Aluminum / XFE NNBS Front Suspension Rebuild

[petethepug]

R/A noted “this version radiator has no petcock valve.” I assumed it did. That leads back to a cracked cylinder (I love preemptive texting) plastic header then.

 

[992dr]

Waiting on an inner tie rod and some odds and ends.
Debating about brakes. Would 15/20 calipers work without any mods? I've been thinking about upgrading and I'm not sure which route to go

 

[Noggles]

Ordered a new OEM radiator, coolant reservoir and two new front hubs. Pretty sure the petcock on the OEM radiator is the source of the leak but at almost 190k on a likely OEM radiator, it’s due.

Found an interesting article on my preferred mfg for bearings, SKF. Turns out GM got together with them to create a better hub assembly for the 06-09 STS-V. They installed 6 lug hubs on a 4 door passenger car for a few years.

The technology bled over to the Escalade and is now known as a hybrid hub. Apparently it’s now used on the Escalade-V. No better time to replace them then when the front end is apart.

View attachment 450605

RockAuto has em for an unbelievable $139.79 ea.

X-TRACKER - Evolution

How asymmetrical hub bearing units improve high-performance car handling For high-performance cars,maintaining good handling characteristics under all conditions is important to the overall driving experience. SKF engineers provided an award-winning solution through the development of an...

evolution.skf.com

Please keep us updated on if these are a direct bolt on or not. I’m assuming they fit the stock knuckles too but just wondering if the abs sensor is compatible or not.

 

[j91z28d1]

Ordered a new OEM radiator, coolant reservoir and two new front hubs. Pretty sure the petcock on the OEM radiator is the source of the leak but at almost 190k on a likely OEM radiator, it’s due.

Found an interesting article on my preferred mfg for bearings, SKF. Turns out GM got together with them to create a better hub assembly for the 06-09 STS-V. They installed 6 lug hubs on a 4 door passenger car for a few years.

The technology bled over to the Escalade and is now known as a hybrid hub. Apparently it’s now used on the Escalade-V. No better time to replace them then when the front end is apart.

View attachment 450605

RockAuto has em for an unbelievable $139.79 ea.

X-TRACKER - Evolution

How asymmetrical hub bearing units improve high-performance car handling For high-performance cars,maintaining good handling characteristics under all conditions is important to the overall driving experience. SKF engineers provided an award-winning solution through the development of an...

evolution.skf.com

so are these a direct fit for the standard knuckle?

I'm thinking about trying them.

 

[petethepug]

My other car is tied up with the Indi on a trans replacement. I may pull the rack out and test fit the hubs, knucks, UCA & lowers.

Yes, direct fit. They’re beefy’r

 

[mikez71]

I swear my x_tracker hubs groan when you lean into them a little..
Had them about a year, no real issues, just not convinced they're better than stock..

 

[j91z28d1]

I swear my x_tracker hubs groan when you lean into them a little..
Had them about a year, no real issues, just not convinced they're better than stock..

huh like load when turning?

that's disappointing.

 

[91RS]

I wouldn't buy any hub but an OEM one, they last the longest in my experience.

 

[j91z28d1]

I wouldn't buy any hub but an OEM one, they last the longest in my experience.

I thought the idea was these are oem for the newer cars like the big cts-v wagons that are heavy, more hp and can handle track side loading abuse the normal oem one, also made by skf can't. they fail driving straight down the highway lol.

I could be wrong, I spend like 5 minutes looking into it lol.

 

[91RS]

SKF does currently make the OEM bearings, but there would be no way to know if they're actually exactly the same as the ones you can buy from Rock Auto branded as SKF. Timken used to make the factory wheel bearings for GM, so I bought all Timken bearings for my 07 SRX years ago, and two of them went bad again in a year. I replaced those with OEM and they were still good when I sold the truck a few years after that. I have only had to replace one wheel bearing on the 900's. My 08 has 170k miles on both of them and one original in the 13 has 194k miles, so I will absolutely buy the OEM ones again if I have to replace any more.

People like to think just because a part is made by the same company that it is exactly the same, but the internals may not be identical quality. Like windshields, people like to say glass is glass, but the Pilkington (the best aftermarket glass per the glass company that installed it, and a company who makes tons of OEM glass) that I put in my truck has not held up anywhere near as well as the OEM did after being on the road for over 10 years. I put OEM glass in my 13 and if I end up replacing the windshield again on the 08 at some point, I'll be doing OEM glass there also.