Wheel bearing

[CLAYTON]

My truck is at the dealership right now for my last couple bits of warranty work. They said that they are replacing my wheel bearing and that it was leaking. What is the wheel bearing? And how does that differ from the ball joints? Does usage of the truck wear down that bearing or is it something that should last longer?



Also while my truck is there I am hoping that they will replace my TC and have them check my injectors and make sure they are snugged down. We will see how laid back the service manager is. :-laf

 

[rbattelle]

Given the mods listed in your signature I'm quite surprised you don't know what wheel bearings are.



Wheel bearings (you have 4 of them) are what the spindles run on. They are roller type. The 4x4 trucks use an integral hub/bearing assembly in the front, which means the hub is bolted to the spindle, which is attached to the axle via the ball joints and the axle is inserted in the splined center of the hub. 2wd trucks don't need the hub assembly, so their front bearings simply run on the outside of the spindle. In the rear are "traditional" roller-type bearings with an outer race pressed into the axle tube and an inner race pressed onto the axle shaft.



A picture is worth a thousand words, but I don't have any good pics of the assemblies. Maybe someone else will explain it better than me...



-Ryan

 

[lcrawford]

front wheel bearings on a 2 wd and a 4wd are the same on 04. 5 trucks