Front wheel bearings and ball joints, replace or not? (1 Viewer)

[katit]

I am planning to take care of front end now.
Info: 193k, no records of bearings being repacked. When truck raised - there is a slight movement when I move wheel at 12/6. Is that indication of improperly set bearing tension?

Left upper ball joint has torn boot. No records of ball joints being replaced. Is that a pretty much "for sure" maintenance items at this mileage? I would go with 555 ball joints.

My main goal is to have minimum downtime (i.e. not waiting for parts).
So, at this mileage and given what I see/know, would it be wise to replace bearings? Or just repacking will do?
Cost of Timken bearings not that bad, I'd rather replace if in doubt. But it's better not spend money if collective wisdom says that originals better and most likely good at this mileage. I would take a chance then and inspect those once apart. But this will give me potential downtime.

Thanks!

 

[Trunk Monkey]

At 200k I'd replace the bearings just for peace of mine that they're done. You can get bearing kits (and 555 ball joints, upper and lower) from @cruiseroutfit. But, you can also open them up and check for scoring and just repack, save the $.

 

[Balto1223]

Have you inspected the bearings yet? Are they loose, discolored, worn?

If the above is all the information you can get, without inspecting, I'd say replace. But you should definitely inspect them.

I would definitely replace the ball joint with a torn boot.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Just went down this path on my 100 with 214k on the clock. I went ahead and replaced all ball joints with 555s from Cruiser Outfitters (originals had busted boots and some play), as well as all front control arm bushings and tie rod ends. Following @2001LC advice on his threads, I found the inner and outer wheel bearings to still be in good shape with no scoring, excessive play, etc., so I cleaned and repacked them along with the spindle bearing and bushing, and also replaced the inner wheel seal and knuckle seal. Definitely checkout @2001LC threads for some great information on what to look for when considering bearing repack versus replacement. With that said, wheel bearings and races are pretty cheap, so replace if you have any doubt.

 

[Campfire]

Just did mine on my 1999 with a 178,000 miles on it.
They needed it. Used factory bearings and seals for no surprises, but had to replace the outer hub plate studs. Those damn cone washers were really a pain, so I just used a stud remover on the studs to crack them loose.
178K, and had some color and wear starting to show on mine.

Good luck, it's worth it.

 

[katit]

Have you inspected the bearings yet? Are they loose, discolored, worn?

If the above is all the information you can get, without inspecting, I'd say replace. But you should definitely inspect them.

I would definitely replace the ball joint with a torn boot.

Well. Inspect = Disassemble. I don't want to do same work twice and don't want to have truck on a lift for 1+ week. If possible I want to be in and out..

Right now I have no driveability issues that I'm noticing, no noises or other issues. I only have mileage, history (or lack of) and play at 12/6 that I can feel when shaking wheel

 

[2020 Rocks]

Well. Inspect = Disassemble. I don't want to do same work twice and don't want to have truck on a lift for 1+ week. If possible I want to be in and out..

Right now I have no driveability issues that I'm noticing, no noises or other issues. I only have mileage, history (or lack of) and play at 12/6 that I can feel when shaking wheel

At the milage that you stated, most would lean towards replacing the wheel bearings and having peace of mind for another 100k plus miles. In the end it's your call. I would replace them so that you are really intimate with the whole setup as you will need/should do bearing repacks when servicing the front brake pads in the future.

 

[Balto1223]

Well. Inspect = Disassemble. I don't want to do same work twice and don't want to have truck on a lift for 1+ week. If possible I want to be in and out..

Right now I have no driveability issues that I'm noticing, no noises or other issues. I only have mileage, history (or lack of) and play at 12/6 that I can feel when shaking wheel

Well, if you're going to repack the bearings, you're going to dissassemble. So either way you'll be able to inspect the bearings.

I replaced my bearings at 130k just for piece of mind. They're not that expensive.