Rear bearings

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Speck

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Anyone on here have to replace their rear bearings yet? I'm at 109k miles and she is squealing like a banshee at low and freeway speeds.

Mine is an 08 Denali and I am curious if anyone has suggestions on brand to go with? For front, I will be using Timken hub bearings, but I can't find any info on if the rears are the same or standard axle bearings?

Thank you for any info, suggestions, and help.

Joe
 

mizzouguy

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It uses standard axle bearings/seals. Will need to know which ring gear you have when you order the parts. I'd do both sides (bearings/seals/diff cover gasket/fluid. That should be all you need I believe.
I've used national seals and bca bearings with good luck. Felpro for rear diff and pick your poison on the fluid :)
 

Jason_S

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I'm not usually a brand loyal kind of guy, but for some reason I have this thing about always buying Timken bearings. That Autozone is a distributor, only supports this sillyness. Also a fan of national seals, but I have been known to run whatever will get the vehicle back on the road the fastest.

As was mentioned, If your bearings are bad, so are your seals. I would hazard a guess, that for your bearings to actually be bad at 110K, the seals are bad and the axle is low on fluid. Be careful though, the axles wear also and depending on how long the bearing has been bad, may also need replaced. Good condition used axles can be found for much less than new, if that is the case.

If you are just doing the outer seals and bearings, you can easily do it in a weekend, and probably only a day in most cases, with a slide hammer and the three jaw puller attachment. There are other ways to remove the outer race, the fastest and easiest is to just rent the slide hammer set from the parts store.

EDIT: Is it possible that you just need brakes? Squealing is not a sound normally associated with bad wheel bearings. However brake pads have a little metal finger that is designed to give you a metallic sounding squeal when your pads get worn. Oddly, they are referred to as squealers.

EDIT again (trying to avoid a double post): Two more things. A roaring noise is more typically used to describe the noise from bad wheel bearings. Ever had a tool or toy with a "rough" bearing or two? That noise amplified, is what a bad wheel bearing typically sounds like.

Also, I am not saying that your front hub bearings aren't due for replacement, but if they aren't loose (you cant rock the wheel in any direction when it is off of the ground), then replacing them is almost wasted money. There is also a trick for greasing them that supposedly helps them last even longer.
 
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Speck

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Thank you both for the great information. Since I do not have the tools to complete the job, I had a friend help out. I had both rear bearings replaced, axle seals replaced, new gear oil, front differential seals replaced (they were leaking as well) and the rear rotors turned and pads cleaned up. He advised that the rear bearings were worn and needed to be replaced and that I did have leaks on both axles, but thankfully they were either recent or minor as there was still good fluid in both axles front and back. So I'm thinking I got lucky in getting this fixed early on.

Joe
 
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Speck

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Good that you found someone to help out to get it fixed, nice looking ride.
David g.....................:)

Thank you David! It will look even better once I'm able to get 'er lowered! I'm hoping to get that done at some point this year, but with a toddler and trying to get into a new house, it may wait until after that. Gotta keep the wife happy... ;)

Joe
 

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