Just took my Monte in to have the front brakes checked this morning, and the mechanic said that my right front wheel bearing has a lot of play in it and should be replaced. The car's got over 81K miles on it now. I haven't noticed any roaring or whirring coming from the front wheels. Are there any other signs that would indicate the bearing has gone bad?

 

Unfortunately you don't really feel it when driving, but they can have play when they check them.

They tried to fail my dad on inspection for both his front hubs because they had a little play in them, we could hardly feel it with ours hands.

Another shop passed him, but we have the hubs in the basement to replace when it gets nicer.

From the shop a wheel hub can cost like $270(gmpart) I bought ours from autopartswarehouse.com

 

Get a second opinion. Worst case scenario you have to get a new hub bearing, the upside of this is you can get really good ones made in the USA on ebay for under $50.
I tend to not believe dealerships plus they always inflate their part and repair costs.
Took my car in for an oil change, next thing you know they said I need a new tire because I ran over a nail...in my sidewall. 4 months later took it in again, what do ya know, another nail in my sidewall. Jeez, i must have bad luck....2nd opinion, replace it yourself if you need to.

 

$50 for a wheel hub sounds like a good deal, only thing is I'd have no idea how to replace one myself. I've got very limited mechanical knowledge/ability. In my experience, most mechanics don't like you buying parts and then bringing the parts to them to install them, because then they don't get the markup on the parts (as if their labor rates aren't enough for them!).
A while back the lower horn on my Monte went out, so I went to a Chevy dealer and bought a new one, thinking I might be able to put it in myself. After looking at where the horn was located, I soon gave up on the idea of doing it myself and went to a local mechanic to ask him to put in the new horn. Wouldn't you know he tells me that the horn I bought was missing some part he needed to connect it to the other one... then he tells me that I need to replace the other horn too after he tested it, even though it was working fine before I went to his shop!
BTW, it wasn't a dealership that told me the wheel bearings were bad, it was a regular auto repair shop.

 

They are probably an intermediate job, and require a couple special tools. Perhaps just going to a local mechanic with your own parts would be much cheaper than a GM Dealership? It's not a difficult job if you have the right tools. Here is how to do it on the previous generation, which I assume is VERY close to how to do it on your car.

http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/G...ent/index.html

 

Its a fairly easy repair. Before I decided to do it myself I had taken it in and GM dealer wanted to charge me $800 for 1 hub and labor. I thought that was outrageous, did some research and decided that even buying my own tools and spending an hour or so of my saturday was the better deal. You need a jack(one in the trunk), socket wrench, socket set, and a socket for GM wheel hub nut. Its really easy to do, remove the wheel, then the brake caliper, hang the caliper up on the strut to avoid damage to the break line. then theres 3 bolts behind the wheel hub, remove the abs clip and take off the hub. Reverse the process to finish the install. Getting behind the wheel hub bolts is kinda tricky but just turn the car on and turn the steering wheel to access the one, and then turn it all the way opposite direction to take off the other one. Good luck. one more thing, if your car is still under warranty then I would take it do the dealer for repairs, but if it is not, you can have any decent shop do it for you.

 

I forgot to mention to remove the nut that holds the hub bearing to the axle. thats what the wheel hub socket is for. so its basically remove the wheel, (5 lugs), remove the caliper 2 bolts, wheel hub 3 bolts and then the nut on the axle. Depending how rusty and how many miles are on it it can be pretty tough to get them off. I would suggest you have a friend help you out or just buy the part and have a shop do it.

 

Norwex, I would NEVER use the jack in the trunk unless it was a dire emergency and you needed to change out a flat tire.

You should invest in a good 2-ton jack and jack stands if you are going to work on your car.

 

LMAO, i didnt use my jack in the trunk. I just told him he has one in the trunk if he doesnt want to buy one for the one repair he will do. Or you can buy one from walmart, do the repair, then return it after. LMAO..I have too many tools.

 

Yes chibi is right, for safety reasons buy a jack and use jack stands to hold your car up.
make sure its a low profile jack, because the clearance on the car is pretty low. I would really suggest not to try it yourself if you dont have the confidence, or if you dont feel safe doing it. Some shops dont have a problem doing this, just find out their hourly rate and make sure you let them know, that you know, its a job that can be done easily within an hour and a half. Especially in a shop where they have a lift and impact tools. Another reason I would actually suggest having a shop do it, is so that you know the bolts were put back on to the right torque. Especially with something as important as a wheel hub. You dont want your wheel popping off as your cruising down the highway because you didnt have the right torque.