my truck has significant wheel bearing play, i asked my dealership about repacking but he said it is a sealed unit. i have been researching and found a thread here about an 05 being repacked. i went back to my dealer and asked if there was a difference in the two trucks. the only reply i got was impossible. i have even looked at the pictures that were provided and see that it is possible on an 05, my question is, is there any difference between the 05 and 06 4x4's and do i have to worry about the electrical connections for the sensors? and if it is possible where can i find new seals, seeing how my dealership will only sell me the whole unit. thanks in advance for any help.

 

Some guys have been able to inject some grease with a needle, but if you have play, then damage as been done and you will need new bearings. The guys injecting grease do it as a preventive measure, no amount of grease will fix bearing play.

 

very unfortunately, we have to replace the whole wheel assembly. I got the same problem a month ago, called every part stores to find a cheaper solution, no go. end up replace both my front wheel assemblies, upper & lower ball joints. took me 3 evening to finish them. lots of work though!!!!!

 

thanks guys, i figured i would have to replace them. i found a place BuyAutoParts.com, that sells them for 390 for the pair. i researched the brand and they have a five year warranty and a great reccomendation from many people. i will add the details of the project and give my opinion on quality when they show up. thanks again!

 

Hello I was the one that did the write up on the front Wheel bearing repacking thread with pictures. The main reason that I did the front wheel bearing was to anti seize the mating surface so that I could get them apart later on. I have read horror stories of guys trying to get the things apart 6 or more years later with extreme difficulty. I inject grease through the ABS sensor with no problems to date. I am going to drill and tap to ports on the bearing assembly when I install new bearings. One to put a grease nipple on and the other to relieve excess grease. I found when I took mine apart one side was adequately greased the other had very little grease and was hard and the bearing showed signs of getting hot, metal was discolored. I did the repacking 50 km ago so the dealers again a wrong it can be done, if done properly.

 

how did you get the bearing assembly apart?

I just had mine out for the ball joint install, removal was easy using the socket & power steering pump for pressure (turning the wheel against the socket). Since the ball joint install, close to 4000 miles w/o any problems with the hubs.

Worth mentioning... RockAuto.com is now selling the hubs for $200 bux ea and they are Timken bearing units... making it harder to justify going to the lockable hubs

 

If you follow the pictures you will see that I used for threaded bolts as jacking bolts. This worked really well just ensure that when you press them back together that you dont get them too tight. I had to redo mine the first time because I could not turn the hub on the bearings.

 

i have installed my new bearing assembly and i still have play in it. i have torqued it down as much as i can, does anybody know the torque specs on the spindle nut? the play is minimal but it should be zero. my dads truck has 40,000 on it and his has zero play in it, i am kind of wondering if i have another issue. any suggestions would be great. thanks in advance. by the way i'm using 3/4 drive breaker bar with 5 foot cheater.

 

It is 260~265 ftlbs. the manual says to set it at about 150 or something like that, spin it several times to seat the bearing, then do the final torque.

when you check your bearing play, put your finger between the axle yolk & the upper ball joint... you may feel the play there. my ball joints were so bad that there was noticeable play in that area. Swapped uppers & lowers and now it's all good. bearings are still fine.

 

thank you very much.