I had a slight squeal/squeak from the front of the car the other day. I thought it might be wheel bearings so i grabbed at 6 and 12 and shook. My passenger side wheel felt a little loose. Just to make sure I checked the torque on my axle nuts and sure enough the passenger side axle nut was not torqued properly (wasn't hand loose but didn't take much effort to turn.) I torqued down the nut to approx 200 ft-lbs. The next day when I drive the squeal is there all the time. Jacked the car back up and there is no movement when I do the 6 12 shake test. If I put the brakes on lightly the squeal gets higher in pitch. If I put the brakes on to stop for a red light from highway speeds the squeal goes away. One more piece to the puzzle is that I used to have about a quarter in. of rust all around the edge of my rotors, when I was down there checking the axle nut I noticed that it was starting to disappear. So my question is can a axle bearing go bad but the wheel still not move when the 6-12 test is done? Could the squeal just be a high spot on the brake pad cleaning off that 1/4 in of rust?
Front Wheel Bearing
- Thread starter NJSHO
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Bizzy
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Proper torque sets the pre-load on the bearing. While I would think that the noise you heard is probably coming from the brakes, you could have damaged the bearing as well. When my front bearings were bad all they did was humm at high speeds & grind at low speeds. How are your front pads looking?
SHO SPD
SHO member #480
Yes, sounds like brakes to me. Chances are pretty good that if the noise changes with the application of the brakes, you have a brake problem. Check the pads again. Bearings will usually just groan, or sound like a airplane when your driving.
LookAtThatSHO
Who's SHO Daddy
Agreed, when my FR bearing went bad it sounded like I had a bag of cans dragging under the car 
pete315
SHO Member
I just bought a 93 SHO. I think the front wheel bearings are shot. I get a really loud humming noise when driving. forget about at 55 mph, sounds like a 747 jet is next to me. if I turn wheel slightly to right on highway, hum not as bad. but as soon as you go straight or hit a lert curve, sound is unbelievable. question- how do I change them? I never did wheel bearings on a front wheel drive car. do I need a special tools/pullers? I have to get this fixed first before I start the other 100 things to get fixed. 
SHO SPD
SHO member #480
pete315 said:I just bought a 93 SHO. I think the front wheel bearings are shot. I get a really loud humming noise when driving. forget about at 55 mph, sounds like a 747 jet is next to me. if I turn wheel slightly to right on highway, hum not as bad. but as soon as you go straight or hit a lert curve, sound is unbelievable. question- how do I change them? I never did wheel bearings on a front wheel drive car. do I need a special tools/pullers? I have to get this fixed first before I start the other 100 things to get fixed.
the bearing is pressed, you will need to remove the whole knuckle and take it to Napa to have them press out and in the bearing. you will need basic tools plus a bug like 30 or 32mm socket for the axle nut
DHMag
Free At Last
a more conclusive bearing test requires removing the wheel. then with one hand, grip the hub and move it back and forth. i tried the tire wiggle test and had no play to speak of. removed the wheel and the hub moved 1/2"
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