what im getting at here is that i may have a front hub bearing going bad on the wife's '97. (has 185,000 miles) i have the hub bearings already out of the parts blazer, a '95 (with 198,000 when it was parked) according to the autozone parts lookup, both bearing assy's have the same part #. i know i should put new in, it does seem insane to put in older bearings that have even more miles on them then the one im replaceing, but if it will indeed interchange, it can get me by until income tax time and then i can afford to put new no-milage bearings in. there is a difference in axles between the 2 S-blazers. the older '95 has the flanged c.v. shafts (and 3.73 ratio) used a nut with a washer to tighten shaft to hub, had a retainer over it that a cotter key would go through. the '97 has a nut with a flange on it, no cotter key, appears to be a "self-locking" nut. i havent noticed what my wifes been talking about with her truck, says theres a noise from the l.f. corner thats wheel-speed related. she drives it every day, i drive it once in a while on a weekend, so im not very familer with any changes that happen. given the age & milage, hub bearings seem suspect. as far as i know the " '95 " bearings are o.k., wouldnt take much to swap one out and see if the noise dissapears. id just hate to take it apart and it not be a interchangeable part.

 

AS far as the bearings being interchangeable, a side by side comparision would be the best to do...make sure they are the same dimensions.

There is a vendor on ebay...detroit axle that sell bearings for $50. These are from China and they tell me they have been selling these for quite some time and have good results. Something to consider.

Also if the bearing is going bad, you should be able to feel / hear this when turning it by hand with the axle disconnected. Just to be sure it is the bearing and not a brake pad draging causing the noise.

Good luck.

 

I always check more than one source.

Go to Rockauto{}com. Their lookup is about as different as you can get.. plus you can click on the PN and see the different model applications

That's the funny thing about bearings.. they havent managed YET to fine tune them to last only n miles.
The only thing is that 'likelihood of wearout' increases with mileage.

On the one you have out, if there's any side-side slop at all, no point in putting them on.

If someone buys $40 bearings, puts them on and they last a year/15,000.. you think they're going to complain to an ebay seller?

I just bought skf hub. $129 but well worth it to VERY likely never replace it again.

 

if i do buy new i'll defintly go with a 3 year warranty timkin over a cash & carry china with no warranty even if its 30 bucks more. the bearings from the old blazer still seem qutie good to me, its just that you cant tell by looking at them how much more life is in them, with a known odometer reading of 190,000+ miles it just seems wierd to consider it. someone at work told me they had dragging brakes when their hub bearing went bad. guess i'll jack up a corner and seee if i feel any unusual play in things.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YE8M84

12 month warranty and only 30 bucks. With them being that cheap, I wouldn't even bother considering using a used part personally.

Pettyfrog, as far as the Detroit ones, there is a thread here with people talking about them too. Warthogdriver replaced his a year ago and had one go bad already, but the customer service was excellent. Not a bad way to go.