Wheel Bearing and Brake Job advice (1 Viewer)

[Jerome3]

allright so im awaiting a boatload of parts to come in throughout the next two weeks. im moving on up from a stock rig with 285 at/s to a J sprung rig on 285 at/s. awaiting slee lighting harness, cdl switch, j spring lift kit, and brakes to be in monday

as im awaiting my brakes (front and rear rotors rear pads and 100 series front pads) and wheels bearings i've been searching and reading anything i possibly can about this job. this will be the first work ill have done on my cruiser aside form a goofy airhorn a few years back. im a bit nervous about installing new wheel bearings as i have read about some members having trouble with races and such. if you guys could share your best advice for a newb doing this job that would be greatly appreciated.
cant wait to get my hands dirty will post some pics pre and post j springs
thanks a bunch

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Good project. You are about 1/2 way to a full knuckle rebuild, this would be a good time to tackle that if your truck has high miles and you feel up to it.

If you are just replacing the wheelbearings, the hub is easier to handle with the rotor still attached. I would pull the calipers off, then pull the hub with the attached rotor, then pry out the seal, take out the bearings (they will fall out), and then drive out the races with your brass drift and a good sized hammer. Then Install the new races, then pull the old rotor and mount the new one. It goes back together the reverse. Be careful setting the bearing preload. The factory manual is extremely helpful with good pictures and all the torque specs. Read the appropriate sections about 10 times prior to the project.

Do a search on "cone washers" for lots of info regarding the drive flanges on the wheel hub.

There is lots of other cool projects in the area. Once the hub is off the spindle, you could pull the spindles and backing plates to re-grease the birfs. Since you are there, you may as well replace the troublesome inner axle seal. Once you've gone that far, you could unbolt the knuckle and R&R the knuckle bearings.

For a first time project, replacing the wheel bearings and rotors will be good enough. I would strongly consider pulling the spindles and regreasing the birfields, with an inner axle seal replacement. Some essential tools:

Factory manual
Brass Drift- a large and a small, purchase at Harbor Freight
Heavy ball peen hammer
C-Clip pliers
54mm hub socket or 2 1/8 Craftsman socket
Full set of 6 point sockets and wrenches
Torque wrench

 

[OGBeno]

Drew's giving good advice above. I'd recommend everything he said.

Also you might want to check out these links:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=45673

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=45302

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=44779

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=45153

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=44886

And these links are just from the past two weeks.

There is so much information about this job on the boards. Spend some quality time searching and you will be good to go.

best.
-onur
Akron, OH

 

[tarbe]

Add an $8 Lisle seal puller to Drew's tool list.

 

[Biff]

I just did this job as well as a full front knuckle service. I'd recommend a good brass hammer to use on the wheel hub, also make sure you pack the greese onto the wheel bearing the proper way-the FSM has a good picture on how to do this.