Silence of the Hub

[swathdiver]

2009 GMC Yukon XL SLT 1500 4WD

Bought the truck in May and it came with BFG Rugged Trail tires and its drivetrain sounded a lot like my old F-150. A few months and few thousand miles and noticed the sound getting a little louder but would go away when swerving/turning left. Noise seemed to be coming from RF.

Jacked it up and indeed it was the RF hub. Bad hubs on my minivans sounded different.

Ordered a new Torque Wrench, a Timken Hub - SP500301, a Dorman Spindle Nut - 05177 and some sockets and wrenches.

The two Brake Caliper Guide Pin Bolts were removed with a 19mm Socket and torqued back on to 74 ftlbs.

The two Brake Caliper Bracket Mounting Bolts were removed with an 18mm socket. The threads were cleaned with alcohol, Threadlocker applied and torqued back on to 148 ftlbs..

The three Hub Bolts were removed with a 15mm socket and torqued back on to 133 ftlbs.

The original Spindle Nut was removed with a 35mm Socket and the Dorman 05177 Spindle Nut took a 36mm socket which was torqued to 177 ftlbs. The Spindle Nuts must be replaced each time they are removed.

Depressed the pedal 2/3 of the way 3 or 4 times before I got a stiff pedal again. Did the same after starting the truck. Then test drove.

Truck is now just as quiet as my minivans and it wears BFG KO2s!

Next comes the rear brakes and rear parking brake shoes and hardware!

This old man is feeling the pain of torquing anything past 74ftlbs! My daughter was helping but is physically too small to torque those parts inside the wheel well with the shorter torque wrench.

 

[Jason_S]

Sounds good. Why RED locktight on the guide pins, especially when you do not mention using any on the caliper bracket bolts? I am betting that your next brake job will become a bit of a PITA.

 

[PG01]

Yeah, sorry was gonna say the same, red or blue locktite on the caliper bracket and i use a tiny bit of anti-sieze on the slide pins... just enough to lightly cover threads...

 

[swathdiver]

I goofed, amended the instructions. The threadlocker is for the rear so says my manual. Will take some heat next time!

 

[PG01]

No prob, at least you know they aint goin' no where..

 

[swathdiver]

Yeah, but I should've put some on the caliper bracket! Well, at 148 ftlbs, it'll take a while to get loose. The rotors weren't in the greatest shape and it had plenty of pad. Stops, fine, no vibrations.

The rear rotors are rotten, chunks of rust falling off of them. They go to the trash in the next day or so.

 

[PG01]

Believe it or not, the yellow that was on there from the factory sort of 'reactivates' and they still are a pain in the ass to get off next time.. you'll be fine...

 

[Jason_S]

When you apply the heat, make sure that you have the parts kit ready. It has the two rubber boots and the rubber sleeve for the end of the one bolt.

I don't typically use a thread locking compound on the caliper mount brackets, and I've never had an issue with a mount coming loose on or off road. While my experience is anecdotal at best, there are enough thousands of miles behind it that I doubt that it's a fluke.

If you plan any beach driving in the land of sun, beaches and bikinis, you should go with coated rotors, it will help some with the corrosion. In the salty north, I have been known to put some anti sieze on the back of the rotor to keep it from rusting to the hub.

 

[swathdiver]

I've had the truck on the beach in Daytona and plan to do it again. Within a day or so of driving through the surf, we washed the entire underside of the truck. Good idea with the anti-seize, makes it easier than whacking it with a rubber mallet.

 

[HiHoeSilver]

I've had the truck on the beach in Daytona and plan to do it again. Within a day or so of driving through the surf, we washed the entire underside of the truck. Good idea with the anti-seize, makes it easier than whacking it with a rubber mallet.

I did this, too. After 11 years of Illinois winters, I beat the HELL out of mine with a cold chisel to get it off. If there's ever a next time, I'm not doing that again.

 

[PG01]

Since NY, and since salt, every brake job gets some antisieze in key locations, caliper pins are always removed cleaned and lubed, tire rotations too... you know what its like getting a flat at 5am in the rain and all the lugs are off but you can't get the rim off?... not fun

 

[BeenChevy]

+1 on the anti-seize. Make sure to put some on your hub dust covers and the backside of your replacement hub's. The yellow thread adhesive used on the caliper bracket bolts doesn't need to be reapplied unless you heat or remove it to break the bolts loose. Some extra leverage and you may never need to use the adhesive. If you drive through salt or corrosives, pull and lube your caliper pins every 12k miles or annually, so long as the rubber boots remain intact you'll be in good shape.