jlipskoc

Just started tonite, sounds like an old set of metal roller skates, you hear the ball bearings inside the skates. I pulled the wheels on the right side front and back, its definately the front.

These are Napa, 1 1/2 yrs old, 20k miles on them. As I replaced the entire frontend in March 04.

I hope they are covered under warranty, seems like they would have lasted longer. Found my reciept though.

Anyone ever heard this noise? It sounds like some ***** worked loose or something. Is it something else besides the hub?

Let me know what you guys think.
Thanks.
John

oestreich84

Wow! That is a very evil sound Kinda sounds like a wheel bearing to me but, it is hard to tell from a recorded sound clip. Good luck and I hope they cover it under warranty.

apache

Are you playing with marbels?? Hard to tell but if you yanked the R/F wheel and spun the hub and thats what you got, Id say yes ,its shot. sounds like its dry and missing a few *****. Personally Im starting to question Napa`s stuff. I been getting some pretty cheapo lookin stuff lately. Used to get Borg Warner locally but no more. Hopefully they warranty it.

farmer dave

Like what apache said if the is just the hub then yes I would say your hub is bad. I jsut replaced mine this summer. I looked all over for them. They didn't sound that bad, I had a squeak in them. But after I took them off they sounded like that, glad I changed both. I found some on the internet but they had speed sensors in them and were a little different size. I ended up getting mine from the dealer. Not a bad price, but I think I actually found a "GOOD" dealer and not a *******. Well good luck.

grow_ctd

It sounds like you have it pinned to the right part. But just cause it can be a little similar and it is easy to check you have ruled out the outer u joints on the axle right?? Just reach under and shake the axle to make sure they are tight... But all in all I think you are on the right path.

Eskimo

Yup. Well, kinda. It spins the spider gears in the diff, which spins the other side inner axle shaft and all that jazz, but typically, the ring and pinion won't turn.

infidel

My question is have you done all the front end work yourself?
I've seen cases where a "mechanic" will pull apart the sealed unit bearing while trying to remove a rotor then sneak it back together to avoid replacing it.
When these sealed bearings are pulled apart then put back together they usually don't last long afterwards.

infidel

If that's the case John I'd be giving Napa a lot of grief.
The bearings should last much longer than 20k. Problem is the year and half, they might not go for that.

kerryneb

keep in mind any bearing will last only until the lube is gone...meaning check all the seals and seal surfaces for damage.

pind

some useless info, from one of the information warehouses. ME

Anyway, when you reassemble the unit, if you can do this on yours, sneak some amsoil gear lube into the bearing pocket.

On the newer trucks with abs sensors, this is very easy to do, not sure about the older ones. I have found that adding 6 - 8 drops of the synthetic gear lube to the bearing seems to extend the life of the bearings considerably. From an average of 70,000 km on rough roads etc. out to as much as 200,000 km and counting. Is the gear lube worth the hassle. Maybe, I don't know. These are very non-scientific, real world tests that I am doing.

So, good luck with the wheel bearings, and this time will be easier to do.

TIMMY22

Did your brakes pulsate at all prior to the noise? mine are pulsating and i just did the pads, rotors, u-joints about 1 yr ago. somebody said it might be the start of a bearing problem.

infidel

My only question is why the nut on the ratchet end of the extension?
I've always just used a socket and extension with no nut.