Chevy / GMC Front Wheel Bearing / Hub Assembly 

You mentioned people who never see rust, I am not far from exit 1 on the NJ turnpike, I see rust, but not as bad as yours. But I had an idea once for a reality TV show. Take mechanics from Texas, Arizona, California, and other areas with little to no rust; and have them trade places with guys from Upstate New York, Ontario, Wisconsin, Michigan, and other serious rust belt areas and watch their reactions to doing simple jobs on practically brand new cars. And obviously, watch the joy on the rust belt guy's faces doing jobs down there lol. I had this idea after a simple 4 wheel pads and rotors job on an 06 Nissan Altima turned into a night of sheer hell.

Eric is the best mechanic I know on RU-vid. Thank you for sharing all your automotive skills with us.

You probably don't realize it but you provide so much insight to repairs by not over editing your videos to only contain steps of repair. You do a great job showing how to use tools, solvents, grease, cleaners, etc. You always show problems you run into in the real world of repairs (and how to adapt and overcome). Thanks again Eric for teaching us DIYers how to save money and fix it ourselves.

You are a patient mechanic,working on cars ALWAYS dresses me out and I ALWAYS find myself goin crazy and spending more money on more broken parts, I give ALOT of props and give ALOT of credit to good mechanics

I'm in Kansas City, Missouri. Used to complain about rust on my vehicles until I watched your videos! We've got it pretty good here. In all seriousness, I learn something from every video. Really appreciate your attitude, attention to detail, and technical knowledge. Thank you, Eric!

Just my little Saturday afternoon diversion, watching SMA. Very enjoyable seeing someone as practiced at his craft work through the unexpected.

Whenever I have a bad day wrenching I look at your rusty dealings and feel better

Eric, THANK YOU for taking the time to make these videos. Although I no longer have the health to do my own work on my vehicles, I really enjoy watching and learning.>>>Not only are you an excellent mechanic, you are an excellent teacher, and I really appreciate the fact that you let your viewers know what specialized tools that you use for the different applications, and what products or lubricants that you use for certain applications

I know it sucks for you when a job doesn't go smoothly, but it's great for us when we get to see how you deal with what it's throwing at you.

It cracks me up when you talk about 80"s cars being old, I'm so old all my first cars had drum brakes on the front as well as the back. Ask your dad! Lol

Bored in retirement I took on an, owner / operator divery job. Amazon packages. Started with my 01 Dodge diesel 2500. Put a barn door topper on it. Got a 12 Transit Connect next for non winter. Found a Toyota Siena AWD, 05 to use instead of the diesel. Be a backyard mech for 40+ years. Your channel, And Ray's have taught me so much that I can identife the on coming problem, get the parts, and tools and be back on the road. Thanks to you guy's. BTW. The bolt jacking for bearing removal works great. I have Big Nasties little sister and your torches even litteler sister. Great stuff. Thanks.

Watching this 6 1/2 year old video, it's nice to see how you do things. A good, complete job, with thoughts of what the next person will see when it gets taken apart again. Nice tips and tricks along the way as well. I do all my own work and have many of your tips locked in my brain safe. And I have a box of junky sockets which I'm not bashful to smack on.

Watched this video, decided to do my front wheel bearing on a 2013 GMC Sierra. With only hand tools took all of an hour to remove both sides. Used a 3/4” chisel to pop off the caps easily. Hub bolts came out no issues and the wheel bearing fell out on its own, no pulling or hammering, good to live in the South👍😁 Locally at Napa one hub costs $179, same online got both for $131. No rust on brakes, rotors look good even wear, will only replace pads. Keep up the great videos, this one sard me $700

Eric: Thanks from all of us that still might turn a wrench now and then. Your videos have shown me which projects I can & which projects I can't do in my garage. They also show me which projects I need to leave to the pros. You help people save money, but I would any price you asked to get my car repaired at your shop. At least I know I would get the job done right the first time, pay one price, and be finished.

i just watched 3 videos about hub bearing assembly change because i gotta do this tomorrow on my 2007 Avalanche. You are the best by far...probably because you are the only real machanic :) now i feel confident to do this job myself...seems to be a quite easy part exchange make sure the axle is not pulled out and torque to spec...Thank you. Sub earned!

Thank you for another awesome educational video. Living in Arizona I have never faced rust like this. I made a mistake and bought a used 2003 Grand Cherokee to tow behind my RV because it was already setup for towing. The body and interior were great but I didn't understand how much rust was underneath and what that would mean when I had to work on it. I changed the brake pads but one wheel is still dragging occasionally . Now I truly appreciate how much more work cars are in the east. Apparently I only did a fraction of the brake job, so for the first time in my life I need to clean out the grooves for the brake pads and change out the rusty hardware.

love your videos. As I mechanic myself I appreciate the real world shit instead of the videos you usually see where everything goes perfect....you know...like it NEVER does!

It’s 11:00 on a Friday night and I’m watching a guy change wheel bearing and brakes... It sucks being broke fat and ugly !! But I will say the video was entertaining and educational 👍🏻👍🏻

Thank you for taking the time to show others how to do this. I see this video was 5 years old and it will help folks for many more years. I learned a lot and it neat to have the right tools. Take care...

It's really nice to see a mechanic that does the job right and cuts short gets right to the point I really appreciate that and you work at a pretty good rate which I as a hardworking person myself appreciates that thank you very much

Watching you work makes me feel so much more confident doing repairs myself. You explain things in a way that is easy to understand and removes any mystery of what I'm looking at or what to expect. Thank you! PS, sorry you have to deal with all of that rust! Out here in San Diego, it's nice and dry lol

As always, thanks for another informative repair video. Two tips- Stop using chrome sockets with an impact gun! You will get away with it 99/100 times but it only takes one explosion and a trip to the hospital to make you stop. Second, to drive the hub ass'y out I loosen the retaining bolts on the back of the knuckle about 4-5 threads. Then alternately hit the heads with an air chisel with a ball end bit. As the hub moves out unscrew the bolts a little more and hit again. No special tools needed, and no chance of straining the axle by overpressing with the tool you used. You know better, but others may not. Cheers.

I like the extra steps you take to be sure people get a clean, lubed, thorough job done. man of integrity goes a long way in mechanic's.

Eric I'm a DIY and enjoy working on my cars, i live in chicago where the snow and salt do magic to my cars, I found you are the most honest mechanic on you tube, professional straight forward tell it the way it is, you got a beautiful family, thats a blessing, keep up the good job, you're one that we feel we know you, your videos are great help, but even the stuff that i cant do i just enjoy your videos, you take the time for a better camera angle so we can see the action, thank you for that and we wish you the best.

I agree with one of your other viewers, "Best car repair on RU-vid." Thanks, my friend.

You gotta love RU-vid, not only is it an educational "how to" channel but it shows there are really great outstanding mechanics out there. You my friend are a credit to good ole American ingenuity and "get er done" ability. A pleasure watching your channel!

Here on the west coast we refer to ours as Duncan Hines, soft and moist, falls apart with a fork. Hahaha. Seriously, you are a true credit to your profession, thank you for your insights and your comedic approach. I know I speak for many when I say we appreciate you.

Eric, you just gave me a flash back. We had one of those identical dust-cap pullers at my dad's gas station way back in 1964. They worked perfectly well back then too! Keep up the good work. It's great to watch a professional work!

Excellent video! Very educational, including lots of great advice including your comments about applying grease to the pad clips - I will definitely be changing the way I do it based on your comments. I even ordered a pair of those dust cap pliers - sure worked better than the chisel. I am glad you kept the video going and did not shut it off, because this turned out to be the best real world car repair video on RU-vid!

I absolutely love your videos man. No hype and no fluffed bs. I’m no mechanic by trade but love the work. I do all of my own stuff and am self/you tube taught. A lot of what I’ve learned has been from you. Appreciate the solid content and for keeping it real life.

I like that the shop is always clean and organized. This is one shop I wish I could work at and would take pride in working at!

This is my "go to channel" for all vehicular repairs. My dad was a giant pile of terds and wasnt around when I was growing up so I had to wait until I got married to learn how to work on cars. Fortunately for me, I married into a family of mechanics and engineers. My father in law has taught me so much in the past few years. Almost as much as I've learned from you! So congrats on being the father I never had! Lol, seriously though. Thank you!

Invaluable video. Excellent!!! One bit of advise from an old audio guy: Please use hearing protection when you used impact tools. Your retired self will thank you for being such a smart "young feller".

Your skills and honesty are impressive Eric.

I don’t have acetylene, a lift, a hub puller, piston retractor, etc. I just went through much of this procedure on my 2005 Sierra and it was a battle. Had to drill out that rotor retaining screw. Had to use a cheater on my wrench to break loose those bracket bolts, and even at that, had to use the weight of the truck on the cheater bar to break ‘em loose. I can really relate to your videos because I’m in NJ. Even with only 63,000 miles on the truck, the chassis components are covered in rust. Thanks for making these videos!

Yes I can believe Advance Auto doesn't have rotors!!! I feel your pain every day!!! I guess we're lucky they have oil filters! PS I enjoy watching you work for some odd reason even though I've done this for a living for 50 years. Still doing it. Keeps me in shape.

Here in Central PA I had a buddy of mine press out a seized axle out of a front hub off my friend's '98 Mazda MPV 4x4. The old timer was pretty cocky to begin with...but after half an hour of torching the sucker (while applying a full 20 tons on the press), swearing, breaking the knuckle in half (!), more swearing, and hitting it with a hammer, the thing finally exploded. He said that was the worst one he's seen in his "50 years of experience" and swore than it came off of a flooded vehicle. I told him nope, it just spent the first 10 years of its life in Upstate NY hahaha

just wanted to say "THANK YOU"! for taking time and effort to post these videos. I greatly appreciate it. God Bless.

I'm amazed at how easy the hub came out. I've had a couple of these GM trucks drive in to the shop and the cv boot is on fire. Then instead of needing a bearing hub you need brakes, cv shaft, caliper, hose and knuckle. When I started wrenching 50 years ago we pulled a lot of hubs and regreased a lot of wheel bearings. Very seldom did we have to install new parts, and if you did the bearings and seals were about $10. now a timken hub lists at $344

I can see now why you charge so much for auto repairs. Number one the knowledge you have to get it done. Number two the tools that are needed to get it done. Number three is having Mrs.O to go back home to. Love your videos Man.

I really enjoy watching your videos and even though this one is a few years old you said something that I keep thinking. Mechanics in my neck of the woods have it easy (Pacific Northwest). I can't imagine dealing with all that rust.

Great job! Iowa here, rust is the same deal here. I just did my 04 Avalanche so familiar territory.

Thanks for showing me the “Tricks to stubborn jobs” I am no mechanic however my father was a damn good one from 1970-2008. I grew up with a shop in the back yard and we fixed our own mechanical and body issues. He never wanted to see me following his footsteps so he sent me to college. However, I ended up working on my own vehicles and have had a few semi restoration projects. Your channels are the most valuable to me. I have done brakes all my life and considered myself a master of brake work. However, I learned something new on this episode. If you ever find yourself in Dallas, TX …. Or need something from here. I would love to return the favor and help you with whatever it is. There are so many helpful videos that I have used. I know my contribution isn’t much. I know how hard it is to make videos, I tried and scrapped most of them. I owe you so much more than my $9.99 contribution! You are an honest mechanic and a very rare find!

Great video as always. i like your commentary and the options for removal or install that don't always rely on a special expensive Snap On tool. I also appreciate that your videos involve real world cny rusty vehicles. Its a little bit of false advertising to see the nice clean A1 DIY videos of new cars being demonstrated on... Thanks

I love how you clean EVERYTHING. A Tru pro

Another great video Eric. For a "tripod guy" you do a good job of getting the shot.

Videos like this make me really appreciate being in a dry climate. My truck is three years older and I don't have to battle rust and corrosion on it like was just pulled from the depths of the sea. All the videos of vehicles being worked on in the NE look like they've been resting next to the Titanic! The damn brake pads are stuck in the abutment bracket and are falling apart with about 50% of the pad left. That's crazy!

Eric, sockets are brand names nut and bolt tools, but are also bearing installers, race installers, centering devices, extension for leverage tools, and when they wear out you grind them for hole punches,!! lol, sorry 46 yrs as a master mechanic, just don't tell the trade schools ( if there are any left ).....Budman..... PS love your shows ...reminds me of my past !!!

Eric I just want to say you have been a big inspiration to me I have learned a lot about automotive through your RU-vid channel it's always been a passion of mine but always been kinda a little skidish about tackling certain jobs myself but I am taking a lot of my own repairs now! thanks a lot for the detailed videos they have helped me so much!

Also I do agree about not using grease on the pad ears. However, I do clean up the caliper bracket where the clips sit with a wire wheel and aply a layer of grease on there to prevent rust between the bracket and the pad clips that causes rust jacking, then the pads can't move freely

Eric, Holy crap... this appeared on my recommend video... I first watched SMA back in 2019... then I saw this little gem today. Your intro from now and then are different but the advice is still priceless. Thanks for all you do and helping others solve problems. Thanks again ✌✌

Man I wished Eric lived in the Southeast close to KY. Would have my business for sure. He really takes pride in his work! Rare these days.

Great directions (informative but short and sweet) + you don't repeat yourself over and over as some people do. Enjoyed the lesson. :) subscribed ;)

Every time I hear that phone it's ringing. :O) I love to watch you do battle with rust. Respect that wire wheel/grinder, it sounds like it means business

Just came across this video, I'm happy here in New Mexico. At 8000' we average 5-6 feet of snow annually but we use more sand than salt due to overnight subfreezing temps. A majority of folks here have 4x4 trucks and our NAPA store carries Timpkin bearings in stock for most trucks. I'm putting on my 3rd set of rear leaf springs this week on my 97 Silverado 3500 on original spring hangers, horses, hay, firewood, lol. Bought the old girl new right before I retired in So Cal. 175k and still solid as a rock. I grew up in Ohio and I do not miss the rust and salt corrosion one bit.

Moved to Montana when I retired from California and although I've been here 14 years already, none of my desert-cars have had much trouble. But I did the front hubs on a Montana 3/4 Dodge 4x4 that took all my acetylene and mushroomed the head on a 20# topping maul to get them out. I kinda love your older stuff like this one - it shows a different - more "raw" personality that changes over the years to a pretty smooth character. Good on ya!

Reminded me of the Red Green show.

Thank for the upload of the video. One of the better informative videos I've watched.

Well done Eric I wish we had honest people like you in South West Scotland,you are a true professional.😅😅

Every time I watch this guy I remember how glad I am to live in Vegas. I have a 02 Chevy Trailblazer and the underneath looks like brand new. There's no rust anywhere. The only thing I miss is AC in the garage and a lift would be nice. In Vegas if your car is 20 years old you don't need to smog your car if you only drive 5,000 miles a year. No inspection, just the honor system for reporting your mileage.

Here in Minnesota we don't use wrenches we use cutting torches... they burn right thru the Rust...lololol

Eric, it's the tough jobs that are interesting! A smooth, easy job is boring.

This was my very first video I ever watched of Eric/SMA, I haven’t been disappointed

Others on RU-vid could learn from you about cleaning and lubricating mating surfaces! Thanks for not only the job but the attention to detail. Pretty important for brake work.

Eric, I know this is an older video and you will not see this but if you do to preserve the threads on your puller cover the threads in Anti seize like Copper-Kote or Moly 50. It does make a mess but the anti seize takes the brunt of the torque and the threase live much longer. I have an OTC puller that I use a lot that is over 20 years old and still going strong. I hate the mess it makes in the drawer of my box but prefer that to wearing the tool out and buying another.

Like the way you work, being a one man show you can put out top quality work, and care about the customer, hard to find that these days. I worked at a KW dealership for 15 years and only saw a few techs care about their work like me, all the others only about their paycheck. Hope you can show your Dad's shop some day. also much better videos then ETCG, hope your subscribers grow. thanks

Just subscribed I retired an experimental A mechanic senior from Ford motor and of all the RU-vid videos that I have seen yours made me wish I could’ve had you on my team. I’ve had a lot of master mechanics work for me but not all of them have a common sense streetsmart it’s whatever you wanna call it. But she brought a smile to my face today keep up the good work yeah I’ll be watching!

Very thorough quality work. I felt like I was watching you working on your own vehicle. Making sure that the next man to work on it was one step ahead. I’d definitely pick you over most people for anything I couldn’t do.

The rust jacking on the brake pad you showed probably started as a tiny tiny gap caused by heat separation of the glue holding the friction material onto the metal backing. Then the moisture, road salt, etc, had a place to sit in, allowing the rust form and build up and acted just like frost that cracks roads and buckles the blacktop for those WONDERFUL 3" tall frost heave bumps that go all the way across the road... Even since they stopped making riveted brake pads like back in the day, separated pads are a common occurrence sadly. I don't see how glued on pads could POSSIBLY be safer than pads with rivets. And in this lawsuit happy day age we live in, you would think companies would be taking any and all possible precautions to try and avoid the lawsuit. Makes you wonder why the had to re-invent the wheel. (Or brake pads in this case)

No don't turn the camera off......we like it when you have problems !!!!!!!!!. Yes we are all millionaires, don't let them tell you any different.......

Eric I certainly enjoy watching you work and the comments are great, it should help you too! I know that you do get frustrated at times. GOOD JOB regards from Ocean Springs Ms.

As a GM instructor for 30 years you did a great job!!! You should think about getting job for the big guys I watch these things to see everybody else working but I got a laugh because this real life. Explain to a customer they would not believe want has to be done not 1.2 time i

All those tools must have cost close to a gazillion dollars! (give or take a dollar or two) Great vid as always!

Love your videos and watching you work. Just get those safety glasses off of your hat and on your nose. Thanks again!!

I know this is 6 years old but I just watched this so i could do the wheel bearing on my Tahoe. The job was fairly easy even with no air tools. Just big long wrenches and pry bars. The bolt method of removing the hub worked great. As far as Timken bearings, they decided to switch their manufacturing to China so now I think Moog Bearing might be a better option. Just my opinion. We'll see how long it lasts. Lucky I don't have a lot of salt on the roads where I live but we have a bunch of costly mechanics. By the time I do both wheel bearings I'll save $1200!

Outstanding job. I live on the other side of the country, but if it were closer, you'd be the only mechanic to touch my car.

I like to lube between the stainless hardware and the iron caliper because, especially after cleaning it up, the iron has a bit of protection to slow down the rust,

Glad I'm from the south.. Our county doesn't even have a salt truck!

I came to watch this one five years later. Funny how I picked up different things the second time around. Still a classic, still the best wheel bearing and brake video on the 'net. A few things have changed, you've switched lubricant for the sliders, but overall it is brilliant.

3:30 in the morning, sometimes i just can't sleep. Good thing you had a new video.

I like how you are showing the bottles of the stuff you are using. I took a few screen shots. I was all ready to snap a pic of the ceramic brake lube but you faked me out and only brought the bottle in frame with half of the words showing;).

Good video man, but i would probably get nervous torching besides brake lines😂

Your walkthrough is great on getting the job done. Great video and keeping it real.

If everything went "book perfect" it wouldn't be nearly as interesting. Thanks for the great video! For those of us who always seem to find that "Murphy" has had gotten in the way... this was perfect!! Thank you!!!

that wrapping is ,(i suspect), a moisture barrier so the pads do not rust in the box

Lisle 25750 Dual Piston Brake Caliper Compressor Price: $39.26 at amazon!

Thanks man,I remember going up rt 17 back in 1971-74 in a 1964 White,and your in a nice part of NY. Good stuff to help me with my new 2002 Yukon.

Hello from Montreal,Canada !! I love to watch your videos, i like to repair my truck by my self and i learn a lot with you, GREAT JOB !! i wish you were my mecanic for the jobs i can't do !! i have a 2007 Ford Explorer Sport Trac Limited 4.6 and the front wheel bearing is dying, i did not feel like doing it so i called my dealer they wanted $750.00 to do the job !! crazy !! i check you video and order it from Rockauto $185.00 and i will do it by my self Thank you sir.

I saw the wheel move when you lifted the truck up so usually that's a bad bearing

Eric The Car Guy uses that tip for pushing off the bearings...

Every time u pick up your different tools I think "I gotta get me one of those" great video no panic no rushing around love your bearing pulled 😎

I used to take out front hubs with that method he mentioned. Used that method when I worked at a Gm/Saturn dealer. It blew everyone away as it worked like a charm.

"flat rate guys down there gotta be millionaires"... LOL. #RustBeltProblems

I love my chevs but man they all love wheel bearings ! I put AC Delco bears have Farley good luck with them

Boy have your videos improved from six years ago. You are so much more yourself

Tried the threaded rod with a nut for removal of old hub ....worked very well !! Thank you !!

yes working on non rusty California cars is nice....2 problems tho.easterners coming to my rust free state bringing us their rust buckets and dammed liberal politicians...you amigo got the worst of both worlds....sorry Mr. I. oh I almost forgot,high housing prices....but I admit I'm jealous of your property....you my friend are a millionaire at heart....love ur vids amigo

SMA Repair, your videos are great as you film so much detail - so thank you and you've earned another subscription to your channel. Do you fancy opening a SMA Repair branch in the UK? LOL!. Cheers.

Such a informative and straight to the point video. Having the tools and the dexterity to use them makes the job looks so easy. Thank you for the explanations down the line of the job. Congratulations....

I agree with Mark down below , the great thing about your video's is precisely that you do not edit out the difficulties you encounter to make yourself look good . You have the character to let us see what we will most likely encounter , enabling us to enter the job with realistic expectations . We pretty much all know your human so your not in danger of bursting any bubbles. Humility is a strength , not a weakness.