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bearing life on 37's

BUDDY

BUDDY

1/2 ton status
Joined
Apr 28, 2000
Posts
743
Reaction score
2
Location
Midland, TX
OK, so I just bought this 90 blazer on 37's & both of the front bearings were SHOT! The driver's side took out the spindle & hub as well.

It's a 10-bolt 8 lug, 15" wheels with the aforementioned 37" MT/R's. How do the bearings in this situation typically hold up? I don't mind maintaining the bearings & keeping up with them regularly, but if it's going to be a monthly issue (daily driving), or once every other weekend of wheeling here in the desert, then I'll start saving more aggressively for the D60.

What do you guys think?

Later,
Buddy
 
i DD my blazer with 37s and i go through bearings every six to eight months. if im in muddin season then every three or so.
 
obijuan said:
i DD my blazer with 37s and i go through bearings every six to eight months. if im in muddin season then every three or so.
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eh, that sounds about right. i ran 38s on 10 bolts for about 6 years. i usually went offroading 8-10 hour days twice a month and i would usually have to replace the bearings about 1-2 times a year. ball joints about every year using crappy autozone stuff.
 
Are you guys just repacking them every 6 months or replacing altogether?

Either way it's just what I'm wanting to hear.

Later,
Buddy
 
I don't get it???? Why would the bearings be going bad or have to be replaced so often? Seems a little too often to me but I'm not an expert either. Wouldn't there be less ware and tear on the bearings since the tires are larger diameter thus fewer revolutions compared to stock tires. I may be way off in my thinking but please school me.
 
mmm, my backspacing i think has something to do with it. tires stick out a good bit, more stress on em i suppose.
 
Big Blzn said:
I don't get it???? Why would the bearings be going bad or have to be replaced so often? Seems a little too often to me but I'm not an expert either. Wouldn't there be less ware and tear on the bearings since the tires are larger diameter thus fewer revolutions compared to stock tires. I may be way off in my thinking but please school me.
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However, if you think about it, the rolling mass is greater as well as the centrifugal force about the hub. Not to mention the backspacing issue.

Later,
Buddy
 
The bearings don't last as long because they weren't designed for the load now being placed on them (from the larger tires). 37's weigh quite a bit more than 31's...or whatever was stock. That weight will kill them. Plus the added leverage of the bigger tire will put more stress on them. The wheel backspacing has something to do with it, but don't think that changing your wheels will get you more life out of the bearings.
 
Big Blzn said:
I don't get it???? Why would the bearings be going bad or have to be replaced so often?
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i was guessing just cause of the weight of the large tires and abusing the heck out of it.

the bearings never actually broke, they would just start making noise, like the thin metal pieces would bend or the thing would get stuck on the spindle. who knows maybe i just had messed up stuff. it was usually the outer bearing.

the ball joints again would just becomes lose by grabbing the tire and moving it
 
toomany said:
The bearings don't last as long because they weren't designed for the load now being placed on them (from the larger tires). 37's weigh quite a bit more than 31's...or whatever was stock. That weight will kill them. Plus the added leverage of the bigger tire will put more stress on them. The wheel backspacing has something to do with it, but don't think that changing your wheels will get you more life out of the bearings.
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definitely x2 on this one.stock wheels were a 31 i believe.when i daily drove my blazer i would replace bearings about once a year and at least repack them every 3 months so i can check them and see how worn they are.this was only with 35's on it.i had my bearings go so bad the hub busted off and the only thing holding my hub on was the brake line to the caliper.scary to feel that drop off.luckily i was only goin 30 mph.there are heavy duty bearings that i have now and havnt blown out.but i only have about 5000 miles on them so far.only driv the truck a few times a year.getting a rvrn backspaced rim to where the tire is centered over the hub helps bearing life also.
 
That is very odd. I ran 39.5" boggers on a 3/4 ton 44 for 3 years and never had to replace the bearings. The ball joints on the other hand were done every 5-6 months. This also was not just street driven it was wheeled all the time
 
I ran 35's and 37's for 5 years on the street as a mild DD and driven to the trail wheeler. I am still running the same bearings I installed in 2001 when I installed the 8 lug conversion on my 10b front, and also the same balljoints. I have never had extreme backspacing though which is the major killer of balljoints. 4.25" BS is what I ran for most of the years. Now I have 5" BS on 37" Maxxis CC's which are heavy tires. It has been a trailer queen for the last 2.5yrs though.

Harley
 
Slack bearings wear out faster too.. make sure you get the proper socket and torque them properly.
 
You want to be able to spin them by hand , with some effort , not just so smooth they freewheel . They will loosen a little anyway when you start using the rig . Thats how I adjust my bearings . The torque is for the outer locknut , the inner you just adjust like any other bearing job .
 
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