Wheel bearings are theoretically engineered to last the life of the vehicle. There is no maintenance schedule for replacing wheel bearings, and there is no constant source of lubrication. However, they can be damaged, leading to failure.

“Our families are riding along next to these commercial vehicles while they’re going down the roads at 80,000 lb., and we want to ensure the end-user knows how to do proper installations and the procedure because the adjustment is so crucial that it can’t be left to interpretation,” says Mike Hartman, SKF national account manager.

“If you over-tighten the bearings or adjust them improperly it can lead to an overheated hub assembly and burn up the wheel-end,” Hartman says. “If it’s too loose, you’re going to have damage to the bearing and you’ll also pull on the seal itself, which may potentially leak in the future and can lead to a safety issue because if a seal’s going to leak you could potentially lead to a thermal event.

When other components fail, like an alternator, starter, injector, injector pump or EGR valve, the wheels remain on the truck. Faulty injectors aren’t exactly racking up the sort of headlines that have attorneys drooling. Bearing failures, however, are a much different story because they can lead to a tragic and costly wheel-off incident.

Most vehicles today use sealed hub bearing assemblies that contain roller bearings. While we don’t address these, older cars used tapered roller bearings, which required servicing and preload adjusting to ensure the right amount of end play or axial clearance.

“It’s unfortunate people will use whatever they have to put a seal in. Most manufacturers specifically use their own tooling that’s designed to work with those types of seals for installation purposes," he says.

Fleets and repair shops can also refer to TMC RP631C on lube fills/procedures and RP624C on lubricant fundamentals, STEMCO advises

Of course, there’s a lot more to maintaining a smooth, safe ride than swapping out bearings and races. Tools, torque settings and lubricants all play vital roles. Reaching TMC’s recommended wheel bearing end play of .001- to .005-in. requires a calibrated dial indicator “with its magnetic base affixed to the hub or brake drum.” This isn’t boat trailer maintenance. Simply feeling out for bearing end play without a dial indicator is not recommended, experts say.

“Check the condition of the spindle and the hub itself and make sure there’s no cracks and no deterioration. Then when you dock the hub assembly ensure that it's properly aligned without impacting the spindle and potentially damaging any of the components,” Hartman says.

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If there is excessive play in the steering, meaning the steering seems less responsive or less precise than normal, worn bearings could be causing the problem. Also, this could be a sign the vehicle needs a wheel alignment. If you have any of the signs listed above, visit a dealer service or auto repair shop.

If one tire wears out faster than the others, it could be a sign that the wheel bearings are worn. However, it also could be a sign the tire is improperly inflated (too much air pressure or not enough), the tires are improperly aligned, or the vehicle has damaged or worn suspension components.

“We want to make sure before we inspect all the components themselves,” Hartman says. “Inspect the spindle nuts, no matter who manufactured them, inspect the threads to ensure they’re intact and not damaged or cross-threaded. Check the spindle itself. We want to make sure that it’s properly threaded and that there’s no cross-threading and no missing threads.

The anti-lock warning light may illuminate if the ring, tire, and wheel wobble, the wheel’s speed sensor is no longer operating properly, and the ABS may operate sporadically or not at all. See a professional for repair.

Your vehicle will signal that it’s time to replace a failed wheel bearing. For example, if you hear unusual sounds like humming or clicking, then your bearing might be bad. Watch out and listen for these signs and symptoms:

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The bearings are tightly packed in a grease-filled, waterproof, sealed metal ring. This housing, called a race, is located inside the hub, and each wheel has one. Wheel bearings have a Herculean responsibility: They are engineered to support the vehicle’s entire weight.

While seal damage often conjures up images of techs hammering away on a block of wood, punch or some other object to seat seals into a hub, other lapses in judgement can lead to damage.

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[This article was originally published in 2020 by Trucks, Parts, Service. It has been updated to include more timely information.]

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“It’s also important to apply lubricant to the correct area of the wheel seal OD or ID of the seal before assembly. You should always follow the seal manufactures’ recommendations for the correct area of the seal to apply lube because if this is not done properly it can lead to a premature seal failure,” he adds.

Technicians can check for wheel wobble by putting the vehicle on a lift and manually checking for wheel movement. Typically, it would be impossible to shake the wheel and tire. However, if it moves, the hub assembly needs immediate attention. The tire and wheel can literally come off the vehicle at any time, at any speed, if you don’t repair your vehicle.

Wheel bearings connect a car’s wheels to the axles. They allow wheels to turn with minimal friction. Though wheel bearings are low-maintenance parts, they are important safety components of a vehicle’s braking, steering, and suspension systems. The one-piece hub assembly, between the drive axle and the brake disc or drums, incorporates the hub, wheel bearings, ABS (anti-lock braking system) wheel speed sensor, and mounting flange.

The original equipment bearings on your vehicle are engineered for specific loads. Those bigger and wider tires look cool, as do tires with lower tread walls. But they place higher loads on the wheel bearings, possibly resulting in accelerated wear. That could present a safety issue if your wheel bearings fail.

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“There are some manufacturers that don’t require any type of special tool,” Hartman says. “You can essentially use a hand tool like a rubber mallet. That negates some of those tool issues we see are in the market where people are using a block of wood, flat bar or something to put a seal in. It could do more damage to the seal unbeknownst to the end-user because they may not see it but internally the seal could be damaged from an improper tool being used.”

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“We have, at SKF, a complete lubrication validation department with our rubber engineering. Every time we meet with a specific fleet or an OE that wants to use a specific lubricant, we actually take that and run a compatibility test with it because we don’t know how types of types of lubricants are going to interact with certain rubber,” says Hartman.

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“I think the old days of not utilizing maintained and calibrated measuring and adjustment tools have gone by the wayside and a lot of the fleets value training,” Hartman says. “They want to keep their technicians abreast of the latest training efforts and most of the manufacturers do supply that at no charge now because it’s so crucial to have that end-play dialed in within one- to five-thousandths of an inch if it’s a manually adjustable hub.”

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Though thankfully not as dramatic, other signs of wheel bearing failure include excessive heat, noise, reduced fuel economy and wheel wobble, Fally says.

Wheel-end integrity is vital to truck maintenance and repair because no fleet customer wants the costly and dangerous breakdowns that wheel-end failures can bring.

“STEMCO is proud to partner with TMC in the constant development of their recommended practices for recommended wheel-end procedures and maintenance,” says Fally.

The most easily identifiable and common symptom of bad wheel bearings is audible. But it can be confusing. For example, the source of a humming noise can be linked to other issues, such as tires and the CV joint.

When you’ve docked the hub assembly on the spindle, always support the hub while you’re putting the outer bearing assembly in the assembly,” he says. “When you start your adjustment procedure, ensure you use the proper tools and follow the recommended procedure for the application, example being for a manually adjustable hub, you would use the RP-618.”

Imagine driving on the freeway when the left front tire and wheel suddenly break off, sending your out-of-control vehicle skidding across several lanes of 65 mph traffic. This is not an exaggeration. This is reality, and can happen if you fail to notice the signs the wheel bearings are deteriorating and need immediate repairs. Your wheel bearing might be bad if you hear unusual sounds like humming, squeaking, or clicking. Some experts say a bad wheel bearing can sound like a bird chirping. Also, if your car wobbles or pulls to one side, you will want to get it checked.

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“There are multiple variations of every different type of rubber and how they react with lubricants can be unknown at times and that’s a problem,” he says. “So what we do is run compatibility tests and put them through, in most cases, this starts with a minimum of a 30-day immersion test, then a full testing period to make sure there’s no type of degradation of the product or any type of contamination that we see with result of a lubricant that’s going to effect the seal, which would denigrate the life of it.”

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However, luxury cars are more expensive to repair. Do note that if bearings go bad at one wheel, replacing the bearings at the other wheel on the same axle is unnecessary. Don’t let someone talk you into work that is not needed. Get the price estimate for wheel bearing replacement for your make and model of car.

If you hear a clicking sound that increases in frequency as the vehicle accelerates, there could be a problem with the wheel hub assembly.

The cost to replace one front-wheel hub assembly varies widely. Among the variables are the vehicle brand and model, the garage’s labor rate, and the cost of parts. The average out-the-door wheel bearing replacement cost without taxes is about $350 per wheel.

The typical sounds of worn-out wheel bearings are squealing and/or growling. The sound intensifies as vehicle speed increases. Try to pinpoint the location of the noise because it will identify the location of the worn-out bearings.

Wheel bearingnoise

“The number one reason for a premature seal failure may be caused by a combination of improper bearing adjustment, improper or incomplete seal installation (always follow manufacturers' installation and pre-lubrication recommendations), not installing the hubcap correctly and not cleaning the spindle end, bearings and hub properly,” Fally says.

Bearings also aren’t going to get far without lubrication. And lubrication isn’t going to last for the long haul without good seals.

“The good news is most of the time, a vehicle will let you know way before a failure ever happens,” said Gary Hardesty, Kelley Blue Book’s in-house service and maintenance expert and an A.S.E. certified master technician. “The key is to listen to your car. Most times, a failing wheel bearing will exhibit a growling type of noise that changes with vehicle speed. The faster the car (goes), the faster the frequency of the growl.”

Bearings won’t get far without the proper lube and for that Fally pointed to TMC’s RP-631B which provides recommendations for wheel-end lubrication.

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“Lubricant integrity is critical to the function and durability of all wheel-end components,” Fally says. “STEMCO recommends frequent inspection of the wheel-end for lubricant contamination and/or water intrusion. STEMCO is committed to continually testing lubricants available to the heavy-duty trucking industry to support the best performing systems. We publish a regularly reviewed list of recommended wheel-end lubricants.”

Driving with bad wheel bearings impacts the safety of a vehicle, and it could cause a serious car accident. We do not advise driving on them when they fail and recommend getting them checked out as soon as possible. Bad wheel bearings can damage things like your hub, the vehicle’s constant velocity joint (CV joint), or the automatic transmission.

At the heart of dependable wheel-end performance lies proper wheel bearing adjustments. TMC’s RP-618C, which was just revised in October 2021 and serves as the gold standard in making those critical adjustments that can improve uptime and the bottom line. Hartman quickly referred to those recommended practices, as did Keith Fally, STEMCO national OEM account and service manager.

In this story, we’ll tell you quick facts to know, such as what causes a bad wheel bearing, how long you can drive on one, and the estimated replacement cost of a wheel bearing as you maintain your vehicle.

Worn bearings may cause a vehicle to pull to the left or right when brakes are applied. The direction the vehicle pulls signals where the worn bearings are located, on the left or right side of the vehicle. However, this can also signal brake rotor or brake caliper problems.

Hardesty cautions that if you think something is wrong, don’t wait to get it diagnosed: “The longer you wait, the more it will cost as other components may be damaged by a wheel bearing.”

“Common missteps during bearing adjustments might include improper tightening, not checking end-play, not installing the axle fastener correctly or completely, not spinning the hub to set the bearings and not following the TMC recommended guidelines,” Fally says.

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated for accuracy since it was originally published. Rick Kranz contributed to this report.

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Bad wheel bearings can cause the steering wheel to vibrate. The intensity increases as the vehicle speed increases and the vehicle turns to the left or right. However, the vibration could be linked to an out-of-round tire (there could be a flat spot on the tire) or a tire that is no longer balanced. Another cause is damaged or worn suspension components.