You’ll hear clicking, cracking, grinding, snapping, or whining noises coming from your wheels or tires. They’ll increase when accelerating or turning.

Wheel bearingreplacement cost

Use a floor jack and a pair of safety jack stands to lift your vehicle. This lets you safely remove the tires for your bearing replacements.

Then be sure to use a wheel chock to block the tire opposite of the wheel that you will be working on first. For example, if changing the driver’s side front bearings first, you will need to chock the passenger’s rear wheel.

Premature frontwheel bearingfailure can be caused by excessive

Once you have all of the wheel bearing components removed, it is time for the fun part – the actual installation of your new wheel bearings.

You are almost there! Just a few last steps that are important to give your full attention to in order to wrap this maintenance up safely.

Now that the new bearing is installed, the brake rotor and caliper can be placed back onto the vehicle using a ratchet and the appropriate sockets that were used to remove them.

Howto tell whichwheel bearingisbadwhile driving

You can service or replace tapered wheel bearings yourself. Never reuse any wheel bearing that’s loose, worn, noisy or shows any signs of wear.

Read on to learn the most common bad wheel bearing symptoms, based on my experience (50 years in the industry) and that of Joe Simes, a National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certified and Toyota master technician. But first, a little background.

If your bearing is pressed into the spindle, it is recommended that you remove the spindle from the vehicle and take both the spindle and the new wheel bearing to your local repair shop. They will have the specialty tools to press out the old bearing and press in the new one.

Joe Simes is an ASE and Toyota master technician. After 20 years in the industry, Simes recently became a Pennsylvania Department of Education certified automotive technology instructor at North Montco Technical Career Center in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.

Replace the wheel and tighten the lug nuts by hand. Support the vehicle with a floor jack and remove the safety jack stands. Slowly lower the vehicle until its tires just touch the ground (similar to how you would when changing a flat tire).

On modern front- and four-wheel drive cars, wheel bearings are a set of permanently sealed, precisely machined steel ball or straight roller bearings. The balls, or rollers, are encased in a “cage” that supports the bearings, allowing them to rotate freely.

Catastrophicwheel bearingfailure

Don’t stress too much if your car is giving you that tell-tale sign, because it shouldn’t be a costly repair. While changing your bearings is considered a more involved job, for most it can still be done at home to avoid a trip to the mechanic. But be warned, you will need a few specialty tools to get the job done right.

Replace the retaining nut on the spindle and grab the rotor with both hands. Proceed to pull the rotor off the spindle, allowing the larger inner bearing to get caught on the retaining nut. Then, release the bearing and grease seal from the rotor.

Pro Tip: When removing the caliper, be careful not to let it dangle freely because that can damage the flexible brake line. Instead, use the wire hanger to hook it on a secure part of the undercarriage or hang the brake caliper on the suspension.

But sealed wheel bearings are non-serviceable and should never be repaired, only replaced. Even if a pro suggests repairing a bearing, don’t let them. Trying to reuse a damaged wheel bearing can result in an accident and severe injury.

Be sure to refer to your owner's manual for information on where the proper lift points to jack up your vehicle are located.

Wheel bearingfailure symptoms

To loosen your lug nuts, you will need a ½ inch ratchet with the correct size socket. Loosen the lug nuts, but do not remove them fully just yet.

If your bearing is housed inside a hub that can be unbolted, simply use your ratchet to unbolt the hub from the spindle and install a new hub.

The average cost to replace a sealed wheel hub bearing is $350 per wheel. However, depending on the make and model, shop labor rate, the cost of the bearing itself and any additional damage, the total could exceed $1,000.

The biggest tell on when it’s time to change your wheel bearings and a sign that they are starting to fail is when you hear a moaning noise coming from this area while driving.

Depending on the vehicle, you can save hundreds in labor replacing wheel bearings yourself. Most auto parts stores will lend you the specialty tools and equipment needed to replace a wheel bearing.

NOTE: Whether you DIY or your mechanic replaces the bearing, always install a new axle hub nut. Most hub nuts are prevailing torque fasteners, used on critical components (like securing axle shafts to hub bearings) where a loose nut could lead to disastrous consequences.

According to Simes, a failing wheel bearing will likely produce a soft, faint vibration that’s felt before it’s heard. There may also be a vague rhythmic humming or droning sound that increases over time and with speed.

Use a torque wrench to tighten the lug nuts to manufacturer specifications. Lower the vehicle completely and remove the floor jack.

Pack the new smaller bearing with grease and slide it on to the spindle inside the rotor. Now install the thrust washer and retaining nut onto the spindle.

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To do this, use your pliers to remove the cotter pin and retaining nut and then slide the rotor forward to release the outer wheel bearing (smaller wheel bearing).

Learning how to change your wheel bearings can be considered by some to be a bit more involved than your entry level maintenance on your truck or car. However, with these tips, you should be able to accomplish this task successfully and save yourself some money!

Howlong shoulda wheel bearinglast

Friction from a failing wheel bearing produces heat. After driving, without touching the tires or wheels, carefully walk around your vehicle and use a non-touch thermometer to measure if one is hotter than the others.

The rotor mounts on a hub that contains the pressed-in wheel bearing. Bearing assemblies on front or rear non-driven axles are mounted between a wheel hub and a simple spindle shaft. Some cars have permanently sealed front wheel bearings.

Place the new bearing into the back of the rotor and apply grease to the inside bearing cavity. Install a new bearing seal over the new larger bearing and slide the rotor back on to the spindle. (A rubber mallet can be used to tap the bearing seal into place, if needed).

Tighten the retaining nut until it is snug and turn the rotor counterclockwise at the same time. Tighten the retaining nut a ¼ turn past snug and then install a new cotter pin.

Unlike unbalanced tires, shaking caused by a bad wheel bearing should be obvious from the side of the car where the bearing is failing.

Wheel bearingnoise

On many vehicles, the ABS sensor is built into the wheel bearing, or it’s externally mounted adjacent to the spinning part of the bearing where the sensor measures vehicle speed. Damaged from a wobbly wheel bearing, the sensor will send erratic readings to the vehicle’s computer, illuminating the ABS light.

To do this, use your ratchet and ⅜ -socket set to unbolt the disc brake caliper and bracket from the spindle. Use a screwdriver to remove the caliper itself.

After gathering the supplies needed, you will need to prepare your vehicle to safely change the wheel bearings. Start by parking your vehicle on a level surface before you begin.

Place the rotor face down on the floor with the back side facing upwards. Take the new larger bearing and rub the bearing grease into the casing.

The cage and rollers are held together inside a hardened metal ring called a “race.” The seal keeps grease in and damaging water and debris out. Wheel bearings are installed inside, and secured to, the suspension, either by press fit, bolts or a snap-ring. Once mounted, the wheel bearing rides on the axle shaft, allowing the tire/wheel to spin effortlessly.

Bad wheel bearingsound

If the wheel bearings are housed inside your disc brake rotor, which is common to see in trucks, you will need to pry off the central dust cap to expose the cotter pin and retaining nut.

In most cases, this service can be done inexpensively. Once the new bearing is pressed in, the spindle can be installed back on to the vehicle.

Absolutely not. It’s crucial to get bad wheel bearings diagnosed and replaced ASAP. If not, you could lose a wheel or get in an accident.

We’re going to share how to change your wheel bearings in a more general step-by-step process for the common wheel bearing types that are found in the majority of vehicles. However, before starting your replacement job, please consult your vehicle’s service manual to ensure you know what kind of bearings you’re working with on your specific vehicle.

Simply stated, wheel bearings allow cars and trucks to run smoother and more efficiently by reducing friction and supporting vehicle weight. When they start to fail, you can usually tell.

If you encountered any problems while changing your wheel bearings, or if you are not comfortable completing this maintenance on your own, be sure to call a professional mechanic.

A bad wheel bearing can cause a tire/wheel to move or glide unevenly or sluggishly. It can also cause your brakes to drag, pulling your vehicle to one side when you try to stop.

Wheel bearings are sets of steel balls that are housed in metal casings called races, which are located in the wheel’s hub.

Congratulations, you have successfully changed your vehicle’s wheel bearing. It is important to perform a test drive after changing the wheel bearings to ensure that the repair is complete.