I had to replace my hub assemble this weekend. Thought of you all and took a few pics. My wife thinks I am nuts for taking the pics, however I told her you guys would want to see them.

First stop, a quality hub assemble. This unit is made by Timken. IMHO Timken makes the best bearings. This unit costs $182 at my local Autozone. They carry less costly units if your interested. This unit also has a new ABS sensor and a new ABS wire with harness.



Break the lug nuts loose, unless you have air tools.
Jack the truck up and place a jack stand under it.
To test the bearings, wobble the tire back and forth and up and down. rotate it too. If your reading this, no doubt someone has told you you need to replace the hub assemble. SO I will skip the rest of the diagnostics.

Jack stands in place?
Take the tire off.



You will have to take the brake caliper off. GM uses both torx bits and regular bolts to hold the caliper on, make sure you have the right tool for the job. Also take the brake caliper bracket off and disconnect the ABS sensor wiring. I had to turn my steering wheel to gain access to the top brake caliper bracket bolt.



Use a 36mm socket and take the CV axle nut off. I took my time here. I sprayed the threads with PB Blaster, unscrewed it some, sprayed and screwed it back on. Sprayed some more and unscrewed it some more. I would spray on both sides of the nut to help clean all the rust off. You'll notice I still haven't removed the brakes yet.



Notice the washer behind the nut.


18mm wrench is what you need to remove the three bolts holding the hub assemble in place. I don't have a 18mm wrench so I used a socket with a wrench adapter. You could also use a 18mm wobble socket, however I don't have one of those either. Thought I did, but couldn't find it.


To gain extra leverage you can stack wrenches. Careful, you can bust some knuckles if they slip. Notice the wire holding my brake caliper in the air. Never let your calipers hang by the brake hose. Also notice the ABS sensor wire laying on the ground. I had to remove three bolts to get it free, and there is a quick pin on the bottom of the wiring harness that stubs into the frame to hold the connector in place behind the rubber splash shield.


Once the three bolts are out. Beat on the CV axle with a hammer to loosen it and drive it back some. PB Blaster sprayed on both sides helps break the rust bond between the hub and shaft. Now take a cold chisel and drive it between the hub assemble and the steering knuckle. It will pop the hub assemble out.


Hub assemble removed.


Mine has a rubber gasket around the hub assemble. I put it on the new unit, my thumb is on it in the pic. I fought with that thing and wish I would have left it off.



Installation is reverse of removal. Don't forget the dust shield.
That pretty well covers it.
Post up those questions.

A couple of members made some recommendations.
Use anti-seize on the CV axle splines where it mates with the hub assemble.
Use anti-seize on the 3 bolts holding the hub assemble to the steering knuckle.
Use anti-seize on the new lug studs.
Use some grease on the rubber o-ring to help it slide in place and then you won't fight with it like I did.
Use some dielectric grease on the ABS sensor harness, and make sure you disconnect the ABS wiring before you remove the hub. The ABS wiring shares the same bolts as the brake hose.
One last thing, spray the rotor and brake pads with Brake cleaner to remove any grease you may have gotten on them. Also make sure to grease up where the pads meet the caliper, and grease up the brake slide pins.

Torque specs vary by year. For the 98+, the hub to knuckle bolts are tightened to 77ftlbs and the axle nut is tightened to 103ftlbs. Axle nut torque is critical on the 4wd models so check your specific vehicle application for required torque value.

HOW-TO Article: 4WD Front Hub Replacement

 

Just to bump this back up. If any of you have the torque specs for the axle nut for other years, post up. I can look them up at some point, but I do not have a lot of time these days.

 

Hello. This posting was very useful and I successfully fitted a new front hub bearing to my 2000 4WD Blazer this afternoon. The large hub nut was a different size to the one stated, however. My hub nut was 35mm, not 36mm, so you might want to check you have the right socket before you start the job. Caught me out !

Cheers. Lee.

 

This is the first major repair I did on my 4wd 98 Blazer. The instructions here were very helpful. Had a problem getting one of the old hubs off though. After banging on it (heavy mallet and wood block) for an hour my father-in-law walks over and offers me his puller tool. Came right off. It's worth it to borrow/rent one from a shop if you don't have your own.

 

The following two pdf files are hub replacement instructions from the GM Shop Service Manual for a 2000 Chevrolet Blazer. I hope they are helpful. In addition, earlier this year, I purchased replacement assemblies including new ABS sensors directly from Dearborn Axle at a cost of $29.99 each. They also sell through ebay, ship direct to your door, and accept paypal. Here is a link to their homepage.
http://www.dearbornaxle.com/

 

great write up.

b1heqh54: with that dearbornaxle....long time customer?? any advice??
cant beat that deal.

thanks.

 

They were recommended to me earlier this year by an OE supplier of the hub assembly. I used to be a Drivetrain Manufacturing Engineer. Process development of hubs, spindles, transmission shafts, etc is what I did all over the world from forging and heat treatment right through to the assembly line. After the OE's are torn down and bathed they are MPI'd again to ensure they have not cracked in service. My reman's actually arrived with superior bearing packs to the OE's that we all know and love soooo much. They also do half shafts that you can't beat the pricing on.

 

i am sold.
i was looking at those half shafts too.
man could rebuild almost whole front end for that type of pricing.

thanks for the tip, consider them ordered.
my wallet thanks you.

 

You make a good point about doing the balljoints and tie rod ends while you're in there. Here's another good lead for you. I think I got upper and lower balljoints for around $40.
http://worldsuspension.com/

 

I had the inner CV boots replaced today & the upper ball joints. That means the hubs come off, torque was 103 ft/lbs on my '02 LS 4x4