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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.
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.
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.
Bad rearwheelbearing symptoms
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.
Wheel hub assemblies are built to last 100K miles or more. Many last the lifetime of the vehicle. Yet, it’s also common for wheel hub assemblies to fail well before 100K miles. Some factors that would cause wheel hub assembly failure include:
Badwheelbearing sound
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.
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.
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Howlong will awheelbearing last after it starts making noise
Frontwheelbearing noise symptoms
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.
It’s always better to be safe than sorry. If you think that a customer’s car may have a bad wheel hub assembly, it’s worth taking the time to investigate. Or even if you’re just rotating a customer’s tires, it’s worth taking the time to check for wheel hub assembly failure.
Wheelbearing replacement cost
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.
Average life ofwheel bearings
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.
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.
Unlike unbalanced tires, shaking caused by a bad wheel bearing should be obvious from the side of the car where the bearing is failing.
You’ll hear clicking, cracking, grinding, snapping, or whining noises coming from your wheels or tires. They’ll increase when accelerating or turning.
Howto tell whichwheelbearing is 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.
How do you know if you need new wheel bearingsreddit
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.
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.
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.
If your wheel hub bearing fails, you’ll notice a roaring noise at high speeds. So when test driving the vehicle, be sure to push the odometer over 50 mph. If you hear a roaring noise, try to narrow it down to one of the axles. It will save you time during inspection.