Hello all,
I have been absent from the forum for several years but I have a new (old) Blazer so I am back. Here is my current problem: the brakes were bad so I replaced the rotors with used ones that were in good shape. I have the 2WD model 1996 LS so the rotor and hub are one piece. I put new bearings in when I did the job but I am getting a lot of noise now. I suspect that the new bearings are not meshing up right with the slightly worn built-in races. I have the old bearings but they are not divided up by side. Will the new bearings correctly mate with the old races given time? Should I put the old bearings back in the hub? If so, is there any way to bench test to see if they match the side right? Thanks.

 

you should always replace the two together. alot of times the old races get realllly small pit marks on them but they will make a heck of a noise with all the weight of the truck on them. i used to never change then when i was younger but they really are pretty easy to change as you can just hammer them out with a screwdriver.

the old bearings may have been broken in over the pitmarks. so either change the races with the new bearingss (though the new bearings may be screwd up now due to running on the old races) or put the old bearings back in if they dont look too bad

 

Unfortunately, the hub, races, and rotor are all one piece on by blazer (awesome design right). I do not want to drop $300 on rotors for my $500 car so I went with used ones. I am wondering if the new bearings will eventually break into the old races. If not, I will put the old bearings back in since they match those races.

 

You are mistaken about the races. They are most definitely not part of the hub/rotor.

 

You are correct. I bring things to the attention of the forum because I am, down to the very core of my being, and idiot. Now I can get this thing back on the road and tend the the rest of the broken cars in my life. Thank you very much.