2005 Jimmy Rear Bearings
 

I have a 2005 Jimmy (re-incarnated for the Canadian market only) and the same as the 2001 Jimmy, I understand, that I think needs the left rear wheel bearing replaced.

I've taken off the wheel, rotor, caliper and caliper bracket. Then I also took off the four bolts behind the rotor holding the plates together (don't what they're called). Where do I go from here? Do I need to get the emergency brake gear off? Where is the bearing exactly?
:icon_hyper:

TIA,

quickcurrent

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cst/images/0150.jpg

It's #25. You need to open up the differential cover (which will lead to draining the fluid), pull the c-clips out (highly recommend a mechanic's magnet), pull the axle out, pull the oil seal out, pull the bearing out (slide hammer is best).

Reassemble in reverse order.

While you have you the differential open you might as well do the other side as well. Scrape the differential housing clean of gasket material, new gasket, new differential cover if yours is rusted. Fill the differential back up with fluid through the fill plug on the passenger's side. I recommend synthetic gear oil (Royal Purple or Mobil 1).

I'll have to double check the torque specs on the differential cover, but tightening them without going crazy should be fine.

It sounds a lot more complicated and harder than it really is. Shouldn't take you more than an afternoon.

To add to the previous post, you need to remove the pinion shaft lock screw & the pinion shaft (10 & 7 on the diagram), so you can push the axles toward the center, to get the C-clips (they should fall right out).

I'd highly recommend putting a layer of red Loctite on the pinion shaft lock screw when you put it back in. That's a part you do NOT want coming loose.

Well, it does look very complicated. The noise i have could be coming from any of those bearings! Should I replace the pinion bearings as well?

And, I noticed this is for Jimmy models 83-94. Is the 2001 (2005) model still the same design?

Thanks

I don't see too much different from my 2000, should be the same internally. The only difference between generations within the same size is the number of splines on the axles, which doesn't concern you for this job.

2nd Gen's have 28 splines, and 1st Gen's up to '88 I think have 26 splines. But again this doesn't pertain to your situation.

Pinion bearings are a little tougher and IIRC the whole carrier has to come out to access them. This is a job you definitely want to reserve for a garage as it requires setting backlash and pinion depth, etc. Unless you are VERY particular and mark EXACTLY how many turns it takes to get the pinion out.

Wheel bearings go out more frequently than pinion bearings. I would start there. Unless you want to take it to a garage and have them diagnose it first, then you can fix it yourself if you so please.

It's honestly not as complicated as it looks. If you can change brake pads/oil/etc. you should be fine with this.

You will need to know if you have a 7.625/7.5" rear or 8.5" rear for the differential cover and gasket. Most likely you have the former unless you have a ZR2.

I usually do my brake pads, rotors, sliders, calipers, cylinders, change oil, also starter motors, and other DIY jobs mostly out of necessity because it seems that every time I take a vehicle to a garage they mess up the job. A couple of years ago I took this Jimmy to a garage to have the brakes fixed because it was in the middle of winter. They replaced all four rotors and pads and supposedly serviced my sliders for which they explicitly charged $79.99. When the noises started I checked the brakes and found three sliders on the back wheels totally seized. I had to soak one in oil for a whole week to get it to budge! Then I cleaned them all and re-lubed them and thought the noises were gone. But now I have these remaining noises which I believe are generated from the bearings. The vehicle has less than 40,000 miles on it! I've only ever replaced one wheel bearing on another car (also a GM) but it was a wheel assembly at a front wheel and that one had about 90,000 miles on it. The bearings on all my other vehicles lasted as long as the cars.

None of my other 4 family members like to help working on any car, so I tend to do things on my cars that I can do on my own. This one looks like a tough one and when I try something for the first time, it seems like Murphy's law is always at work. So I am thinking of taking the Jimmy to a garage to at least get a quote and see what the damage is going to be, ouch! Reading through the Haynes Repair Manual about this topic doesn't make me feel any more comfortable tackling it. Neither does that scary diagram above. I know that it may be simpler than it appears, but all things considered, including that it seems that I'll need a slide hammer and a bearing puller, which I don't have, assistance from a helper, etc. etc. makes me want to wash my hands of it, but I haven't made the final decision. That comes when I get a quote.

Thanks for the help.

Just an update on my situation for those that may be following it.

I took the Jimmy down to the garage for an assessment. The auto tech and myself took it for a test drive. When put into neutral while driving the noises would go away for me (pointing to a drive train part), but they continued once for him during his test drive! He thought the noise was coming from the left rear wheel when he listened out the driver's window. I said to him that if I listened out my window it sounded like it was coming from the right wheel so I thought it must be coming from the center - the drive train. He then thought it was a universal joint judging by the noises he'd heard from other vehicle u-joints. I've never had a u-joint replaced before so I am glad I took it to him. They then took the u-joint immediately in front of the differential apart and it was quite loose. Once replaced (nearly $200), the noises all seem to have disappeared, at least for now.

These noises can sometimes be very tricky to diagnose, particularly for someone like myself, who's had limited experience (my dozen or so vehicles only) with auto repairs. So it was bearings making the noises, only not the bearings I thought. It was the little suckers inside the u-joint!

I hope this helps someone.

quickcurrent

Well, it looks like if it wasn't for bad luck I would have no luck at all!

The grinding/scratching noise is back. When I make a left turn the noise either stops or diminishes, when I make a right turn it seems to get worse. This indicates to me that I still need to do the axle shaft bearings and that the left bearing is more worn than the right. Either that or it's the u-joint in front of the one that has already been replaced. Am I right in my assessment?

Given that the labor cost of replacing the u-joint was more than triple the cost of the part and the bearings are likely to be even more costly for labor and less for parts, I am going to attempt to do them myself. The parts supplier will lend me the slide hammer and bearing puller, so it makes sense to try to do it myself.

You certain this is coming from the back? Front bearings are common on these trucks and turning has the effect you describe. Which way you turn would have no impact on a u-joint so you're right about bearings.

I'm only certain of death and taxes, lol. But thanks for your response. Glad you also think it's some bearings. Initially the noises seemed to be of more than one type so I think the u-joint was part of the problem, especially since it was loose.

The sounds seem to be coming from the rear end, to me, to my family members when they hear them, and to the auto tech that replaced the u-joint. So yes, I think it's the problem is in the back end, but sometimes these noises can be deceiving. I have to go with what appears to be the problem and try to nip it in the bud one step at a time. Heck, even the auto tech guys (two were looking at it) weren't positive what the problem component(s) were - one down and more to go, I guess.