I don't think GM makes passenger versions anymore, but the cargo vans are still super common in my area (southern Ontario).
I don't think GM makes passenger versions anymore, but the cargo vans are still super common in my area (southern Ontario).
For example, today I replaced a front wheel hub-bearing on a FWD car. These are designed with a cast steering knuckle that the axle goes through. The bearing assembly is mounted on the front of the bore, the axle goes through the bore into the hub-bearing from the back, and there's a little seal on the back of the bore that the axle rides on.
Diagram: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Steering...
The weakness is that water inevitably gets into the bore around the back seal (since the axle moves around a bit) and the only way out is through the bearing out the front. It rusts out. Nobody has improved this design for the past 50 years, as far as I am aware. Perhaps a weep hole? Perhaps they need to be completely filled with grease?