[V8] Bad Front Wheel Bearings(non Audi)

[Dave Saad]

I think all of the Detroit diesels have weird problems like this.
I know back about 1993 or so when Ford started putting the Navistar  
diesel in light vehicles, they had to seriously detune it in order to  
not tear the vehicle in two.  That motor was designed for dump trucks  
and the like and put out 800HP and some equally huge torque number.   
The frame and rest of the drive train simply was not tough enough.   
Those motors are really heavy too.  GM finally gave up and started  
using an Allison transmission which was also designed more for the  
dump truck market than the "see how fast you can yank a horse trailer  
up a steep grade without spilling your beer" market.

I really wish those guys would take a queue from the Germans and make  
a more reasonable V6 diesel.  As a guy who does a fair bit of trailer  
yanking,  I would like more than my Explorer V6 has, but also want  
better mileage.  I would be happy as a pig in poop with a Audi V6  
diesel in the Explorer body.  (There - I managed to toss in some Audi  
content)
I like the Q7 but it is far too expensive and far less functional (for  
me anyway) than a good old Explorer.

And for one final tangent, I went to the junk yard the other day to  
get a standard mast antenna to replace the automatic one that the car  
wash so loves to break, and boy was it easy to find one.  There was a  
nice row of Explorers - all of which had less miles than mine, and all  
of which appeared to be in fine shape - at least visually. They were  
all "clunkers".  It was kind of sad to see them there.  I hope the  
Japanese appreciate what we did for their auto industry.....

Dave


On Oct 28, 2009, at 9:58 PM, toml99 at todomundo.com wrote:

> It's not an Audi, but my 2004 Chevy 2500HD Duramax started a shimmy
> on the highway....went away with braking....took it in today to have
> the tires rotated(and while it's up) shake the front wheels.......one
> had 1/8" slop...other was about 1".....68K totally stock....bearings
> are "sealed spindle unit" and are about $450 each from the dealer/
> others....I've got a set coming(timken original).....for $180/each
> free shipping........Common problem apparently....Aren't you glad you
> don't own a vehicle "built like a rock"......Tom
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