Axle bearing/Hubs

[Kevin E]

Has anyone experienced or heard of any vibrations related to hub replacement?
I replaced front hubs a while back with a set of Timkens. I have a very mild constant hum type vibration in steering wheel. This wasn't present before doing the hubs. Alignment is on the money and tires are balanced. I was going to change the hubs back to the original ones which are good but needed new lug studs. I don't notice any vibes until I get on the highway at 60 and above. More noticeable on new asphalt roads than smoother concrete. Maybe I'm just feeling the road type more since my alignment is much better than it was. Just looking for any info y'all might have. Thanks.

 

[Kevin E]

Anybody?

 

[ohiopatriot]

Do you hear and feel it? When the symptom is present swerve back and forth and see if feel/noise changes, could be bearings. Did tires get a rotation with align? If yes, move them back, if no then rotate and recheck. If it had toe wear on an aggressive tire that may cause it.

 

[Kevin E]

Do you hear and feel it? When the symptom is present swerve back and forth and see if feel/noise changes, could be bearings. Did tires get a rotation with align? If yes, move them back, if no then rotate and recheck. If it had toe wear on an aggressive tire that may cause it.

No noise at all. I did the toe- in myself. All tires are pretty new and just had them rebalanced but no tire rotation.

 

[ohiopatriot]

Try pitching/swerving and see if it changes, that loads and unloads the bearings. If no change, rotate tires and see if that helps.

 

[Kevin E]

Try pitching/swerving and see if it changes, that loads and unloads the bearings. If no change, rotate tires and see if that helps.

Will do thanks

 

[ohiopatriot]

Let us know, I'm a tech by trade with 30+ years experience.

 

[RaymondT]

Has anyone experienced or heard of any vibrations related to hub replacement?
I replaced front hubs a while back with a set of Timkens. I have a very mild constant hum type vibration in steering wheel. This wasn't present before doing the hubs. Alignment is on the money and tires are balanced. I was going to change the hubs back to the original ones which are good but needed new lug studs. I don't notice any vibes until I get on the highway at 60 and above. More noticeable on new asphalt roads than smoother concrete. Maybe I'm just feeling the road type more since my alignment is much better than it was. Just looking for any info y'all might have. Thanks.

Now that you bring this up, I'm starting to wonder. I replaced both front hubs with Timken's about 6 months ago. After 3-4 months, I picked up high-speed wheel shimmy that you can feel in the steering wheel. I have had the wheels balanced 3 times and the whole front end - suspension, steering, steering box, etc has been refreshed. New u-joints by the hubs, front driveline rebuilt with Spicer stuff, and heck I even checked out the carrier. I haven't found a cause.

My symptoms; when cold and first hitting the highway, there's no vibration. After 10-15 minutes on the highway at 60+, the shimmy will show up, especially when going through corners. It seems to be intermittent.

Now you have me wondering about the Timken hubs. I've put a schmit-load of diagnostic time into this.

 

[ohiopatriot]

After 10-15 minutes on the highway at 60+, the shimmy will show up

1st thought is to check brake temps. Possibly a hose or caliper. Those non-contact thermometers can be had for $12-15 and have a 101 uses.

 

[Kevin E]

Let us know, I'm a tech by trade with 30+ years experience.

I rotated tires and it seemed to help. Not much vibration through steering wheel anymore but still feel vibes at highway speed. Usually not much until I'm over 60ish. I'm pulling front drive shaft today then see what it does.

 

[Kevin E]

I suppose I could put the old wheel bearings back in to see what that does also. The bearings weren't bad just replaced them before they got that way.

 

[ohiopatriot]

Usually not much until I'm over 60ish.

High speed vibrations are usually tire balance, have them recheck. Check pressures also, they may have aired them up.

 

[RaymondT]

Before this thread fades into oblivion, I would add to the OP another potential source of the problem. Doing a Google search on Jeep vibrations, I found more than a few threads discussing harmonic vibrations. Seems the theory goes that engine/driveline vibrations at higher speeds can cause the transmission cross-member (pan) to start vibrating when combined with wind flow under the Jeep.

In my case, it may have merit. I drive along a winding road skirting a long lake (Okanagan). As I go around these bends, the headwinds change drastically. I've known the vibration to suddenly start around a corner. Initially, I assumed it could be wheel hub bearing load as you turn into a corner. Now, I'm not so sure. It certainly could be a wind issue. I might try going back to 75ft lbs on the pan bolts which I used to do before. Lately, I've been only doing about 40ft lbs as I read that in some manual. You never know...