Uh Ohh... Rear wheel bearings replacement

[PatDTN]

Having gone through this on my 2009 tahoe I used a deep 1/2" drive socket to push one of those in. Got it all together and the new bearing failed in short order. I was going to go after it again but my wife was trying to sell Aflac to a shop and convinced me to use them. The root of my problems was that the axle shaft was worn where the bearing rode. I remember from a failed bearing on my '84 Suburban that I bought a "green" bearing that moved the bearing off that spot. I don't know if the whole tone ring thing would have worked out but it was a moot point when I got it back from the shop.

I asked them about putting the tone ring in and I was miles ahead of them.

 

[swathdiver]

My Timken seals and bearings arrived today. The bearings however are stamped Koyo.
Should I be concerned?
Doing a brief search it looks like Koyo are good bearings, but it surprised me. The bearings came in a Timken box...

Not at all. when we do the bearings in the differential, we like to use what was already there, Koyo or Timken so we don't have to measure all over again. Use them without reservations.

 

[truckguy]

Thank you!

 

[TollKeeper]

Having gone through this on my 2009 tahoe I used a deep 1/2" drive socket to push one of those in. Got it all together and the new bearing failed in short order. I was going to go after it again but my wife was trying to sell Aflac to a shop and convinced me to use them. The root of my problems was that the axle shaft was worn where the bearing rode. I remember from a failed bearing on my '84 Suburban that I bought a "green" bearing that moved the bearing off that spot. I don't know if the whole tone ring thing would have worked out but it was a moot point when I got it back from the shop.

I asked them about putting the tone ring in and I was miles ahead of them.

Thats called an axle saver.. Yeap, used those on my old 81 Cadi DeVille with a big block... man I miss that ride.

I dont recommend these guys. Just for reference.. Seal and bearing all in one, and relocates the bearing so its out of the groove.

Driver & Passenger Side Axle Shaft Repair Bearing 2 Piece Set TRQ ASA70001

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[2006Tahoe2WD]

Aren't the axles the inner races? Is it normally okay to just replace the bearings and reinstall the old axles? This assumes the axles show no signs of wear.

Okay - mentioned above re. axle savers. Sounds like axle savers are iffy.

 

[Rocket Man]

Aren't the axles the inner races? Is it normally okay to just replace the bearings and reinstall the old axles? This assumes the axles show no signs of wear.

Okay - mentioned above re. axle savers. Sounds like axle savers are iffy.

Yes. I’ve never seen the axles worn at the bearings , maybe with 300-400k miles it might be an issue.

 

[2006Tahoe2WD]

I've heard that the tone rings are often damaged when changing out the bearings/axles.

 

[2006Tahoe2WD]

FYI my axles are worn at 175k miles. The noise is getting very slightly louder as time goes on. I'm getting gear whine also. At some point I'm going to have to pull the tirgger.

 

[Rocket Man]

FYI my axles are worn at 175k miles. The noise is getting very slightly louder as time goes on. I'm getting gear whine also. At some point I'm going to have to pull the tirgger.

Interesting. Did you maintain the differential with regular fluid changes? Fluid level in the differential is important also. I changed the bearings on my 02 at 160k as preventative maintenance and both the bearings as well as axles looked brand new still. I even opened up the bearings and inspected all the rollers and everything was still like new. No scoring or wear of any kind on the axles themselves either.

What noise are you referring to? If you hear gear whine I don’t see how you could hear bearing noise. Have you replaced the bearings? And do you have pics of the worn axles?

 

[2006Tahoe2WD]

FWIW - as it was explained to me - when the axle (inner race) wears the axle can move up/down/etc. and it wears out the seal. Then you start getting oil near the brake lining. I have this happening on my right side and so far it is not causing issues with braking or dripping.