Front end roar(drivers)

[1986ChrisK10]

So I have a drivers side wheel bearing going bad I believe. So my question, as I am SFA inexperienced. Is the roar coming from the end of the axle tube before the knuckle, or is it the knuckle end of the axle? Where the tire bolts to. My second question is, if I removed the auto locking hubs, can they be reinstalled with no issue? I wish to go to manuals in the future, but can't currently. The truck has sat for about 8/9 years, could it be that maybe they need some fresh grease?

As always, thanks for any and all help.

 

[crazy4offroad]

Usually when a bearing gets noisy, by the time you notice it, it's time to replace them. If you've never worked on a SFA truck you'll need snapring pliers and a special spanner nut socket that has 4 tabs on it to remove the spindle nut and locknut. The caliper is attached to the hub assembly and it all comes off in one piece. The bearings will be inside. You'll also want to replace the seals that go between the inner bearing and the axle stub shaft while you're at it. There's also a small bearing behind the seal, you won't really know if it's bad till you get it torn down and I've not seen one bad yet so I wouldn't worry much about it. As far as the auto hubs I have no answer, I've always worked with manual hubs but someone will chime in and let you know about that.

 

[1986ChrisK10]

Well just a quick update incase this ever comes up in a search for another person.

The Inner bearing race was pitted very bad on the very edge, but smooth every where else. Slapped it all back together and rolls like it was new.

Like dad always told us growing up, "you'll never know till you try"