Wheel bearings, brakes,and shocks

[CourierDriver]

Things that get overlooked IMHO: When u get ur brakes replaced, buy the most heavy duty u can, make sure wheel bearings are inspected,( many times no one inspects wheel bearings and they can be shot and still barely working and u wont know it till its to late. Shock absorbers, cant say enough about inspecting them, factory stuff is junk,,again here, buy the best heavy duty u can afford, its ur life . If u can't stop and steer,,ur in big trouble.IMHO

 

[sciphi]

Late night post?

Still, a grain of truth there.

 

[JHZR2]

That's why though inconvenient, it is nice that MB bolts the rotor to the hub in such a way that you have to remove the grease seal, inspect and regrease the bearings when the rotor comes off. That means it at least gets some service when brake jobs are done.

Shocks? I have originals on my 81 and 82 MB and they are fine. The only vehicle that had shocks go bad was our toyota corolla.

 

[bluestream]

The shocks on my Ford Explorer are OEM. I bought new replacement Monroe shocks for the front, but when I went to replace them, the OEM shocks worked better, so I put them back on. The Monroes are on the shelf waiting for the OEMs to leak or wear out. My last brake change were cheap Chinese pads and rotors all around, that was 4 years and 50,000 miles ago, and they are only half worn and still work as new. Best brakes I have ever bought, includes the factory OEM pads and rotors.

Wheel bearings will let you know when they start to wear out long before they fail

 

[Kestas]

I'm on the fence with the wheel bearing inspection thing. It's generally advised to clean and regrease the wheel bearings any time they are opened up. This is because of the grit that falls in during disassembly. A clean and regrease can also trigger replacement of the seal. It is usually best to leave it alone, and at most check the axial clearance.

 

[Trav]

The OEM shocks on my 99 Expedition lasted 10 yrs before the top cover just rotted away.They did not develop any leaks and functioned okay.I wouldn't call the "junk" by any means.
The Monroe Reflex i used to replaced them started to leak on the front after a year.AAP gave me a full refund,kudos to them!

If i hadn't got a deal on Bilsteins i would have gone OEM 100%.

 

[CourierDriver]

I use to buy aap and az,,,maybe its me,,,I use Napa stuff now,,maybe im mental,,Idontknow..........

 

[Hokiefyd]

Napa stuff is often Monroe or equivalent anyway. I have Monroe Reflex shocks on the front of my Dakota, but they're from Napa and actually labeled "Napa Reflex". They're re-stickered Monroes.

For most parts, I generally prefer OEM. The statement that OEM shocks are "junk" is an over-generalization and certainly not true in many cases.

 

[mechtech2]

Sealed wheel bearings are tough to check.
Noise or roughness is one way. Shaking the wheel may not show looseness when the bearing is already shot.

 

[tom slick]

Neither of my vehicles have serviceable, or removable, bearings. OEM struts on my Mazda were very good but they OEM shocks/struts on my F-150 were terrible at 35k miles.
Brake components are not as simple as "I'll take the heavy duty ones", especially with trucks.