Wheel bearing failure signs....

[Porkchop]

Basically i have a nasty whub whub whub coming from my left front tire, it starts at ~15mph and goes till ~90mph. Minor vibration while heading straight, lessens/dissapears when turning left, and increases when turning right... Ive been told that this might be signs that a WB is failing.

I jacked the car up and tried to move the wheel toe in/out and caster in/out and it didn't move caster, but the toe was a bit loose, but I attributed that to a slightly worn innter tie rod... Also, Sway Bar endlink it slightly loose where it connects to the SB, which will be replaced

BUT anyway, even if the wheel does not move/isn't loose, does that totally rule out the WB from the list???? And would the loose Inner TR and the SB Endlink cause this vibration???

<small>[ June 06, 2003, 09:12 PM: Message edited by: Porkchop ]</small>

 

[TheNoachSHO]

I would check everything else first. You DO NOT want to have to do the wheel beaing. I did mine last weekend and wanted to kick my own a**. Try to rule everything else out first. It dosent sound like a bearing. Check for play around the tie rods, ball joint, and sway bars first. If all that is solid then have fun with the bearing and let me know if you need help.

 

[Porkchop]

Hey Noachsho - the inner tie rod was loose, but nothing that you wouldn't expect from I believe .. OEM rods. Tried to replace it but couldn't get the cuss outer rod off, it was being stubborn.

The sway bar endlink has enough play that you can prob fit a quarter in the gap b/t nut & sway bar

I hope its not a bearing, and I hope even less that its a ball joint...

 

[MilTownSHO]

Sure sounds like a wheel bearing, thats what my Crown Vic sounded like when they went out. Drove it for awhile like that, got worse and worse. When I finally fixed it all was good, nice and quiet! Bearings weren't that hard to do in that car.

<small>[ June 06, 2003, 11:39 PM: Message edited by: MilTownSHO ]</small>

 

[Porkchop]

Ok, while searching autozone.com and fordpartsonline.com the prices for a FRONT WHEEL HUB & BEARING the prices went anywhere from $120 - $70 (respectively).

Now im pretty illiterate when it comes to this part of the car, do I HAVE to replace the hub & bearing...since everything is listed as a group, or can I JUST to the bearing?? How much does a bearing normally cost?? Any input would be great

 

[Porkchop]

*bump*

 

[Markus]

Porkchop:
Ok, while searching autozone.com and fordpartsonline.com the prices for a FRONT WHEEL HUB & BEARING the prices went anywhere from $120 - $70 (respectively).

Now im pretty illiterate when it comes to this part of the car, do I HAVE to replace the hub & bearing...since everything is listed as a group, or can I JUST to the bearing?? How much does a bearing normally cost?? Any input would be great

You can replace just the bearing. The problem you may run into is that there may actually be wear on the inside of the hub causing the new bearing to be a little loose. If this is the case you'll have to buy the entire hub (which comes with a new bearing inside).

 

[DHMag]

Pep Boys has the hub and bearing set for roughly 90 dollas. replacing the hub isnt necessary if there is no damage to it. if it is indeed your wheel bearing causing the sound, it could be that its still intact but if it gets too hot, itll destroy itself, then youll need a new hub, and a new pair of britches (at 90 MPH, a wheel/tire with a mind of its own aint fun to steer with).

 

[Porkchop]

Markus:
You can replace just the bearing. The problem you may run into is that there may actually be wear on the inside of the hub causing the new bearing to be a little loose. If this is the case you'll have to buy the entire hub (which comes with a new bearing inside).

Ok, I can't honestly see how the endlink or the inner tie rod could cause THAT much vibration and disturbance to the vehicle, and this is the only other sign. The kicker is, its still solid (or supposedly solid) when I do the tire test.... I might just end up replacing the hub to make sure that there is no damage to the hub itself from the bearing. Might be a little more money, but will save some headache in the end

Pep Boys has the hub and bearing set for roughly 90 dollas. replacing the hub isnt necessary if there is no damage to it. if it is indeed your wheel bearing causing the sound, it could be that its still intact but if it gets too hot, itll destroy itself, then youll need a new hub, and a new pair of britches (at 90 MPH, a wheel/tire with a mind of its own aint fun to steer with).

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DHmag, thanks for the heads up about the price of the hub. Like I said above, I might just get a new hub to save headaches esp with the upcoming cruise ... I did the first one with this vibration, don't want to try sustained 110 again till its fixed...

Jason(thenoachsho)- I might be calling on you soon to possibly help with the bearing check (i.e taking it out and looking, I will PM you along with this post)

Thanks guys
beer

 

[DHMag]

Chop,
also, you might wanna try A-Z. i think they carry the bearing and hub assembly as well. price difference between Pep Boys and A-Z is like 10 dollars. the bearing alone is 32 at A-Z, 35 at Pep Boys. also, youll need an arbor press for press work. or spend 5 hours like i did with a hydraulic side action rachet (used for popping holes in electrical cabinets), 3 jaw puller, lotsa elbow grease and patience.

 

[pete c]

I did the front wheel bearings on my slo. Bought bearings for around 30 bucks each. Had a machine shop press them in for about 40 bucks a side. From what I hear, they are not something you wanna tackle yerself unless you have the proper tools. Getting the old ones out may be the biggest problem.

 

[philw349]

Have you tried swapping tires side to side etc? I had a whub whub whub noise at low speeds which I attributed to a tire with a defect in it.

 

[Cobria]

Iagree with having the tire checked. I cant tell you how often I've seen bad tires cause alignment, vibration, and noise problems. Most places like NTB will check them out no charge.

David

<small>[ June 20, 2003, 11:56 PM: Message edited by: Cobria ]</small>

 

[rangerj]

Porkchop,

A rythmic noise and vibration are clasic signs of front wheel bearing failure.

Once you have determined that you need front wheel bearings, and not something else, then replace the bearings and hubs as an assembly.

Note the "S" as in plural. Do both sides!

A failed bearing will let the hub wobble and heat up. Both the wobble and the heat distort the hub. If you press a distorted hub into a new bearing you will be replacing the bearing again soon. rangerj