Shocks, idler arm, ball joints are all new. Tie rods and pitman arm are all tight at the last inspection. Alignment was done after the idler arm (few months ago).

 

Alright I made an appointment for this week to get both wheel bearings inspected and replaced if necessary.

 

I just had my front driver side wheel bearing/hub assembly replaced. The part was $205 and labor $90. Local independent mechanic. I have an 02 2wd. 75k miles. Let us know how it goes...

 

Easy for you to say. Mine is a 4WD and the wheel hub also has the ABS sensor.

 

That part, American made, is available from amazon.com (Timken 513124) for $92.51 plus shipping. I bought one last month for the left side, should have ordered two because the right side's going out now...

EDIT: guess what, I got curious and looked it up. The 2WD part is $145.83. It's actually costing you less for the 4WD one.
They also have no-name ones for about $50 less, but I've been warned off those. Might save you some $$ in the short run, but when you have to put in another one 3 months later you'll regret it, or so my mechanic informed me yesterday.

 

If you replace them yourself, make sure that you torque them to the proper torque (I'm not sure what it is off the top of my head) over or undertorquing will cause premature failure.

Larry

 

The wheel bearing/hub assembly also connects into the abs on my model/year as well. And yes, as my mechanic informed me the 2wd drive part does cost more than the 4wd. Like most mechanics, he does not get his parts from autozone or the like. I think he gets them from carsource or napa. He said they are easier to deal with for warranty issues.

I had also called pep boys, they wanted 131.99 for the part and over 90.00 in labor. I have used my local mechanic before though and trust him.

 

They are both definately bad. Driver side has alot of play. Passenger side is making noise, but no play. Getting them replaced in a couple days.

Do you guys advise NOT using the 4WD until the bearings are replaced? Will it cause problems? We have snow coming and I may have to drive in it.

 

It won't damage things any more than driving in 2wd. It's the driving that could cause problems if they are really bad.

 

any update? What did your mechanic find, charge?