Wheel Bearings Service w/Pics (1 Viewer)

[TheForger]

You got it........!

Excellent! I thought so considering I couldn’t pull it back out but just wanted to make sure.

I have updated Post #108 with part numbers for all items that have been (or will be) replaced as a reference. CV is in, knuckle is on, lower & upper ball joints are torqued (no cotter pins just yet but don’t worry they will be on there at the end), and steering arm is torqued. Tomorrow I’m going to raise the LCA to ride height to torque those bolts, then bolt the torsion anchor arm on, bolt newly turned rotor to the hub and repack bearings, reinstall hub/rotor and set preload, reconnect ABS harness, torque sway bar and lower shock mount, and hopefully wrap up but we’ll see. Gotta wait on FedEx to deliver my last package of parts from Partsouq! One of the window trim pieces was bent so they had to order another so that plus memorial weekend delayed shipment a little but no worries.

 

[flintknapper]

Excellent! I thought so considering I couldn’t pull it back out but just wanted to make sure.

I have updated Post #108 with part numbers for all items that have been (or will be) replaced as a reference. CV is in, knuckle is on, lower & upper ball joints are torqued (no cotter pins just yet but don’t worry they will be on there at the end), and steering arm is torqued. Tomorrow I’m going to raise the LCA to ride height to torque those bolts, then bolt the torsion anchor arm on, bolt newly turned rotor to the hub and repack bearings, reinstall hub/rotor and set preload, reconnect ABS harness, torque sway bar and lower shock mount, and hopefully wrap up but we’ll see. Gotta wait on FedEx to deliver my last package of parts from Partsouq! One of the window trim pieces was bent so they had to order another so that plus memorial weekend delayed shipment a little but no worries.

View attachment 2691852

Looking GOOD! You've done well.

 

[OwnerCS]

Excellent! I thought so considering I couldn’t pull it back out but just wanted to make sure.

I have updated Post #108 with part numbers for all items that have been (or will be) replaced as a reference. CV is in, knuckle is on, lower & upper ball joints are torqued (no cotter pins just yet but don’t worry they will be on there at the end), and steering arm is torqued. Tomorrow I’m going to raise the LCA to ride height to torque those bolts, then bolt the torsion anchor arm on, bolt newly turned rotor to the hub and repack bearings, reinstall hub/rotor and set preload, reconnect ABS harness, torque sway bar and lower shock mount, and hopefully wrap up but we’ll see. Gotta wait on FedEx to deliver my last package of parts from Partsouq! One of the window trim pieces was bent so they had to order another so that plus memorial weekend delayed shipment a little but no worries.

View attachment 2691852

Nice job!

 

[2001LC]

Does this look like it’s in all the way? I followed the steps in your video @2001LC by putting grease on the diff seal, inner splines of the axle that go in the diff, and the c-clip to keep it open-end-down. I lined everything up and gave it a couple good pushes and it made a definite click as the c-clip went in. Tried pulling it back out but couldn’t so I’m thinking it’s seated as far as it can go but the gap makes me think otherwise. What do those wiser than me have to say??

View attachment 2691609

Perfect!

 

[TheForger]

Lower control arm, lower shock mount, torsion bar anchor, sway bar mount, hub-to-rotor, and brake shield bolts all torqued to spec. Bearings and hub cavity repacked (even though they really didn’t need it and the grease looked brand new). Pumped grease through the new needle bearings with the Slee tool. Reinstalled freshly machined rotor and got the claw washer and adjusting nut on. Might hold off until Friday or this weekend to finish up. Just need to finish setting the bearing preload, replace hub flange studs, install hub flange w/snap ring, install the caliper & pads, set ride height with torsion bar adjusting bolt, and finally fill up the front diff with fluid! Can’t move it out of the garage because I’m dewinterizing my boat and it’s blocking the cruiser, but I’ll play musical cars this Sunday to take it for its first spin and bed the new pads.

 

[OwnerCS]

Lower control arm, lower shock mount, torsion bar anchor, sway bar mount, hub-to-rotor, and brake shield bolts all torqued to spec. Bearings and hub cavity repacked (even though they really didn’t need it and the grease looked brand new). Pumped grease through the new needle bearings with the Slee tool. Reinstalled freshly machined rotor and got the claw washer and adjusting nut on. Might hold off until Friday or this weekend to finish up. Just need to finish setting the bearing preload, replace hub flange studs, install hub flange w/snap ring, install the caliper & pads, set ride height with torsion bar adjusting bolt, and finally fill up the front diff with fluid! Can’t move it out of the garage because I’m dewinterizing my boat and it’s blocking the cruiser, but I’ll play musical cars this Sunday to take it for its first spin and bed the new pads.

View attachment 2692819

View attachment 2692820

View attachment 2692821

Congratulations!

 

[TheForger]

Finally got everything buttoned up. 62ft-lbs on the wheel bearing adjusting nut got me to 12lbs of preload. After torquing the lock nut to 47ft-lbs I’m getting readings right around 13.5-14lbs so I’m very happy with that. Used the “D” snap ring (2.4mm) leaving me with a 0.08mm gap. The handy CV Axle Puller Tool made it a breeze

I did end up getting a new hub flange with this new axle and replaced the old and mangled (cross threaded) flange studs. New washers and nuts with it. Installed the ABS harness and torqued all of the associated bracket bolts. Set ride height at 22.5” front and 23.5” rear. Installed new window trim and hood-to-radiator support weatherstrip. M1 75W-90 gear oil for the front diff w/new crush washers. Replaced cotter pins in the ball joints. Rechecked torque on all bolts and marked them with a paint pen.

Here’s the carnage from removing the LCA bushings plus the shot LBJ. It was very easy to articulate with just a light touch and it had a little slop in it; it’s supposed to be very stiff and almost hard to move by hand.

Now to give it a good wash to get all this dried mud off (probably should’ve done that BEFORE starting this project). And of course now it won’t start so I’m in the middle of trying to troubleshoot that RTH: No Start After CV Axle Replacement

 

[flintknapper]

Great pics and documentation.

 

[OwnerCS]

Good job! If you got the D ring to fit, that's very good. I remember D perfectly fit the new OEM CV axle grooves. This should last a long time.

 

[TheForger]

Okay so I solved the no start issue. Turns out it was one of the connectors that goes to the charcoal canister..? Whatever, just glad to finally have it running again.

Now for the bad news. While turning up my driveway to go on a test drive I noticed a popping noise. It's very similar to what it previously sounded like but not identical. Prevalent while under power in drive. I didn't have time to dive into it since I had to get back to work, but I will be taking a video of it this evening. It has definitely changed a little so I'm thinking the drivers axle replacement definitely helped, but it is still there. Now I'm wondering if the passenger side needs the same treatment or not. Or even an issue with the diff. I don't have a chassis ear handy but I think I might have a GoPro somewhere so we'll see if I can't use that to pinpoint the sound. Ugh this is so frustrating....

 

[OwnerCS]

Okay so I solved the no start issue. Turns out it was one of the connectors that goes to the charcoal canister..? Whatever, just glad to finally have it running again.

Now for the bad news. While turning up my driveway to go on a test drive I noticed a popping noise. It's very similar to what it previously sounded like but not identical. Prevalent while turning under power. I didn't have time to dive into it since I had to get back to work, but I will be taking a video of it this evening. It has definitely changed a little so I'm thinking the drivers axle replacement definitely helped, but it is still there. Now I'm wondering if the passenger side needs the same treatment or not. Or even an issue with the diff. I don't have a chassis ear handy but I think I might have a GoPro somewhere so we'll see if I can't use that to pinpoint the sound. Ugh this is so frustrating....

View attachment 2697167

I've got a Steelman Chassis Ear that you can borrow. Just let me know.

 

[TheForger]

Okay here are a few notes I took while driving around. I took it about 4 miles and honestly it drove amazing other than the drivetrain noise and clicking. I obviously attribute that to the new hub flange, lower ball joint, and LCA bushings. I’m narrowing it down to the u-joint in the front drive shaft closest to the front diff which is original to the truck (234k+). Thinking about getting the whole front drive shaft assembly with new joints just in case 37140-60370). I would obviously still like to know what everyone else thinks.

• Seems to originate from the center of the vehicle, not offset to one side or the other
• It’s much faster than the rotation of the wheels, like 5-10X’s faster
• Over 30-35mph and the noises and vibrations in the floorboard really mellow out. I got up to 50mph and really couldn’t feel or hear anything, but maybe it was being drowned out in the wind noise since I had the windows down
• Does NOT occur while coasting in neutral forward or backward no matter if I’m turning or not
• The only thing that makes the noise & vibrations occur is when gas (torque) is applied while in drive, no matter if I’m turning or going straight. It seems like the more torque that’s applied (ie. going up an incline) the louder and more prevalent it is
• Does not affect driving mannerisms. I really can’t seem to feel it in the steering wheel

 

[TheForger]

I've got a Steelman Chassis Ear that you can borrow. Just let me know.

Pm sent!

 

[Bisho]

Okay here are a few notes I took while driving around. I took it about 4 miles and honestly it drove amazing other than the drivetrain noise and clicking. I obviously attribute that to the new hub flange, lower ball joint, and LCA bushings. I’m narrowing it down to the u-joint in the front drive shaft closest to the front diff which is original to the truck (234k+). Thinking about getting the whole front drive shaft assembly with new joints just in case 37140-60370). I would obviously still like to know what everyone else thinks.

• Seems to originate from the center of the vehicle, not offset to one side or the other
• It’s much faster than the rotation of the wheels, like 5-10X’s faster
• Over 30-35mph and the noises and vibrations in the floorboard really mellow out. I got up to 50mph and really couldn’t feel or hear anything, but maybe it was being drowned out in the wind noise since I had the windows down
• Does NOT occur while coasting in neutral forward or backward no matter if I’m turning or not
• The only thing that makes the noise & vibrations occur is when gas (torque) is applied while in drive, no matter if I’m turning or going straight. It seems like the more torque that’s applied (ie. going up an incline) the louder and more prevalent it is
• Does not affect driving mannerisms. I really can’t seem to feel it in the steering wheel

It almost sounds like you have a playing card in your spokes. . Seriously, it doesn’t sound mechanical to me. Did you check that nothing is rubbing on the driveshaft?

I think if you jack up the front wheels you should be able to check for play in the driveshaft.

 

[TheForger]

It almost sounds like you have a playing card in your spokes. . Seriously, it doesn’t sound mechanical to me. Did you check that nothing is rubbing on the driveshaft?

I think if you jack up the front wheels you should be able to check for play in the driveshaft.

Great idea! I thought it sounded very similar to a card in spoked too. I looked all around the driveshaft for any objects that may be contacting it but nothing was. Also checked around the wheel wells and cv's even though it doesn't appear to be originating from one side or the other. What made me also doubt that is the fact the noise is only present when torque is applied while in drive. It does not occur when coasting in neutral forward or backward. It's definitely in the center and somewhere underneath the center console, I just can't tell whether it's toward the front (dash), center (gear shifter), or underneath the center console armrest. I'm borrowing @OwnerCS chassis ear later today which should help me narrow down exactly where the noise is originating.

To add a little more info and reiterate what I said earlier - I'm not having any drivetrain related issues other than the noise and rotating clunk. No slipping of gears or any weird shifting habits, transfer case shifts smooth as butter as does the transmission (got it up to 50mph and it felt great), CDL is off but will still engage when the button is pressed. Trans temps are well within range. I know that may not completely rule out a diff, transfer case, or transmission issue but I think if that's where the issue lied I'd be seeing more serious symptoms.

 

[Red Beard]

For those of you who paint your hubs - is there a special paint to use? High temperature needed?

 

[flintknapper]

For those of you who paint your hubs - is there a special paint to use? High temperature needed?

Semi-Gloss, high heat engine enamel.

 

[Red Beard]

Semi-Gloss, high heat engine enamel.

View attachment 2697918
View attachment 2697919

Is it okay if the threads get paint on them? I figure you'd probably want to put on a couple coats, so I'm assuming it's best to keep the paint off the threads?

 

[flintknapper]

Is it okay if the threads get paint on them? I figure you'd probably want to put on a couple coats, so I'm assuming it's best to keep the paint off the threads?

A 'light' coat of paint will not present any problems.

But if you have concerns, just tape them off.

 

[TheForger]

Okay so a few updates:

• Greased the u-joints and it seemed to help a marginal amount but the noise was definitely still present
• Used @OwnerCS Steelman ChassisEar and narrowed down the knocking to the front drive shaft/diff area
• Tried to order a front drive shaft assembly but there are only so many in the country and the quickest my dealer could get one was 5 business day
• I found a very reputable driveline shop local to me and contacted them about doing a drive shaft service. Told them I would supply the new u-joints if they would press out the old ones, install the new ones, pull the yoke apart and clean it up and pack with fresh grease, then balance it. They said they’d be happy to
• Went and bought 2 new front drive shaft u-joints (04371-60060) since my dealer had them in stock. Dropped them and the DS at the shop this evening. They might get it back to me tomorrow but we’ll see, they seemed pretty busy. I’m going to the lake this weekend anyway so I wouldn't have time to install it even if they did
• Removed the hub flanges, locked the center diff, now all noises are gone! I’m hoping it is a bad u-joint.
• Center diff locks and unlocks pretty smoothly. The video below is me locking it, backing up a few feet, pulling forward, unlocking it, then putting it in park
• Transfer case still shifts like butter

TL;DR: Removed front drive shaft to get new u-joints put in. Removed the hub flanges, locked the center diff, now all noises are gone. I don’t have machined hubs so I’m still going to leave it parked until I get my drive shaft back. Really hoping the refreshed driveshaft solves my issue and it’s not front diff related.

Disregard the cat toy dangling from the garage door motor