I was questioning the condition of my wheel bearings on my rig a couple of weeks ago while driving on some "bull" dust trails. It seemed that when I was traveling a low speeds the wheel bearings were making a repeated squeaking. After we were off the trail I gave my brakes a shot of brake cleaner, since returning home I have not heard the squeak again.

My question is besides putting the Monty on stands and checking the bearings for "slop" or "stiffness", how can you check the bearings for wear? The bearings come as sealed unit, and I'm fairly sure you can't repack them (that's what the mitsu mechanic at the dealer told me). Since there's no way to repack them, how do you check to see if they're properly greased? Do you have to wait until they seize in some remote area before you know it's time to replace them?

I priced the OEM units and they are over $300 per bearing for the fronts and over $200 per bearing for the rears. My Monty has 103,000 miles on it at present with very few water crossings (it's almost all dust and rocks where I drive).
Thanks