How to Replace Front Wheel Bearings on a 2000 GMC Sierra

The 1999 model year brought about a lot of changes for General Motors line of pickup trucks, as Chevrolet released the all-new Silverado and GMC released the Sierra. The 2000 GMC Sierra 1500, the base-level Sierra, came standard with a 200-horsepower, 4.3-liter V-6 engine and two-wheel drive. The front wheel bearings on the standard 2000 Sierra are part of the front wheel hub, so when the wheel bearings fail, you must replace the entire hub.

Instructions

1

Loosen the front lug nuts with a ratchet and socket. Set the truck's parking brake, place chocks behind the rear wheels and lift the front of the Sierra with a floor jack. Slide jack stands under the trucks frame rails and lower the pickup onto the jack stands. Remove the lug nuts and pull the wheels from the truck.

2

Remove the two caliper bracket bolts with a ratchet and socket and pull the caliper, brake pads and bracket off as one assembly. Hang the assembly from the front coil spring using a bungee strap.

3

Pull the rotor off the front hub. If it does not pull off easily, lightly strike the rear of the rotor with a rubber mallet to free it.

4

Remove the bolt securing the brake hose and anti-lock brake system sensor wiring bracket to the steering knuckle, using a ratchet and socket, and remove the bracket from the steering knuckle.

5

Trace the ABS sensors wiring until you find its connector. Press and hold the unlocking button on the ABS sensors connector and unplug it from the Sierras wiring harness.

6

Look on the rear of the Sierras steering knuckle and find the bolts securing the wheel hub to the steering knuckle. Remove these bolts using a ratchet and socket. Pull the wheel hub from the steering knuckle.

7

Clean the inside of the hubs mounting hole in the steering knuckle with a wire brush. Apply a coat of wheel bearing grease to the inside of the hole in the steering knuckle.

8

Slide the new wheel hub into its hole in the steering knuckle, aligning its bolt holes with those in the steering knuckle. Hand-thread the wheel hub-to-steering knuckle bolts, then torque them to 133 foot-pounds using a torque wrench and socket.

9

Plug the ABS sensor, which comes preinstalled on the new hub, into the Sierra's wiring harness. Set the ABS sensor wiring and brake hose bracket back into place on the steering knuckle, then hand-thread its retaining bolt. Tighten the retaining bolt to 106 inch-pounds using an inch-pound torque wrench.

10

Apply a thin coat of a thread-locking chemical onto the threads of the caliper bracket bolts. Guide the rotor onto the new wheel hub and set the caliper, brake pads and caliper bracket assembly back onto the steering knuckle, then hand-thread the caliper bracket bolts. Torque the caliper bracket bolts to 129 foot-pounds on a Sierra 1500.

11

Repeat steps 2 through 10 to replace the wheel hub on the other side of the Sierra.

12

Reinstall the front wheels and hand-tighten the lug nuts. Raise the truck off the jack stands with a floor jack and remove the jack stands. Lower the truck to the ground and torque the lug nuts, in a crisscross pattern, to 140 foot-pounds.