On my 2003 Blazer, I am trying to verify which front wheel hub is bad. I suspect the passenger side front so I jacked up the right side/pass. side/ and tried to spin the tire with my hands. It was hard to spin it with both hands. It's as though the caliper is sticking. How does it feel to spin the front wheel with the 4WD button in 'two wheel drive' ? Shouldn't the gear lever be in Park or Neutral ? It doesn't seem it should be that difficult to spin. Maybe that explains why I am only getting 17 mpg. Any suggestions on how to find the bad bearing?

 

I am new to 4WD. I know if I had jacked up the front of a RWD vehicle, I could easily spin the front wheel. What would cause this 4WD Blazer to be hard to turn other than a frozen brake caliper? Is this a common sign of a bad 'wheel hub bearing'? Here's the great 1A Auto DIY video for this project. It is a 35 MM socket for the big nut.

 

2003 Chevy Blazer S10 4WD Front Wheel Bearing & Hub Assembly Pair (Timken) at 1A Auto.com


This is the 1A Auto video on how to replace the 4WD front wheel bearing and hub assembly.

 

In my post no. 1 above , I had jacked up the passenger side and spun the wheel. Very hard! Yesterday I jacked up the driver's side and spun the wheel to see if it was free spinning or hard to spin. It is just as hard to spin as the other side. Does this mean something is wrong with my transfer case or something else in the 4WD system? How do you test the SUV for a bad bearing? It is 260.00 for two Timkin bearings with ABS harness and quite a job to do without an air wrench. When driving over 40 mph, the front end roars.

 

Not an expert but try this: jack-up front end (both front wheels off ground) and then spin one of the tires and watch to see if the front driveshaft turns. If it does then the vehicle is in 4WD. Or if the both front wheels turn, then the front diff is locked.

I think anyways

 

Did you put the truck on neutral if it's stuck on 4x4? Also truck should be in neutral to switch from or to 4x4 from 2x4. Park work when it's to switch to 2 or 4 hi only( something like that) now please make sure ur e brake works and it's applied when lifting the one side, and last but not least even tho they're expensive just like brakes and rotors always replace in pairs. As they hold the same load and wear.... Keep us posted

 

Ricco, I did put the auto trans shifter in 'neutral'. My 4WD selector only has 2 Hi, 4 Hi, and 4 Low. I think some 4WD selectors may have a 'neutral' position, but my 2003 doesn't.
I haven't tried the 'both front wheels' off the ground yet. I will let you know what happens when I do.

 

For this test, I just had both front wheels off the ground, auto trans in neutral, E brake on firmly and I went to each wheel in turn. When I spun it, the drive shaft for that wheel did turn. The opposite wheel did not turn. When I went to the other wheel and spun it, it's associated driveshaft turned, but the opposite side wheel did not turn.
Does this mean the transfer case is stuck in 4WD? Does that explain a loud roar on the highway when driving over 40 MPH?

 

Not really I believe ( not an expert) but if only one spins at a time ur 4x4 is disengaged that's all else it can also make ur opposite wheel spin backwards to the one ur rotating. The "roar" most likely is ur hubs, and every time I do work on cars I replace it in pairs. Sometimes stuck or badly worn brakes could do that but most of the times is ur bearings shut.... Before u get replacement make sure the fit, like 4x4 and with or without abs as it matters

 

It means that your front axle is staying locked in just like mine was. If yours is a NP236 (4 button) and appears to be going into 2WD (steady light) then check out my thread.

https://blazerforum.com/forum/2nd-ge...estions-90538/