Dear Techs,


I never thought this would happen to me but.........I just lost the right front wheel bearing. The truck had a vibration at about 60 mph so I decided to rotate the tires. I got it up in the air and gave the right front wheel a wiggle and it had about an inch of movement.


My question is this. Have you techs seen a wheel bearing failure like this with low miles? A friend of mine brought up the fact that my Eagle Alloy 145 wheels w/BFG ATKO 285/75/16 don't center up on the hub but instead use the lug studs. Have you seen this type of wheel cause a failure?


I know the 4wd launches at the track don't help matters but I wasn't expecting a wheel bearing failure. I rather expected a CV joint to fail first. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Confused.gif


Thanks in advance,

Someone more qualified than me will probably answer this but here are my thoughts.


If the wheel has the lug holes tapered, and the lugs have the same taper, it will self center when torquing it down. Short of a defective hub, early wheel bearing failure can be caused by excessive wheel offset. Do you know how much your wheel offset is versus the OEM wheel. Good news is they are very easy to replace. Don't know about the cost though.

Someone more qualified than me will probably answer this but here are my thoughts.


If the wheel has the lug holes tapered, and the lugs have the same taper, it will self center when torquing it down. Short of a defective hub, early wheel bearing failure can be caused by excessive wheel offset. Do you know how much your wheel offset is versus the OEM wheel. Good news is they are very easy to replace. Don't know about the cost though.





I've got the 16 x 8 here http://www.aewheel.com/wheels_detail.cfm?id=31


It shows the offset at +2mm which is .080 or less than 1/8"

That is too little offset to be an issue. I would guess it was defective from the start. Perhaps it was not lubricated correctly when assembled.

Just a follow up.......Rotating the tires today and now the left front wheel bearing is junk.


I talked with some techs that don't post at "The Diesel Place" soon after I got my truck back, and guess what, they thought both hubs should have been changed the first time. I sure wish the tech that worked on my truck the first time would have had a clue. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Ermm.gif


So a question for the "Techs" that do post here......Are the 4wd trucks experiencing frequent front wheel bearing failures?

I have seen a few, some were bad enough, its a wonder the tires still stayed on... Not common, but they are out there.

Thanks Eric!

Eric,


What's your recommendation on checking the bearings and hubs to make sure we don't run into the same problem?

nothing to service on them.. no maint required, sealed unit. If its loose, replace it. Thats about all

Sounds like at 35K I should give it a good shake then and see if anything moves.


Since it's maintenance free and sealed, does it put out 12 volts like the battery's?http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/HiHi.gif


Trip, have you had yours repaired yet? Was it still under warranty? If not, cost? How long did they have it?Edited by: Terrain Twister

I have the wheel bearings on my site.. dont remember what they are at.... but have had demand for them..