Replacing Front Hubs and upgrading Brakes on My 99 2500 Burb

[SaabLover]

Well as it happens I have a bad bearing on the passenger side. A slight movement in it when I jacked it up. Also that damm humming sound at certain speeds with the window is down is unnerving. Well I think I should replace both of them as long as I am at it. And since I have all it apart I would like to upgrade the front brakes to high performance drilled, slotted rotors and pads. To top this all off I would thinking of doing this all myself as I have time right now and would love to save the money.
I have nearly all the equipment needed like HD jack, jack stands, impact wrench and sockets. Oh yes I just got a nifty little creaper. I would need to buy a breaker bar and torque wrench. I have done a break job once on my 1 ton Chevy van I own some time ago so I am not totally unfamiliar with this job. One of the sites I found has a step by step detailed instructions on how to. GMC/Chevy 2500 & 3500 Pickups (Includes HD Models) Front Wheel Hub Bearing Replacement Instructions » AutoPartsDirectToYou.Info

I have had some luck buying parts on eBay so I had a look around.

Here are some of the parts I found at;



For Hubs eBay Motors: 96 97 98 99 GMC Suburban 2500 Front Wheel Hub Bearing (item 310030640375 end time Mar-16-08 20:14:14 PDT)

For sloted, drilled rotors and pads at;
eBay Motors: Chevy Suburban 2500 96 97 98 99 D/S Brake Rotors Pads F (item 220159397908 end time Apr-08-08 07:46:48 PDT)




I would welcome any input on this, you dudes and dudettes have been so helpful to me in the passed with my projects. I would love to hear what you have to say. With any other sites where I might order parts or what I might be missing.
Thanks to all from Sunny FL, Richard

[TomW]

If I decided to spend a lot of money on a perceived bad braking situation, I would invest all those bucks in a trailer disk brake conversion kit for my Airstream first.

Just my opinion,
Tom

[overlander63]

I found this hub for you:
http://www.partsamerica.com:80/productdetail.aspx?MfrCode=NTP&MfrPartNumber=NT515 024&PartType=184&PTSet=A


And second his suggestion.

[SaabLover]

Originally Posted by TomW

If I decided to spend a lot of money on a perceived bad braking situation, I would invest all those bucks in a trailer disk brake conversion kit for my Airstream first.

Just my opinion,
Tom

When I am towing the AS, braking really isn't a problem. The AS does more to stop the rig then I could have hoped for they work great. With my controler very little if any jerking. The problem I am having is the brakes on the burb seem very weak. I just don't feel secure with them as I really have to bear down on them when I am in just it alone. With the AS hooked up I have a better system and the rig stops great but I can't always be towing it around to have better brakes.

[3Ms75Argosy]

Richard, I'd go ahead and replace the brakes if you have the funds with the better stuff. That said, some better pads will make a big difference as well. Search for Hawk pads or Performance Friction. I think you'll be happier. The Tirerack sells this stuff as well. I've also seen some Brembo big brake combos out there as well.... but that's even bigger money.

You are correct. The Sub brakes leave a bit to be desired. I believe Uwe had an accident and totaled his Sub because of this issue.
Good luck!
Marc

[tlavergne]

Richard,
I have the same problem with my 1999 3/4 ton Suburban. The brakes are lousy. I assume that some of it has to do with weight of the Suburban that you are trying to stop. I am a Saab driver as well and one can get spoiled on Saab brakes. I would be very interested in hearing what you find out in regards to improving the brakes of the Suburban. Great tow vehicles if you can afford the gas they gulp. But I guess I can buy a lot of gas for the cost of a new tow vehicle :-)
Tom

[overlander63]

Have you considered rear discs for the Suburban?

[SaabLover]

Originally Posted by overlander63

Have you considered rear discs for the Suburban?

Hummmmmm

[tlavergne]

I assume discs on the rear could be done. The question would be how much of an investment that would be. I am at the point with my 2500 Suburban that I will either sell it for something newer (maybe diesel) or commit to keeping it for a long time. I have always been a believer of keeping vehicles for long periods of time and keeping them maintained. I also love Suburbans. But the brakes have always been an issue.
Tom

[SaabLover]

Originally Posted by tlavergne

I assume discs on the rear could be done. The question would be how much of an investment that would be. I am at the point with my 2500 Suburban that I will either sell it for something newer (maybe diesel) or commit to keeping it for a long time. I have always been a believer of keeping vehicles for long periods of time and keeping them maintained. I also love Suburbans. But the brakes have always been an issue.
Tom

I am sure that this would be out of the relm of my know how. I think this would go into the thousands. I don't think this would be cost affective for me at any rate.

If you could see what the good ole boys are doing to their trucks down here beleive me it's really something the money they put into them. I thought my 4x4 was high until I saw the rigs they drive around here. They need step latters to get into them.

[TomW]

Have you had the brake booster checked? Brake fade is one thing, but a fix for hard brakes 24-7 might be something cheaper to implement than the current options.

FWIW, the brakes on my 3/4 ton Suburban are the cat's meow.

Tom

[subfan1]

We have a 98 3/4 ton I hope this site will be helpful for you: Brakes

We have Power Slot rotors and replaced the rubber brke lines with stainless steel. Made a huge difference. Last thing is to manually adjust rear brakes. This will help a lot. Good luck

[SaabLover]

I am still taking this all in and it looks like I have some new options. Learning alot about the parts and what is good or not. But now I have a new problem my Saab quit in the middle of the road yesterday. I got it started again but found out I have a bad battery and alternator. Damm it never ends.

[wingfoot321]

Saablover,

Good read on the auto parts site. I would agree. Not much more to this job than a good brake job.

Another good site to ask questions is chevytalk.com. Have read a number of threads on that site on this same subject, namely, GM 2500 front wheel bearings are chinese junk. I listen and check for bearing looseness on my 2003 truck on a regular basis.

I would go to metallic linings on the rear and adjust the star wheels fairly tight to help the braking overall. I had full metallic linings on a ford econo years ago and the increase in friction was so great that they would shudder in a parking lot at very low speed. Absolutely no fade under braking.

I had the rear wheels off my 2003 gmc 2500hd pickup today to inspect my rear rotors & pads for wear. I think you would have a problem with the emergency brake converting to rear discs.

[TomW]

Originally Posted by wingfoot321

... and adjust the star wheels fairly tight to help the braking overall. ...

Chevy brakes are self-adjusting.

What would your advice do for long-term braking?

Tom

[3Ms75Argosy]

Those "self adjusters" have a way of not really adjusting themselves over time. Both my Chevy Astro and my current Dodge van have them. I've always found that brake performance will improve with adjusting those star adjusters as described before.
2Cents
Marc