I am not going to start with the bearings but stay with me. First I took off my PVH hubs yesterday in hopes to put my new AVM's on. Well getting the PVH hubs off was a PITA. The passenger side was hard very hard to get off. Now I have taken them off before and it took all of 5 minutes to do. The passenger side yesterday took 40 minutes. When I got it off I found out why. It was full of dirt and grime. I cleaned it the best I could but there was still dirt left behind. I didn't want to put the new AVM on until I could really get it good and clean. I was also thinking that if the hubs look like they do (pictures to come soon) then is that same dirt in my bearings as well. So today I planned to take it apart and see if there is any dirt in the bearing like the hub had. Well I didn't realize that getting at the bearing was not possible since it is sealed together so there is no real way of looking at it.

Now for my questions.

I have had a hum from the driverside front for about a month and a half. Is this from the bearing going or am I okay?

On the way home today (without any hubs) I got a bad vibration and hum from the passenger side. Is this due to there being no hub or is this bearing on its way out as well?

My thinking was that my bearing should have gone out by now since I have been wheeling with 33's in some nasty mud, water, and sand for over a year now. Before the 33's I still wheeled in the same conditions. I am at 97,000 miles. Should I just replace them to be safe and be done with it?

Or should I wait till after my wheeling trip on Sunday just clean out the axle shaft end and put the new hubs on then replace the bearings next week?

I know the parts are expensive but I really don't care because I would rather spend $350-$450 in parts and have the piece of mind that my tire is not going to fall off while I am driving down some tree lined road at 55mph.

 

IMO, if you are getting a hum in one and a vibration in another seems like the reasonable thing to do is to replace them. you already have them apart i say replace them, if your wheel falls off you will realize how cheap 300-400 is.

make sure they are good and sealed with the new hubs to keep the dirt out.

since they are sealed bearings i doubt they have much dirt actually inside of them, but they probably have some.

 

Wheel bearings should be repacked every 50,000 miles. NAPA makes a good wheel bearing grease. I always clean the bearings to get a good look at them. There shouldn't be a lot of "play" with the rollers. The bearings shouldn't be warped or discolored in any way, if they are, just throw them away. If you can repack them, it would be a cheap "fix", probably $15. If you had that much dirt and grime inside the hub, your best bet is to buy new bearings, especially if approaching the 100,000 mi marker. BTW, hate to say this, but even replacing the bearings might not solve the humming, you could have some other problem. Hope this helped. Good luck.

 

These bearings are not serviceable. They are "unit bearings".


My first one went at a bout 113k and second at 122k. I let the first go until it started to grind the rotor on the caliper bracket. Not a good idea becuase you will need a brake job then.

With this last bearing i replaced all ballpoints and tie rod ends.

 

I can't get them this weekend noone around me has them in stock. Would I be safe wheeling tomorrow and driving to work monday tuesday and wednesday. Then I would replace them thursday. I don't have to work thursday. I drive 30 miles round trip to work and back per day.