What kept my wheel from coming off?

About 8 months ago my GMC started to make a groaning noise when turning one direction. It didnt always groan and didn't do it all the time, and quit after driving a couple of blocks most of the time. I greased every thing I could think off to no avail. They truck drove perfectly with no apparent problem. Yesterday I pulled the LH wheel because that is where the noise seemed to come from and wanted to check the brakes anyway. I found nothing except the brakes after 85,000 miles still looked like new! Putting the wheel back on I noticed some movement . Grabbed the tire and gave it shake and the whole tire and hub assembly moved over 1/2 inch! The wheel bearing was out! I took it to the GM truck dealer because they had 5 hubs in stock and only wanted $90 labor to change it. After driving it over 3000 miles with it groaning I was scared to death to drive it 4 miles to the dealer. Made it with no problem. I got a discount on the hub assembly but still got ripped. Could have saved $100-$200 on the net but didnt have time to order one. I just wonder how I could drive it all that time without the wheel falling off?

The Man upstairs has been watching over you. Incidently I would buy a lotto ticket while your good luck holds out.

What kind of truck is it?

Wow, Bill, gald you're OK, ditto the lottery ticket. I have a GM too so if you have more info we're all ears... Tom

Koolaid said:

What kind of truck is it?

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GMC. Guess bearings going out of front hubs is not uncomon. I put one on my dads "02" Cadilac a year ago. Went to work Monday after having mine replaced and the bosses "04" Ford Expedition had one go out. FYI after market hubs are a LOT less then the OEM hubs.

S.omebody was watching out for you. I WOULD go buy a lotto ticket

retired4fun said:

GMC. Guess bearings going out of front hubs is not uncomon. I put one on my dads "02" Cadilac a year ago. Went to work Monday after having mine replaced and the bosses "04" Ford Expedition had one go out. FYI after market hubs are a LOT less then the OEM hubs.

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My apologies for resurrecting a four month old thread…

You’re correct…. These integrated hubs have been known to fail in around the mileage you stated. Plus by the dealership having that many in stock tells me that they change them often.

I have the tools and have changed out several now where I found Timken makes a better quality assembly than what GM supplies and if one is shot the other isn’t far behind. Keep an eye on the other side and I know that you won’t let that one go for another eight months after it starts making noise.

Have a great day…

Hey Chopper, you were lucky alright.
I lost the right front on my rig a month or so back.
The first bearing I have lost in 30 yrs or so.
Mine made enough noise to figure it out pretty quickly
When it went up on the lift, same deal, the wheel dropped down 1/2" or so.
First time in a while where the labor was less than the part.
It only took 30 mins to change it out.