Checking wheel bearings for wear is easy and only requires the vehicle or wheel to be suspended. Follow these steps to check the wheel bearing on your car:

Wheel bearings provide a mounting point for the wheels and allow the wheels to spin. Wheel bearings are either a tapered rolling bearing design or a ball bearing design. Ball bearing designs are either press-in or bolt-in. Let's take a look at each bearing design in more detail.

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A broken or worn output shaft seal can cause noises under the vehicle. Many times these noises are caused by low levels of lubricants inside the transfer case or metal-to-metal grinding. If you hear noises like this, it’s time to bring the vehicle in for diagnosis.

The transfer case output shaft seal is located on the transfer case of four-wheel drive vehicles. The transfer case physically changes between two-wheel drive neutral, to low four-wheel, and then to drive high four-wheel. Inside the case are a series of gear reductions and chain drives that work together to supply power to the drive axles, giving the vehicle the option of four-wheel drive.

Tapered roller bearings are serviceable, which means they can be removed, cleaned, and repacked with grease to prolong their life. Aside from lasting longer, serviceable bearings are cheaper to replace. However, over a lifetime of service, it may add up to maintenance services/costs. Unfortunately, the majority of vehicle manufacturers do not offer serviceable bearings anymore. Years ago, the Ford F-150 and Toyota Land Cruiser used this style of bearing. The biggest drawback of tapered roller bearings is improper maintenance. Overloaded or improperly pre-loaded bearings wear prematurely. Improper grease packing is another issue when it comes to maintenance.

Worn wheel bearings shouldn't be ignored. The cost of a wheel bearing replacement in front or at the back is a small price to pay for reducing the safety hazards that come with this component wearing out.

Being able to shift on the fly from two to four-wheel drive without having to get out and lock the wheel hubs is a luxury that most of us take for granted, especially during a nasty Utah winter storm. A number of newer vehicles are equipped with part-time four-wheel drive systems, that will engage either manually when the driver selects a two, four low or four high mode. Or, automatically when the onboard computer senses that wheel traction is reduced by weather or road conditions if the vehicle is engineered to do so. The physical part of the vehicle that activates this action is the transfer case, which has an output shaft that delivers power to the drive axle. As vehicles age, the seals that connect these components together can dry up, wear out, or break. If this occurs, they will have to be replaced sooner rather than later to avoid further damages to the vehicle’s drive system.

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The transfer case output seal prevents fluid from leaking out of the transfer case, keeping the internal metal components properly lubricated.

How much is it to fix or replace a wheel bearing? That depends on the make/model of your car as well as the type of bearing. RepairPal estimates a wheel bearing replacement will cost you between $300 and $400. This estimate can be accurate for most vehicles. However, if we look at the pricing for the popular Toyota Tacoma, the price jumps as high as $740. Using a whole knuckle assembly from NAPA or other parts suppliers will cost between $250 and $500, plus labor. Like most repairs, if you do them yourself, you can save some money. However, when it comes to serviceable bearings and press-in bearings, we recommend you let the pros handle the repair, especially if you live in the rust belt.

Ball bearing wheel bearings are cheaper to manufacture and maintain than their tapered bearing counterparts. Press-in bearings require the use of a hydraulic press to safely remove and replace them. On most vehicles, such as a Honda Civic or Toyota Camry, specifically for front wheel bearing replacements, the steering knuckle will need to be removed. Removing the knuckle will require wheel alignment afterward. Due to the need for a hydraulic press, the need for wheel alignment, and the depth of the repair, most people opt to let the pros handle it. There are options such as removing the steering knuckle at home and taking the assembly into a shop and having them press the old bearing out and the new bearing in. When it comes to press-in bearings, a replacement wheel hub will be the most expensive part. Aftermarket parts such as NAPA offer full assemblies for replacement. This may be the better option, depending on how rusty or worn your vehicle is.

Wheel bearings can exhibit growling/howling noises and show no signs of play or wear, other than excessive noise. To diagnose these, you’ll need to drive the vehicle at various speeds in turns. A left front-wheel bearing that is worn may only make noise during left turns or right turns.

Sometimes the loss of fluid will cause the vehicle to jump in and out of four-wheel drive without driver activating the switch. This is often caused by broken parts inside the transfer case. If you have a leaking seal, you may notice transmission fluid under your vehicle. More often than not, the vehicle only leaks when it is driving. In this scenario the shaft can siphon and fling the fluid, leaving the driver unaware of the worsening condition. If this is the case, the seal needs to be replaced as soon as possible.

We highly recommend you avoid driving with a worn wheel bearing. Wheel bearings can become so worn that the hub can fall out of the bearing, causing the wheel to detach from the vehicle. This is a serious scenario that you’ll want to avoid at all costs. Additionally, a worn wheel bearing will reduce the vehicle’s handling and braking abilities. If your wheel bearing is only making noise and does not exhibit any wheel play when inspected, you may have some time before you absolutely need to replace the bearing. However, if the wheel has excessive play due to a worn bearing, you’ll want to get it fixed immediately.

Be vigilant in checking fluids. Even if you do not change the fluids on your vehicle yourself, we still recommend checking the fluids yourself. This practice can save you a lot of money over time.

If the wheel bearing is worn, you will feel a popping as you move the wheel. Additional methods for inspecting wheel bearings include using chassis ears, a stethoscope, and a dial indicator (to measure the exact amount of wear).

The seals that keep fluid inside the transfer case and also the transmission, are vital for your vehicle’s ability to shift properly. When fluid leaks from a broken seal, the fluid volume working inside the transmission is reduced. This causes a drop in fluid pressure that is vital for proper operation in an automatic or manually shifted transmission. If you notice that your transmission is having difficulty shifting between gears, you should bring your vehicle into a transmission repair shop for diagnosis as soon as possible. The earlier shifting problems can be diagnosed, often times the lower the cost of the repairs.

If the seals leak, fluid escapes and cannot properly lubricate the internal components of the transfer case. With time and use the parts inside will wear out and overheat. This can render the transfer case useless and the vehicle will no longer be able to shift into four-wheel drive.

If you notice growling or clunking noises, vibrations, abnormal tire wear, or excessive steering wheel play, your car may have one or more worn wheel bearings. Wheel bearings are what make our wheels go round, literally. Despite their simple design and purpose, wheel bearing replacements can be costly. The type of wheel bearing used is entirely dependent on the manufacturer, and you may pay more for a repair on a luxury vehicle. When it comes to replacing bearings, you can do this repair yourself on certain vehicles, while for others, you may need to recruit the help of the pros. In this article, we are going to cover what a wheel bearing is, how it works, the different design types, symptoms of a worn wheel bearing, how to check your car for a worn bearing, and how much it costs to replace a wheel bearing.

These are by far the easiest bearings to work with, as long as you do not live in the rust belt. Issues that arise from bolt-in bearings are bi-metal corrosion and cost. If your vehicle is equipped with an aluminum steering knuckle, expect a fight when removing the steel bearing. This mostly applies to states that suffer from increased levels of vehicle corrosion and rust due to the climate. Since replacement parts come as an assembly, the cost can be higher when compared to a press-in or tapered roller bearing. Vehicles such as the Jeep Wrangler will use these bearings on the front axle and vehicles such as the Toyota RAV4 will use these in the rear.