Car wheel bearingssymptoms

Frontwheelbearing noise symptoms

Deanna Sclar is an acclaimed auto repair expert. She has appeared on hundreds of radio and TV shows, including NBC's Today show and the NBCNightly News. Sclar lectures internationally on the ecological impact of vehicles and is active in promoting residential solar energy programs. Sclar is also the author of Buying a Car For Dummies.

You can check your car's wheel bearings to see if they need to be repacked. Wheel bearings usually come in pairs of inner and outer bearings. They allow your wheels to turn freely over thousands of miles by cushioning the contact between the wheel and the spindle it sits on with frictionless bearings and lots of nice, gooey grease. This grease tends to pick up dust, dirt, and little particles of metal, even though the bearings are protected to some extent by the hub and the brake drum or disc.

Before you check your bearings, consult your owner’s manual or dealership to find out whether the bearings on your vehicle are sealed. If they are, you can’t repack them.

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There should be minimal movement. Excessive play may indicate that the wheel bearing is worn and needs adjustment or replacement.

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Listen for any unusual noise and feel for any roughness as it rotates, which may indicate that the bearing is damaged and needs to be replaced.

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If you have drum brakes: It’s important to check the bearings when you check your brakes to make sure that the grease hasn’t become fouled. If it has, the particles act abrasively to wear away the very connection the bearings are designed to protect, and the result is a noisy, grinding ride. In extreme cases, you could even lose the wheel! If the bearings look cruddy, either repack them yourself or get a professional to do it.

If you have disc brakes: You have to remove the caliper to get at the bearings. Although this task isn’t terribly difficult, certain aspects of the job can create problems for a beginner. Because your brake system can kill you if it isn’t assembled properly, you might want to do the job under supervision at an auto class.