I've had a steering wheel shake that I've been chasing for a couple years now. I thought it was a bent rim because it seemed to get better/worse after tire rotations. It got worse and then the van started pulling left pretty badly. On multiple occasions, I've grabbed the tires when up on jacks to test the wheel bearings and the wheels didn't budge and I had no unusual bearing noise. Then, on a whim this morning, I grabbed the top of the driver's tire and pushed/pulled. To my surprise, it had quite a bit of play in it! I tried it again when I got home and it wouldn't do it.
So, I decided to just go ahead and replace that hub. I was prepared for battle in getting the hub out, but shockingly, upon taking the last of the 4 bolts, the hub fell out into my hand! I was relieved I didn't have to hammer it out or remove the knuckle. The entire job took me all of 30 minutes.
The van drives so much better now, so that must have been the cause of the pulling and shaking. Now there is just a slight hint of shaking at times, so I may go ahead and replace the passenger side hub as well. I've had bearings go bad before, but they always had that hum/grinding noise, but not this one.
My apologies to those that have spent hours beating their old hubs out! I am suspecting that hub had already been replaced at some point, which contributed to it coming out so easily.
So, I decided to just go ahead and replace that hub. I was prepared for battle in getting the hub out, but shockingly, upon taking the last of the 4 bolts, the hub fell out into my hand! I was relieved I didn't have to hammer it out or remove the knuckle. The entire job took me all of 30 minutes.
The van drives so much better now, so that must have been the cause of the pulling and shaking. Now there is just a slight hint of shaking at times, so I may go ahead and replace the passenger side hub as well. I've had bearings go bad before, but they always had that hum/grinding noise, but not this one.
My apologies to those that have spent hours beating their old hubs out! I am suspecting that hub had already been replaced at some point, which contributed to it coming out so easily.