Front end slammed. Not what your thinking

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Matahoe

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So my friend and I were changing hubs on his 99 chevy pickup. We took the cv axles out but one was shot so we decided to put it off for another day. Thinking everything was ok we put it all back together. We got maybe 200 feet down the road when the wheel fell off and rolled ahead of us. The truck took a nose dive and the spindle dug into the ground. Yeah the hub was split in two and all the bearings came out. The wheel caused a bit of damage to the wheel well but its fixable. So just remember to put the cv axles back on as it holds the hub bearing together!
 
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Scottydoggs

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my old boss pulled that dumb ass move, only his wheel came of @ 70 mph.

never run a hub with out its axle in place or that wheel is coming off.
 

Tonyrodz

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Iirc, there was a guy on here with a Denali who deleted his. He said with no issues.
 

Scottydoggs

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if you want to delete the axle you need to use a two wheel drive front hub.

or cut the axle end off and bolt it in the hub.
 
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Matahoe

Matahoe

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As an update...oh yeah... his brake caliper is all mangled and broken, the tire has scratches, the wheel well is buckled a bit and the brake hose was torn off when the brake caliper bracket was busted by the rotor being pried off. Also the brake pads have a big rotor gouge. Not to mention I need to figure out if the alignment is now screwed. We may need to replace the lower or upper control arm as well! Darn.

Thanks for the colorful insights. This sucks but i guess you live and learn.
 
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M1Gunner

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I had an axle come loose from the front diff. My lift spacer and a few bolts were no where to be found. So I removed both the half shafts and drove like that for at least a week waiting on new parts from RC. Never had an issue.
 
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Matahoe

Matahoe

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We got it back together. Around $700 - $800 spent on brake pads, rotor, caliper, brake hose, lower control arm, brake fluid and of course a new Timken wheel hub. The one that split in two was a genuine gm dealer hub. I dont think there is much difference. They both have Timken bearings.
 

Scottydoggs

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any hub that needs a cv joint installed, needs it to be installed or it can bust apart.

as just a roller in the garage its fine, add speed, bye bye hub.
 

Scottydoggs

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I think it's the guy who races the camaro, his Denali was converted to 2WD and his hubs have never fallen off or apart. Can't remember his screen name...


would you break 100 mph knowing what we've seen happen at lesser speed? not me thats for damn sure.

that other guy being a racer likely knows better already and swapped his hubs for 2wd hubs.
 
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Matahoe

Matahoe

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Guys, I found out why some hubs stay together and others dont. some hubs..like the new Timken design feature a rolled metal flange that backs the bearing race cap and keeps it together. still this is not the 2wd version hub. It still requires an axle to hold it together properly.

SP470201-A.jpg
 

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