Wheel Bearing Brand Recommendations and Shocks

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treehan77

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...so yeah...either spend a lot of money on replacement shocks or you have to get shocks and springs I believe. There's lots of info on here about getting 5100 bilsteins and z71 springs (I think that seems to be the preferred setup, I've not done this myself so I will let others confirm)
 
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yargnits

yargnits

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...so yeah...either spend a lot of money on replacement shocks or you have to get shocks and springs I believe. There's lots of info on here about getting 5100 bilsteins and z71 springs (I think that seems to be the preferred setup, I've not done this myself so I will let others confirm)

Oh, What I meant was the code you cited was correct. I haven't looked at my RPO sticker yet. I'll guess I don't have it but will check to be sure.
 

Kenyken

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I used a Timken wheel hub and it has been fine for a year thus far.
 
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yargnits

yargnits

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I think my bearing is physically okay and only the sensor is bad. Question is, how can I tell which one it is? When the traction control kicks in upon pulling away from a stop I can't really feel which side it thinks is slipping. A simple solution would be to replace both bearings, but I'm not into wasting $$.
 

04escalade

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I think my bearing is physically okay and only the sensor is bad. Question is, how can I tell which one it is? When the traction control kicks in upon pulling away from a stop I can't really feel which side it thinks is slipping. A simple solution would be to replace both bearings, but I'm not into wasting $$.
Yargnits,
I have similar issues with my 04 Escalade with abs and traction control lights on and occasional traction control kicking on. Did you find out if you can replace only the abs sensors or should do entire hub assembly on both front wheels? I'm at the point where I need to do something soon. Thanks for any guidance.
 
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yargnits

yargnits

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Hey 04escalade,

The only thing I can offer is a little knowledge I've gleaned, without actually fixing my truck yet. There's 2 parts to the sensor's function and if your issue is the pickup portion of the sensor then you can get away without replacing the hub. You'll just need to buy the sensor. The problem is sometimes is a corrosion of the hub portion itself and the only way to fix that is the replacement of the whole hub. Since the hub comes with the sensor you'll have thrown away money if just replacing sensor doesn't fix your problem. Since my issue is intermittent (about 10% of the time) I think mine is a corrosion or dirt issue. I've read that you might have success taking things apart and cleaning them to make the sensor work better. I'll do when I get some time but for now it's not an issue as I have a "summer" car and can afford waiting until warmer weather.

Lastly, you can disable your traction control each time you start your truck and avoid the error. This can make the issue a bit more livable until you get a chance to investigate. Please report back and let the board know what you found.

Good luck!
 

01ssreda4

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You need an abs scanner to know anything about abs stuff.
 
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yargnits

yargnits

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I finally dug into this problem last week and wanted to post my results. Somewhere (I thought here) I read that rust would push the sensor up just enough to cause a weak signal (voltage) to the computer. Most of the people that had this issue reported that the ABS was kicking in as they came to a stop, which was the opposite of what was happening to me. Regardless, some people with my issue said the fix worked for them too, so I gave it a try.

The goal was to remove the wheel, calipers, caliper bracket and rotor. Then remove the sensor. Clean the rust from the hub where the sensor mounts, hit with some paint and put it all back together. I didn't see a lot of rust when I removed my sensor but cleaned it up anyway. I also cleaned the sensor which had a little "crust" on it and bearing grease on the tip. I did this to both sides. The wheel bearing grease on the passenger side didn't look as good as the drivers side, but neither wheel had movement when I pulled at 12 and 6 before the work started.

It's been a little over a week and the problem as not returned. My thought on what happening: When there is rust buildup between the sensor and the "teeth" that pass near it, the voltage is low enough that it thinks the wheel has stopped (when it hasn't) and the ABS kicks in. In my case, I think there might be some metal contamination of the grease, which when built up on the end of the sensor will cause voltage to be too high. This will cause the computer to think the wheel is spinning and kick in the traction control.

So, what I'm saying is: if you have issues with ABS or traction control and suspect the wheel speed sensor, I recommend simply cleaning the sensor up before replacing it. My repair was free, although if it was metal bits in the grease it means I might have to do it again or my wheel bearing might not be long for this word.
 

retiredsparky

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Dave, good logical analysis. That is exactly what happens. When the wheel bearing wears over time, small bits of steel contaminate the grease, which causes erratic sensor readings confusing the ABS system. The fix you did works for a while until more contaminated grease gets on the sensor. Even though the bearing isn't bad, if it becomes a pissing contest between you and the ABS, the only solution is to replace the hubs.Your results will vary!


Larry
 

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