For U Solution

The Chevrolet Silverado is one of the best selling trucks of all time. It is rugged, reliable and available with four-wheel drive. However, the front hub assembly must be serviced or replaced occasionally, due to wear and tear. When this happens, the hub nut, which connects the axle shaft to the hub assembly, must be tightened to the right torque setting. If it is not tightened enough, it will loosen and cause an unsafe condition in the front end. On the other hand, over tightening can strip the threads, leading to a costly repair. It also subjects the bearings to unnecessary heat and wear.

Clean the Parts

The underside of a car may be covered with dirt, oil, grime, snow or ice. Clean the parts thoroughly with brake cleaner or degreaser before disassembling or re-assembling any of your cars suspension components.

Determine Torque Setting

The hub nut for a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado is 155 foot-pounds, or 210 Newton-meters.

Use the Proper Tools

Always use the proper sockets, wrenches and torque wrenches. Ill-fitting sockets will strip bolt heads. Tighten the hub nut with a 35 mm socket. A dab of medium-strength thread locker, such as blue Loctite, will prevent the nut from loosening.

Test Drive

When the hub, brakes and wheels are assembled, check for looseness and excessive play. Test drive the truck and verify that the four-wheel drive and ABS systems work.

Hub bearings are an important part of a 1998 Dodge Stratus as they play a large role in the steering of the vehicle. If you hear a grinding noise coming from any of the wheels on your vehicle, you should look to replace the bearings immediately. The process is simple and can be carried out from your garage.

Instructions

1

Engage the parking brake on the 1998 Dodge Stratus. Raise the vehicle with the car jack. Support the jack with the car stands.

2

Loosen and remove the lug nuts on the wheel with the socket wrench. Lift the wheel from the vehicle and place it in a secure area.

3

Remove the safety bolts attaching the brake calipers to the brake casing with a wrench. Caully remove the inner and outer bearings, marking their previous positions.

4

Insert the new bearings into the hub. Align them correctly in position of the old bearings before inserting them. Use the old bearings or a wooden mallet to caully fix the bearings into place.

5

Reattach the brake caliper to the brake casing. Secure the wheel back into place, fastening the lug nut with the socket wrench. Repeat the process on all four wheels. Test the Stratus on a quiet road to ensure that the bearings are fitted correctly.

Faulty front hub bearings can cause a number of symptoms, such as grinding, whirring, humming, shaking and excessive vibrations. These symptoms are usually most audible when turning a corner. The excess heat, friction and weight from the vehicle components cause the bearings to degrade slowly over time, causing an increase in play and looseness in the bearing unit. Because the front hub bearing bearings sustain the weight of the engine and transmission, their condition can worsen quickly creating a serious safety concern.

Instructions

1

Raise the front of the vehicle with a jack and lower it down onto two jack stands. Check to make sure that the vehicle is firmly supported. Place two wheel chocks behind the rear wheels and set the parking brake.

2

Rotate the tire in both directions and listen for any grinding or roughness. A faulty bearing will sound rough and feel gritty while youre turning the tire. The tire should spin freely and smoothly; if it rattles or grinds while spinning then the wheel bearing is faulty.

3

Grip the wheel with two hands, one on top of the wheel and one on the bottom. Rock the tire in and out while feeling for looseness. The tire should be firm and fixed in place; you should not be able to wiggle it all. Any slop or looseness from top-to-bottom indicates a bad wheel bearing.

4

Lower the vehicle back to the ground and remove the wheel chocks. Drive to an empty street or highway for testing.

5

Accelerate to 40 MPH and make an abrupt lane change to the left while listening for bearing noise. Accelerate back to 40 MPH and make an abrupt lane change to the right while listening for bearing noise. If the bearing noise increases when turning to the left, then the right side hub bearing is faulty. If the bearing noise increases when turning to the right, then the left side hub bearing is faulty. This is because turning to one side increase the load on the bearing of the opposite side when the weight transfers, exaggerating the bearing symptoms.