I was on my way from St.Louis area to Lexington, KY on I-64 this evening. I was just cruising along listening to King George (strait) and all at once I thought I ran over something, then I was practically jerked to the shoulder. It sounded like a "blump" like I ran over a coon, so I put on the flashers and got out and I had no idea what it was. The passenger side smelt hot to me, so I popped the hood, but found nothing out of the ordinary. I came to conclusion that the brake pad had shattered on me and pieces were jambed in there, so I backed up and pulled forward a few....thousand times, but nothing helped. So I nursed it to the Lanesville, IN exit ramp, around 3 miles and I took the wheel off. There was no pad carniage or caliper death. I then layed down and saw the assembly was apart where the 4 bolts hold it on. I could see the tapered bearings facing different ways drier than my soybeans this summer I was around 30 miles from Louisville and probably 3 or 5 from Corydon. So I got the roadside service card out and had a tow truck come get me and take me back to Corydon. My truck now sits at the Wal-Mart in Corydon awaiting my return with a "fresh" wheel assembly. I only had about 50k miles on this assembly too... Anyone in the area want to help me tomorrow? I need a press for the wheel studs...

 

 

More pictures of the death bearing tomorrow...

 

I'd help you in flash if it didn't take two days to get there
Even though I have a press I've never used it for removing the studs.
4 lb copper hand sledge works just fine and is faster.
Sucking the studs back down without an impact wrench is a real drag though.

 

You aint kidding!

 

Hey MasseyMan I had the same problem recently on my 2500 with only 60k on it. I have a 2WD but the front right bearing went out. I was able to limp it to the closest exit, but I'm really surprised the entire wheel and tire didn't fly off. No warning signs with I did smell the burning smell about 5 minutes before the big thud/roadkill feel. I had to replace the spindle, rotor, pads, and bearings. It makes me wonder if there's a problem with the bearings on these and if there's a better place than NAPA to get the bearings. I really wonder about replacement parts these days because so many are being made in China. I think we all know about their quality control. Any opinions would be real helpful.

 

I finally got it completed. It took me longer to get the rotors turned at O'Reillys than anything else... I like to purchase my parts there because they use reputable names like Borg Warner, Moog, Wix, etc. Unlike AutoZone's "duralast" garbage. I like the warranty they offer too, you cant hardly beat it - even if you believe it is cheap parts compared to Napa, you can still get it replaced - FOR FREE. The only complaint I had was at the O'Reilly's in Corydon, IN. The manager there refused to warranty the rotor considering the circumstances. I have been to 3 different stores that have warranted the pads/rotors no questions asked. Once they took twenty thousands off the rotors, I was on my way. The company that towed me back had a small shop and he had an pneumatic chisel/punch deal that pressed the studs in for me. It worked like a charm, sure beat the aformentioned impact wrenching them in. In response to Infidels post, I use a copper hammer to remove the studs, then my press at home to push them in, it goes faster and I know they are pressed all the way in and to my satisfaction. Perhaps I will just remove the hub assembly before my year warranty is up and exchange it, just to ensure I have ones that work?

 

I actually had to use a 1/2" wratchet...