LinearBearingBlock

When the car is elevated and in place, take hold of each wheel in turn and wiggle it backwards and forwards, side to side. If there is any play in the wheel, it feels wobbly or loose, or an unusual noise accompanies some minor movement, then you’ve found the problem wheel.

Suspect that your car is suffering from a faulty wheel bearing? Our guide can help you check and diagnose the problem, and decide if and when it’s still safe to drive.

Linear GuideRail bearing

Replacing all of your car’s wheel bearings might cost an eye-watering sum, but it’s guaranteed to be a lot cheaper than repairing the damage should a bearing fail.

Continuing to drive on a bad wheel bearing can lead to extensive and critical damage which will be significantly more expensive to repair than a simple bearing re-grease and service. And in the worst cases, the damage from a faulty bearing that goes untreated can prove impossible to fix, particularly if it contributes to corrosion of surrounding components and the axle.

LinearRail bearing

Given the damage that can occur as a result of a failed wheel bearing, not to mention the dangers, this further reinforces the importance of getting those bearings checked and repaired the moment you realise there’s a problem.

Linear BallBearing

If you buy less than a full reel, you'll get a single strip, but it will be a cut piece from a reel which may or may not have a connector on it. If the piece comes from the end of the reel, the connector may be on the output end of the strip!

Typically, wheel bearings have a lifespan of around 85,000 to 100,000 miles, so if your car is approaching these kinds of figures, it’s important to keep an eye on the tell-tale signs of a bearing in decline.

You can still drive with a bad wheel bearing, but we wouldn’t recommend it for long distances. Keep your mileage to a minimum and look out for worsening symptoms of a wheel bearing fault; we cover the symptoms to check for later in this guide.

Heavy duty Linear Slide rails

To do that, you’ll first need to jack up your car so that both wheels are off the ground. We would strongly recommend using service ramps for this to ensure you can carry out the following checks safely.

Adafruit NeoPixel Digital RGB LED strips come to us in 4 or 5 meter reels with a 2 or 3-pin JST SM connector on each end and separated power/ground wires as shown in the picture below. If you order a full 4 or 5 meters, you get the full reel with both connectors installed.

LinearBearingSlide Rails

Confident in car maintenance DIY? Lubricate and service your car’s wheel bearings with Holts Multi-Purpose Lithium Grease. Trusted by professionals, it reduces friction and wear in all moving parts, even those that work under extreme pressure. For more top tips and advice, read the Holts blog or visit our help and advice centre.

Linearbearing

Do the CNC electric-slide! To the left, now to the right. Now you have no excuse for not building that CNC robot. This is a 'supported style' 15mm wide slide rail makes adding linear motion control easy. This product is the slide rail itself only, it works perfectly with our 15mm Diameter Rail Smaller Slider and the 15mm Diameter Rail Larger Slider. Made of a precision stainless-steel precision railing. It is possible to cut it down to any size but you'll need tools that can cut hardened stainless steel.The stainless steel rail is strong and straight but works best if bolted down. There are holes in the base for easy attachment to any metal or wood surface. Unlike our rounded rail, this style can support a platform of maybe 5 lbs without needing another support. For best stability, you'll want two of these and then two or more rail sliders for support. Note that these are 'hobby' grade slide rails, the slider only moves with force applied, such as a motor! They are pretty good quality and suitable for DIY robotics projects, but they're not going to have the same smooth action as high-grade (several $100) machine components.Do not try to attach either slider onto the rail without the plastic insert! The insert keeps the ball bearings in while you fit the slider on. See the photos for more details on how to do this! If you lose a ball bearing or two, it'll still work but its best to keep them all in! Play video: New Products 5/7/2014

As you’ll know from our car maintenance glossary, bearings allow the wheels to turn freely without generating huge amounts of heat. If a bearing were to fail, the wheel can seize up altogether, resulting in catastrophic damage and the potential for a serious incident. Indeed, in the very worst-case scenario, a failed bearing can cause the wheel to rip away from the car entirely.

Rail and bearingtypes

Need to recap the signs of a failing wheel bearing? Here are the symptoms to watch out for while you’re driving, particularly when turning corners:

The cost of a wheel bearing replacement in the UK is roughly £150-£300, dependent on the make and model of your car and a mechanic’s labour costs. The good news is that you don’t need to replace all wheel bearings at once if the other three remain in a safe and serviceable condition.

If you’re aware that there’s an issue with your car’s wheel bearing, it’s best to take it straight to a mechanic for a full diagnosis and repair. Often, it may just be a case of relubricating the ball bearings within the assembly before repacking them, which is significantly simpler to put right than the alternative.

Once you’ve performed this basic wheel bearing test, you should have a better idea of where the problem is. Then, it’s a case of diagnosing the front or rear wheel on the side in question.

If you suspect you have a wheel bearing fault but aren’t sure which side of the vehicle is affected, there’s a safe and simple test you can use to check. Our step-by-step guide below can take you through how it’s done…