if you get on a straight road and sway back and forth and the growls comes and goes then yea its a wheel bearing

theres an old tale that its the opposite of the way you turn (the wheel with most load) but it depends on the type of bearing and has burned everyone in our shop including me

 

i found problem with howling noise. it was carrier bearing on the left side. reason i know is that i finally failed. i have quite a mess to fix now. thanks again to everyone for imput on problem.
hunterjo

 

Is it this bad of a mess?
https://chevroletforum.com/forum/sil...own-hwy-34676/

 

as of about 2 hours ago it is a mess. as far as i can tell the ring and pinon show some non wear marks,(the 2 gears were not totally engaged all the way before my wife stopped tiring to move it )nothing left of left carrier bearing, spider gears show damage. now my problem is do i try to rebuild this one or get one out of junk yard. if i rebuild i need to learn how to do it.
hunterjo

 

Sure sounds like wheel bearing(s). I had the front left replaced about a year ago on my 2001 Suburban. Problem solved although I will keep listening for the other side. When I first heard the noise I was quite concerned having seen the mess a failed wheel bearing can do when things let go. Seems like newer cars have a better design than my 1963 Pontiac. In any event the investment is small compared to the possible damage if it fails altogether. On a related matter I do get a slight diff (not sure if it is front or center) whine at about 50 mph with the Auto 4WD engaged. This has happened since new. I have decided (after 11.5 years) that it is normal.

 

i replaced ring & pinion and spider gears and yoke. also put in all new seals. i left pinion preload at 15# torque. (i know this is on the low side) set up back lash to .005 and got my gear mess to where i thought it should be. i did a little research on it and hope it is right. the question i have is that i have a slight wine when i am coasting it is from 60 & 40 mph. it sounds great other wise. i know have 250 miles on rebuild. i do not remember that wine in the first 10 or miles. does any one think it may just need time to wear in.
hunterjo

 

You will have a little whine after a rebuild like that until the gears get worn in. I wouldn't be too worrie about it unless it gets worse or changes with load on the driveline when you accel and decel.

 

Hello all,

I apologize for resurrecting an old thread, however, I have a 2001 Suburban 1500 4x2 that does in fact have a blown/worn/or otherwise dead front wheel bearing. I am trying to get the hub assembly out of the truck but am unable to. I rented a slide hammer puller, however the claws weren't wide enough to go around the hub, can anyone offer advice as to how to get the hub assembly out?

Thanks!

MedicSean