2008 chevy truck probs

bigbull338 · Mar 9, 2011

this is a post about what all happens when a truck starts crapping out.my brother has a 2008 chevy he uses for a work truck.an a 2009 chevy 4x4 he uses for a back up.well in the last month the 2008 has blown both front hubbs an bearings.plus 1 of the auto doorlocks has burned out because he does alot of stopping an starting.then tues the U-jiont went out on the drive shaft.an the truck has less than 90,000 miles on it.he puts 900mi a week on the truck.he is planning on trading it in 2012 if it lasts that long.

Diamondpilot · Mar 9, 2011

Sounds like my neighbors 07 and my 05. Glad I went to other brands.

Chris

tcartwri · Mar 9, 2011

Ford people know all about this too. 60,000 miles is about all the wheel bearings are good for, and in the case of Explorers and Expeditions you are changing all 4 at once. Just did this on mine.

bigbull338 · Mar 9, 2011

see thats the prob he is a die hard chay man no matter what.an im a ford man.when he bought his 2009 i showed him that i could buy a cc 1 ton with auto tranny an big motor for $25,000 pretty much out the door.an he gave $28,000 for a loaded single cab 4x4.

Diamondpilot · Mar 9, 2011

tcartwri said:
Ford people know all about this too. 60,000 miles is about all the wheel bearings are good for, and in the case of Explorers and Expeditions you are changing all 4 at once. Just did this on mine.

I have owned about a dozen Ford trucks and SUV's since 1997. Never changed a single bearing. My dad has owned about 6 and same with my BIL and they have never changed any either. Must just be dumb luck.

In reality all the vehicles I have owned, close to 25 from Ford, GM, Dodge, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, ect I have only had to change 2 bearings ever. One in a GM truck, cant remember the miles and a Dodge truck at about 60,000 miles.

Chris

jwstewar · Mar 9, 2011

OK and your point big bull?

This is a 3 - 4 year old truck pushing 100k miles that has been used for work. You don't say what type of work, so I'm assuming a bunch of town driving toting a trailer around hauling weight close to the limits of the truck. U-Joints - $15 - $20 and an hour to put them in. Doesn't sound like to big of deal. A door lock to crap out on something you said that he gets in and out of a bunch doesn't seem that unreasonable either. Granted front hubs could be a bit pricey, but for a truck hauling loads around town doesn't seem that unusual.

If it makes you feel any better, guess how I spent New Year's Eve day? Installing bearings in the front of my Aunt's F150 2wd. 60k miles and the heaviest thing it has ever done is tow a little 5x8 wire mesh trailer. Of course, that is on top of the light switch that has to be turn on/off with pliers because it broke. Can't find one in the junk yard and a new one is expensive. Passenger window won't role down (power), who knows why. Oh, I know why, it is GMs fault the items on the Ford truck broke.

Diamondpilot · Mar 9, 2011

jwstewar said:
OK and your point big bull?

This is a 3 - 4 year old truck pushing 100k miles that has been used for work. You don't say what type of work, so I'm assuming a bunch of town driving toting a trailer around hauling weight close to the limits of the truck. U-Joints - $15 - $20 and an hour to put them in. Doesn't sound like to big of deal. A door lock to crap out on something you said that he gets in and out of a bunch doesn't seem that unreasonable either. Granted front hubs could be a bit pricey, but for a truck hauling loads around town doesn't seem that unusual.

I agree with you. Its mechanical and things break. If every truck out there of a certain brand had the same problem at X miles then its a major issue. U joints go bad for a bunch of reasons but I would guess its from him not coming to a full stop to switch from forward to reverse. My neighbor has had to put 2 in his 07 Dmax and he does this. Makes me cringe.

Chris

bigbull338 · Mar 9, 2011

he runs a ruel mail rout 5 days a week with the trucks.thats why he buys 2 new trucks sometimes 6 months a part.so its rough driving day in day out.the point is he over paid for a 1500 4x4.when i could got a farm truck with flat bed for the same price.a new $1500 should be under $20,000.but like everything else they are over priced.

crashz · Mar 9, 2011

To address your brother's isses:

- The power door lock feature that lock/unlocks automatically can be turned off. Probably a good idea if he's in an out of the truck so often. I think both the 08 and 09 can be set to olny lock via the button.

- Wheel bearing hub units are finicky. Alignment, road conditions, tire size, aftermarket wheels, road contaminates, and loading all play a big part. Ford, GM and Dodge all have the same problem with these units. And they all fail.

- A U-joint at 90,000 miles is not bad out of a sealed factory joint.

I agree with you on the price. Even "work truck" packages are way to steep.

Ryan03 · Mar 9, 2011

90k is not bad at all for a set of front wheel bearings these days. The big three have used a sealed unit bearing for years on the front of their pickups and cars, and these have become a very common wear item. Think how many production steps/workers have been eliminated in building a vehicle using unit bearings vs. old tapered bearings.

I have replaced more unit bearings on more makes of vehicles than I could ever recall.