No one likes comebacks, but they happen sometimes. You can reduce the number of comebacks your shop gets after a wheel hub assembly replacement with the three tips listed here.

What causes a bad wheel bearingwhile driving

Good wheel hub assemblies are built like tanks. But sometimes they break or wear out, like any other part on a car. What causes wheel bearings to go bad though? There are three common causes of bearing failure: impacts, contamination, or improper alignment.

Premature frontwheel bearingfailure can be caused by excessive

The wheel bearing is housed within the hub assembly, providing the static connection with the hub carrier through an outer ring or ‘racer’. On driven wheels, the driveshaft travels from the transmission and passes through the centre of the wheel bearing through the inner ring, creating the rotational partnership. Ball-type bearings are generally used on the driven wheels of a vehicle, while tapered roller bearings, with cylindrical rollers arranged around an inner ring, are predominantly used on the non-driven wheels.

Sometimes when your tire hits a pothole, curb, or another large obstacle hard enough, your wheel bearing gets damaged. The bearing either breaks or becomes weaker, leading to eventual failure. Is your car driving differently after hitting a pothole or something else? Your wheel hub assembly may have taken a beating and need inspection.

How long willa wheel bearinglast after it starts making noise

At GMB, we build premium wheel bearing and hub assemblies that fit all of the criteria listed above. You can’t go wrong with a GMB wheel hub assembly. Please contact us for more information about our world-class wheel bearing and hub assemblies.

If you’re looking for the key to reducing comebacks, it’s to use high-quality replacement parts. Installing a quality part means that there’s a low chance the customer will come back.

Whether you’re testing your own car or a customer’s car, you want to be able to detect the most common signs of a failing wheel hub assembly or a bad wheel bearing:

Catastrophicwheel bearingfailure

Average life ofwheelbearings

Don’t forget to check the other components under the car! Worn ball joints and tie rod ends can cause symptoms like those caused by a bad wheel bearing.

In the early stages of bearing failure, you may hear the failure before you can feel it using techniques listed above. Another way to determine if the wheel bearing is failing is to measure the runout of the hub. Runout is a measurement of the amount of play in the wheel bearing. You need a dial gauge to precisely measure runout. The rule of thumb is that if the hub’s runout exceeds .004″, the bearing has failed.

Like all mechanical parts on a car that rotates, rub and roll, they tend to wear out eventually. There are several signs of a knackered wheel bearing. The most common is a constant drone, hum or growl from the affected wheel, which will get more noticeable as speed increases or the car turns. You may also notice less responsive steering or speed-dependent wheel wobble. On more modern cars, which often have anti-lock brake sensors integrated into the hub assembly, you might get an ABS warning light on the dash.

The wheel hub’s job is to connect the axle and wheel and to allow the wheel to spin smoothly. Most of the time a vehicle is traveling in a straight line, which puts only minimal stress on the wheel bearing. If your vehicle is out of alignment and pulling, you have to constantly turn slightly to keep the car going straight. Then the bearing is under the added stress of a slight turn all the time. This causes the bearing to wear faster.

There’s a decent chance that at some point, you’ve had your car back from an MOT test and found a patch of orange on the results that says something along the lines of ‘play in offside front wheel bearing.’ It sounds scary - after all, in order of everything you want to function correctly on your car, the wheels are pretty far up the list.

Wheel bearingreplacement cost

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A car’s wheel bearing does this by using small metal balls or cylindrical rollers that roll between two smooth rings of metal. Helped along by grease, the bearing rotates in tandem with the wheel’s rotation, the rolling motion of the balls or rollers allowing the wheel hub to rotate as freely as possible. It also helps absorb some of the forces exerted on the car’s wheel during acceleration, braking and cornering.

How to tell whichwheel bearingisbadwhile driving

Most online parts stores will now sell the entire hub assembly with the wheel bearing pressed into it, saving the hassle and potential scope for mistakes within the specific bearing assembly. It goes without saying, but you should also make sure that, if possible, you or the garage is using an original manufacturer part or one of reasonably similar quality - this is one area you really don’t want to skimp on.

Which means, that a few months prior, I’ve just hit 210 KPH with broken wheel bearings in what’s essentially a 20 years old coffin on wheels. Yay.

Hey, i have driven a car to the limit where humming sound is so loud inside that you can’t even hear a Radio. They can last a long time before they go, even if they are shot.Also had an situation where from the moment bearing started to hum, till it disintegrated it self, it lasted about 2 km…. I guess it depends on how good brand you use and how lucky you are.

The most common mechanical failure is due to a seal leak, which allows the lubricating grease to exit the bearing, and water and grit managing to worm its way in. This all amounts to the degradation of the balls and the outer and inner housing of the bearing, often creating that gritty, skimming sound as the wheel is rotating. Looking inside a worn-out bearing, there will often be small specs of metal that have broken off from inside the bearing itself and are grinding their way around the racers, causing more damage. If you have had a minor shunt, it’s always worth having the hub assembly checked over afterwards.

Wheel bearings should last tens of thousands of miles, but many mechanics will simply hammer the bearing back into the hub assembly instead of precisely aligning it and using the aforementioned press. This will inevitably lead to the bearing not rotating in the perpendicular fashion that it was designed for, accelerating wear and damage to the part. It’s important, therefore, if you’re not 100 per cent confident in your own ability, to ensure you’re using a trusted, professional garage.

If you notice these symptoms during your test drive, it can’t hurt to physically inspect each wheel hub assembly on the vehicle. To do this:

As long as you catch a wheel bearing issue early, though, it shouldn’t be a massively expensive or time-consuming fix, and if you’re decent with a spanner, it’s potentially something you can sort yourself. Here’s what a wheel bearing is, why it’s important, and how to tell if there’s something wrong with one.

Wheel bearings are generally made from hardened steel, so they can withstand a serious amount of rotational abuse. But apply heat (through lack of lubrication) or dirt and water (broken seal) and all hell can break loose (this is yet another reason to avoid driving through deep water). Hitting one too many potholes or taking speed bumps too quickly can also exert excessive force on your bearings, shortening their useful life.

Frontwheel bearingnoise symptoms

I feel dumb because I cant figure out how the bearings work with the rotating axle and how it doesnt just spin and the wheel not move.

How unbearable, those bearings look like Lindor balls all melted up. I’m losing my bearings, I think it’s hazelnut Lindors, but i’m not sure if it’s Dark chocolate or not, or milk chocolate bearing a dark top layer. Bare with me here……….., cuz i don’t really care, I’ll eat them both.

Like all the components under the car, wheel hubs are continually exposed to water, dirt, dust, and other contaminants. They will corrode over time. Cars that live in cold climates are subject to salt and magnesium chloride. If you drive in the rain, some water may splash on the components in the undercarriage. But your wheel hubs get bathed in water. Wheel hubs are very exposed to the elements, so corrosion may cause problems sooner than it would for other components under the car.

To replace a wheel bearing properly, it has to be popped out of the hub assembly, preferably using a hydraulic press. Problems can arise with the re-installation of the new bearing, as the alignment must be accurate to avoid the bearing wearing out rapidly and causing further pain.

Last year I was driving from Townsville to Brisbane. And about 800km in the wheel bearing on the rear right wheel went which shook the wheel completely off. I was only a learner at the time so it was the scariest thing that had happened to me while driving. The worst part was the car had just been serviced for the trip and the bearings had been replaced.

They never seize immediately. No need to fear. I have a comparison to make. My Skoda had 5 out of 4 changed in its 175 000 km lifetime. Only one bearing failure might have been caused by an accident. My E46 has had the originals for 245 000 km and 13 years. And none of them seems to be on their way out.

Wheel bearings play an important role within the drivetrain of any vehicle, as they provide the first connection between the moving and static areas of the car. A bearing – in its simplest form – is a friction reduction device placed within something like a wheel to aid the efficiency of rotation. This is achieved as rolling produces much less friction force than sliding.

Just a few months ago I’ve had the rear wheel bearings of my E36 replaced. When the mechanic popped them out, he said that the rear right bearing was shot beyond recognition and it was a miracle that it didn’t break.

If left to wear down further, a wheel bearing could seize and lock the axle, causing all sorts of additional damage to the drivetrain. Worst-case scenario, the wheel may come off the car altogether, so it’s best to get the car looked at as soon as possible if you suspect a dodge bearing. However, considering the forces that a drivetrain has to counteract during its lifetime of usage, it is impressive how long wheel bearings can last if inserted properly and looked after - depending on the car, original bearings can generally last for comfortably over 100,000 miles.

Although it can be a labour-intensive job if one were to fail, the shift to selling entire hub assemblies should make a bad wheel bearing fixable from home, with a decent tool kit and a bit of know-how. So do not fret the next time that horrid whir begins to creep into the cabin, as a fix may be only a ratchet spanner away.