front wheel hub bearing question (when to replace)

[stonehenge]

Did a search, unable to find this question/answer etc.

Anyways, its a 99' old body style, 2 door, cream puff, crazy low miles, no water submersion for the front wheel hubs.

When do you replace the front wheel hubs, they aren't serviceable to my knowledge and we have owned the car since new, its almost 24 years old.

I rotate my own tires, do my own brakes, lube the grease points and even paint my wheel wells. So I'm up under there for service often and there is no drag or noise, but was still wondering if there is a tell tale sign or service life.

Any help in this inquire is much appreciated.

thx

 

[Tonyv__]

Well I’m not happy to report my 2015 with 64k miles needs a hub/bearing as we speak… my 00 that I had for about 5 years needed hubs at about 175k. No service history though so I don’t know if they were original or replaced before

 

[mb1500]

I only replace when bad I’ll do the pair or if otherwise doing a full resto I would replace while I was replacing everything else.

 

[stonehenge]

Any help on "when they go bad" I have heard humming noise they might be bad, I have heard if they bind or grind, they might be bad. I have heard if the wheel is difficult to free spin when on a lift.

 

[Tonyv__]

Any help on "when they go bad" I have heard humming noise they might be bad, I have heard if they bind or grind, they might be bad. I have heard if the wheel is difficult to free spin when on a lift.

So mine you can actually wobble the wheel ever so slightly. It’s easy to feel when one side is tight and the other is loose. Hard to explain kinda

 

[mb1500]

They can present in different ways, typically a speed based noise/ vibration. Here is a quick basic video on how to check if there is obvious play.

Rear axle does have a small amount of in/out play STD so ignore that.

 

[stonehenge]

thx for all the replies. I guess run it until its bad or the wheel fly's off, lol

 

[Swagfu]

If you are so concerned about it, why not just go ahead and change them now? Any time I start to worry about a part that I think may be near the end of life I would just change it. But that's me. Not everyone changes parts before they break.

 

[stonehenge]

If you are so concerned about it, why not just go ahead and change them now? Any time I start to worry about a part that I think may be near the end of life I would just change it. But that's me. Not everyone changes parts before they break.

I have no issues buying parts for replacement, and they are not that expensive, nor are they hard to replace.

I was merely looking for any advice on "when" should they be replaced. Maybe at a certain mileage, etc. Couldn't find anything in the manual, so I came here.

 

[Eman85]

The hubs on a 99 from the factory are so much better than any junk you'll replace them with I'd leave them alone and find something else to do. Worst case scenario is the hub does go bad and you'll have to replace it, then you'll probably have to replace it again and again as the new junk won't last. If you look at how it's made the bearing can disintegrate and the wheel won't come off.

 

[mountie]

If you are so concerned about it, why not just go ahead and change them now? Any time I start to worry about a part that I think may be near the end of life I would just change it. But that's me. Not everyone changes parts before they break.

Like you, I replace before it FAILS..... ( I just had my serpentine belts changed... I went ahead and replaced the tensioner down below next to the A/C compressor, since it gets all the road-caused abuse.
( I feel better)...

 

[Blk 09 LTZ]

The right front bearing on my ‘09 with 125K was going bad and I could feel the vibration when I got up around 65-70mph. I thought it might be struts, but my mech replaced the bearing and all rides smoothly now. The one part I’m hesitating to replace is the squeaky power steering pump, which my mech says will work fine for years, they all squeak and even a new one will after a while, and it’s a big job!

 

[RoadTripRuler]

My 03 odyssey minivan and 2005 Suburban both requires front wheel bearing replacement and the symptoms were the same.
When the left front wheel is failing it made a scrape/squeal/grind noise when the turning to the right. I swore that the sound was something grinding against the rotor - but it wasn't.

For both cars I replaced the front wheel bearings myself.
03 Odyssey have press in/pull out bearings. A big fat bearing about the size of a massive hockey puck. They were super super stuck and I broke a few pullers getting them out.
05 Suburban was a dream comparatively. I got the upgraded Moog front wheel hubs (they support large wheels, 20", which I have on there from an 07 LTZ. I recall it was mostly 3 bolts of 15mm size... possibly a big 32mm axle nut? I probably used the video from 1A Auto on YouTube.

Both cars are 200k+ miles.

 

[drakon543]

you will hear what sounds like your running aggressive offroad tires and the sound will generally get worse or less around turns approximately above 30mph. depends on which side is failing for what turned direction makes the sound fade. sometimes when it starts to go you can feel some slight slop on the wheel when its off the ground. if its hard to turn when its off the ground in my experience you have already pushed it too far and need to change it asap. another easy check is pay attention to the hub as your doing routine maintenance and check. a failing bearing that just purely getting worn out will start creating alot of a brownish debris. it will either just be grease or look like excessive brake dust thats tacky. thats the bearing vibrations not allowing the seals to properly do thier job or the seals themselves are worn and your losing lubrication. another potential typical is you will start getting an abs light and a code pointing you directly to the wheel sensors. sometimes you can replace the wheel sensor and keep going but your technically only replacing half the sensor as the tone ring isnt replaceable. too much bearing debris on the tone ring can give a false reading and throw that code. lastly timken or delco only for those bearings.

 

[2006Tahoe2WD]

The hubs on a 99 from the factory are so much better than any junk you'll replace them with I'd leave them alone and find something else to do. Worst case scenario is the hub does go bad and you'll have to replace it, then you'll probably have to replace it again and again as the new junk won't last. If you look at how it's made the bearing can disintegrate and the wheel won't come off.

This makes sense and I've heard it from others. The OEM production line parts are made on a different line compared to the aftermarket parts. Whoever is making the hub assembly for the original production can't afford to screw up. Aftermarket - nobody cares. Could be a seemingly small issue such as exactly how the bearing is pushed in.

 

[2006Tahoe2WD]

If you are so concerned about it, why not just go ahead and change them now? Any time I start to worry about a part that I think may be near the end of life I would just change it. But that's me. Not everyone changes parts before they break.

Not everyone does this but I confess to doing just that. I recently replaced all the tensioners/belts/heater hoses/fittings and they were all working fine. E.g. I'm considering getting my transmission rebuilt but it is running fine at 170k miles. I don't want it to breakdown on a trip. If I'm going to eventually need to do it might as well do it now then worry about the next thing. I would do it (the trans) if I lived in Amarillo Tx.

 

[Swagfu]

Not everyone does this but I confess to doing just that. I recently replaced all the tensioners/belts/heater hoses/fittings and they were all working fine. E.g. I'm considering getting my transmission rebuilt but it is running fine at 170k miles. I don't want it to breakdown on a trip. If I'm going to eventually need to do it might as well do it now then worry about the next thing. I would do it (the trans) if I lived in Amarillo Tx.

I don't know if I would do the trans, but wouldn't be a bad idea. I try to do things while doing something else...ie...The belt if they have to have it off, the power steering pump and what not. I live in Fl and the trans could be a thought.