 and 36MM just in case one was wrong, figured it was good to have both on hand.

TimWolve said:

Well I got my Timken bearings but I have a big favor to ask, I only have net access via work but I cant really watch videos, no sound on the PC, is there any chance someone could get me the torque speks for a 2003 Yukon denali XL 6.0 both front driver and passenger side bearings
sorry about this, I should have explained that earlier about my situation, I do have both axle nut sockets, 35 and 36MM just in case one was wrong, figured it was good to have both on hand.

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It's 177 ft lbs but honestly you don't need sound or video to find that out. I just googled it for you. It was right there, in plain text, on a few dozen sites. If you have access to this site you have access to google any info you need. Come on man.