My wheel bearings on the passenger front wheel are going bad. I hear a whop, whop, whop sound that gets faster when I speed up. At first I thought it was tire noise, but I got new tires and its still just as loud. I have a couple of questions.
I have a 2001 ZR2 4wd.

How difficult is it to change these? Im no mechanic, but I can change brake pads, rotors, alternator, stuff like that.

What causes wheel bearings to go bad?

What ill effects is this having on my Blazer by not changing them immediately?

And what could happen down the road if I dont fix it soon? worst case scenarios

Also on a different subject- does anyone have a long term fix for the squeaky hatch? I lube it up every now and then and it stays quiet for a couple of months. I was just wondering if anyone has solved this problem, because I know lots of people are plagued by it.

 

First:
This help link is not for your year, but pretty close to the same. Its easy enough to do just about any one with a few tools can do it.
https://blazerforum.com/m_56421/tm.htm

Second:
It's a sealed bearing. How you drive can be the biggest killer of these. I have seen avg. drivers not have to replace these til they hit 180k. Agressive drivers have to do these about every 30k. Weekend drivers go and never need to change them.

Third:
If you let it go too long, your wheel could fall off. And if this happens on a curve or highway (OUCH) is all I can say.

Worst case, you total your Blazer

Hatch issues try Liquid Wrench Silicon lube [light blue can](use the Liquid Wrench [Yellow can] Penitrating lube first then after about 1/2 hr to 1 hr then use the other). I did this to mine and have had no squeeks yet. Did the same on an Explorer that had the same issue and so far 1 yr and no squeeks. What happens is the protective coating for the hinges wears off. Then the pins in the hinges get rusted causing the noise. A general lube will be like a bandaid til you can get the rust from inside the hinges cleaned off. Same thing will happen with your Door HingePins, get some rust build up on them and your doors will drive you nuts when you open and close them.

 

you have unit bearings the hardest part will be getting the axle shaft loose if your truck is rusty dont flare the end but its not hard

 

I got some quotes from a couple shops here in town. The cheapest I could find was $360. I know buying the part at the auto parts store is $180 for the premium one. So I was gonna do this myself when my boss mentioned to me a guy who works for the city and has a discount at the aps. This guy replaced my wheel hub for $205. Thats cheaper than I couldve done it myself, because I woulda had to buy some tools. I watched him do it, and I think if it ever happens again, I could probly do it myself. Just need a good air compressor.

I had forgotten how much wind noise there is in my blazer. I havent heard it for about 6 months because of the wheel bearing noise. But now I enjoy the wind noise.

 

Odd, I do these without air (except for removing the tires). Saves on TOOL ware.
So it can be done without air, just faster and puts more ware on the sockets.

Happy you were able to find a discount to get it done.

 

I know you already got it replaced, but there'sa good deal on them at ZR2USA.com, $85 for the same ones that SummitRacing charges $155 for.

 

Bah I need one of those on my passenger side... the hub bearing is FINE but the ABS sensor inside of it is faulty and every time you hit the brakes the ABS kicks on, without fail. Its driving me insane. And its NOT cheap! [>:]

 

If you know somebody who's replaced their bearings lately and still has the old bearing... ask them for the wire off of their old bearing, you can change out just the wire.

I'm sure somebody on here has an old bearing kicking around and would be willing to help you out.

 

Funny you should mention it, as I just did mine. I have a '89 blazer S10. I'ts really not that hard to do:
1. Jack it up and put on stands
2. Remove tire
3. Remove your brake caliper, and hang it from a wire out of the way
4. There are 3 bolts that hold the hub assembly. I think they are # 18. Remove them.
5. I bought a gear puller, but did not use it. The left side came out very easy, and the right I used a large screwdriver to pry it out.

I asked two shops how much to do the job and was quoted $800. I bought the part from www.1aauto.comfor $49.95 each and did it myself.

No more whub-whub-whub

 

Oh... and I wrap a little electrical tape around the rear window latch and that stops the squeak.