> From: "Edgar T. Kremer"
> Subject: Re: GMC: GMC Front wheel Bearings
> > >There is the group that is adamant that you have to replace the bearings
> > >every 25,000 miles or suffer bad things.
> I posted this comment quite awhile back: I have a GMC owner friend who was an
> airforce mechanic. He stated that they never replaced wheel bearings on an
> aircraft related to mileage. If the bearing looked good, it was repacked &
> reinstalled.
I've stayed out of this thread so far, but have to agree here....IMHO, the key in all this discussion is not so much whether the bearings
are replaced or not (one would assume that bad bearings ARE replaced) but that they are inspected, proactively, within a reasonable period
of time/milage.
When we bought our coach in the mid-'80's there was no GmcNet to help sort through issues like the front wheel bearings. As I was not at
all familiar with the GMC Classic, I relied heavily on the mechanic expertise of a friend who'd had a career racing and building race cars
for many years. (A self taught metallurgist, he is now in the business of machining specialty auto parts.) I had no repair history on my
newly purchased coach, so he took out the front bearings (with a puller he machined himself...in 1985) and checked each bearing. When
pronounced "sanitary", they were re-packed and replaced, making sure they went back into the same race from which they had originally
been removed, and each race was put back in its original hub. The interior of the hub was also mic'd.
This year, at about 30K, we pulled the bearings again for inspection. Once again they passed muster...but this time, since I was adding
new wheels, we also checked the balance of the drums and rotors, independently off of the coach. Found some big time problems with the
original castings which required drilling, shaving, grinding to get things in balance. That, along with the AL wheels, made a world of
difference in the handling of this coach. Drives like a dream...a luxury baby buggy...!
Tom Henderson - Houston
http://www.members.tripod.com/gmc76
76 Birchaven 23' (being paint-prepped in Orlando..but now also sports a new genset!... Lazurus will finally be laid to rest....
I hope to have the new genset pics on our site shortly; and many thanks to Jim B. for sending those to me!)
> Subject: Re: GMC: GMC Front wheel Bearings
> > >There is the group that is adamant that you have to replace the bearings
> > >every 25,000 miles or suffer bad things.
> I posted this comment quite awhile back: I have a GMC owner friend who was an
> airforce mechanic. He stated that they never replaced wheel bearings on an
> aircraft related to mileage. If the bearing looked good, it was repacked &
> reinstalled.
I've stayed out of this thread so far, but have to agree here....IMHO, the key in all this discussion is not so much whether the bearings
are replaced or not (one would assume that bad bearings ARE replaced) but that they are inspected, proactively, within a reasonable period
of time/milage.
When we bought our coach in the mid-'80's there was no GmcNet to help sort through issues like the front wheel bearings. As I was not at
all familiar with the GMC Classic, I relied heavily on the mechanic expertise of a friend who'd had a career racing and building race cars
for many years. (A self taught metallurgist, he is now in the business of machining specialty auto parts.) I had no repair history on my
newly purchased coach, so he took out the front bearings (with a puller he machined himself...in 1985) and checked each bearing. When
pronounced "sanitary", they were re-packed and replaced, making sure they went back into the same race from which they had originally
been removed, and each race was put back in its original hub. The interior of the hub was also mic'd.
This year, at about 30K, we pulled the bearings again for inspection. Once again they passed muster...but this time, since I was adding
new wheels, we also checked the balance of the drums and rotors, independently off of the coach. Found some big time problems with the
original castings which required drilling, shaving, grinding to get things in balance. That, along with the AL wheels, made a world of
difference in the handling of this coach. Drives like a dream...a luxury baby buggy...!
Tom Henderson - Houston
http://www.members.tripod.com/gmc76
76 Birchaven 23' (being paint-prepped in Orlando..but now also sports a new genset!... Lazurus will finally be laid to rest....
I hope to have the new genset pics on our site shortly; and many thanks to Jim B. for sending those to me!)
