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.

How to diagnose wheel bearingwhile driving

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.

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

How totell whichwheel bearingis bad while driving

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.

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.

Bad rearwheel bearingsymptoms

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.

How tocheck rearwheelbearings

The hub assembly is located between the brake drums or discs and the drive axle. A wheel is bolted on it. Depending on the construction, the end of the hub comes equipped with the splined teeth. They mate the teeth on the axle shaft. The axle hub spins along with the wheels bolted to it and provide power to the wheels in order to rotate.

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.

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.

Wheel hub bearing are used at least since the 1930s when SKF designed a unit used on the Citroën Traction Avant car.[2] As of 2019 at least 90 million vehicles use SKF wheel hub bearings.[2]

How to diagnose wheel bearingnoise

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 bearingreplacement cost

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.

A roller bearing between the axle hub and axle shaft ensures easy rotation of the non-drive wheels. On the axle side, it is mounted to the holding bracket from the chassis; on the disc side, the wheel is mounted to the bolts of the WHA. When replacing, a wheel hub assembly should be torqued to the vehicle's specifications to prevent failure.[1]

Frontwheel bearingnoise symptoms

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.

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.

Average life ofwheelbearings

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.

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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.

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 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.

A wheel hub assembly (WHA), also referred to as hub assembly, wheel hub unit, wheel hub bearing, is an automotive part used in most cars, passenger vehicles, and light and heavy trucks.[citation needed]