Hi all,

My HHR is due for a pair of new wheel hubs and I'm trying to get the best deal on them. I had a question regarding the listings for a "front wheel hub bearing" versus a "hub bearing assembly"

Is there a difference between them both? I found found the listing on ebay for the hub bearing

hxxp://cgi.ebay.ca/06-07-08-09-CHEVY-HHR-FRONT-WHEEL-HUB-BEARING-ABS-NEW-/110676984931?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories &hash=item19c4dcc463

and I have found the listing for the hub assembly here

hxxp://cgi.ebay.ca/2006-CHEVROLET-HHR-Wheel-Bearing-Hub-Assembly-New-FRONT-/160508055030?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories &hash=item255f068df6

Does the bearing contain the entire assembly or would that have to go on to my existing assembly? Which would be better to replace if I'm getting grinding on my 2 front wheels?

Thanks for your help

 

Hub assy already has the bearing installed...so no extra work.....bearing needs to be pressed in and out and that usually means a trip to the machine shop unless you happen to have a press available....also means more down time involved.

 

X 2 with wut Woody said

 

If you go to the gm dealership, I think they only deal with the hub assembly, too much trouble to press the the bearing.
I bet the bearing sold by itself is only aftermarket, which may not be a bad thing. In the past it was possible to do it yourself with a hammer and punch, but could easily get trashed if you dont do it precisely. I havent tried it on the HHR though.
And remember these are covered under the 5 year powertrain warranty.

 

Nothing is covered under my warranty anymore so it's all out of pocket. I ended up picking up 2 assemblys for 50 each online.

Thanks for all your help, everything is much more clear now.

 

The hub assemblies on the HHR are not able to be serviced, you have the replace the entire unit. The OEM units are made by a company called KBI who bought the old GM bearing plant in Sandusky, Ohio from Delphi. GM was one of the first companies to use a hub assembly design that was a hub and bearing in one unit. Most GM passengers cars still use these hub assemblies from this plant, with the exception of the trucks which are mostly Timken units. The Delphi/KBI units have been long known in the bearing industry to fail prematurely, with the later S10 trucks and Blazers and the Alero/Grand Am having bad histories. Being in the bearing business, I wouldn't recommend buying any hub assemblies off of Ebay, they are Chinese or Indian units that will fail or be noisy from the get go and you will be doing the job again. Try to find a supplier that sells the OEM units or find a dealer online that has a good price. Let me put it this way, if you paid $50.00 for a hub unit off of Ebay, the guy selling it paid around $10.00 for it. Do you want to trust your wheel mounting point on a $10.00 part? Aftermarket suppliers pay approx. $70.00 for the OEM units to sell into the aftermarket, you get what you pay for. If you any other bearing or hub assembly questions, just ask.

 

I bought mine from ebay and it works great. Haven't heard a peep out of it and it was very nice quality. Paid $75 for mine (non-abs)

 

$118 including shipping for a Timken hub from Rock Auto. I would not use any generic E-bay mechanical parts for my cars. You get what you pay for with this kind of stuff.

I used a Timken hub on my Trailblazer several years ago and it has been fine. I've read that the Timken hubs are better quality than OEM. Take that for what its worth.

 

The Timken hub unit you bought is actually the Delphi/KBI unit. Timken doesn't manufacture that hub unit, they source it from a supplier who sources it from KBI. It is the exact same hub they put on at the factory when the car is built. Also, the same goes for your Trailblazer hub unit, only KBI makes that part so any of the "brand name"(Timken, SKF, FAG) hub units will be a KBI hub assembly in another companies box. Most of the GM hub units are this way, with some exceptions. If you buy one from Ebay or a store brand or value brand from say Autozone, you will getting a Chinese/offshore knock off of the Delphi/KBI design. 90% of the GM passenger car hub assemblies are sourced from KBI as OEM, the full size trucks are Timken, the Colorado/Canyon small trucks are Koyo units, and SKF makes a few here and there-most notably the new Corvette ZR1 hub assemblies, which are made in Korea.

 

What he has posted it true. Most bearings no matter the name on them often come from the same MFG and are rebranded.

This is a common practice in the industry anymore on many items. You can no longer tell a product by it's lable anymore.

Note the issue with hub bearings are with most MFG. While some are better then other they all pale to the old roller bearings once used. It is all done in the name of better MPG the companies have to meet. THey use ball bearings and are not as durable as a taper roller was.