OK, so Ive done some searching, along with general reading in the forums here and there. Bad wheel bearing indicators...
1) hum type noise from front end...yup got that, only noticable between 5 and 20-ish MPH. However, the tires I have are renowned for being very noisy, they had many such complains on consumer tire websites.
2) Wheel play...yes and no on that. I jacked the car up, grabbed the wheel at 12 and 6, tried to wobble it and got a little bit of play. Grab at 3 and 9, no play....ditto on 10 and 4, 2 and 8, etc and several other diagonal holds. Both drivers and passengers side had exactly identical results. Heres the kicker...car has 107,000 miles, and wheels have the same, possibly less play than when I did the same check check somewhere between 92,000 and 96,000 miles. If I had bad bearings shouldnt there be more play after 11-15,000 miles???? The way some people talk the wheel will fall off after just a few hundred miles with bad bearings...
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You will be surprised how long you can go on a bad wheel bearing before you have to worry about it falling off. That is such a extremem case. grabing the wheel at the different locations is only one test. First does the noise go away or get worse when you turn any certain direction? Example go away when your turn left, but get worse when you turn right? Also wheel bearing noise can be tricky to narrow down because the noise will go through the cabin and play tricks with your ears.
FU Tuning
if you have bad play at 12 and 6.... it could be a bad ball joint too..... play at 9 and 3 could be a bad inner or outer tie rod
wheel bearings are hard to diagnose..... the best way i have found is to remove the hub assembly and get a feel for it that way. Any roughness in turning it or even extreme looseness is a dead give away. Any play in it and its bad...
The noise I get is only noticeable at very low speed, ie under 25-30 MPH, and only during deceleration. As far as while turning there is no change in the general "road noise" I get from the car. Like I said the only play I get is at 12 and 6, and id say its maybe only 1/8th inch at the top/bottom of the tire...any other directions are pretty solid. Im thinking Im going to have them checked and replaced if need be by a professional mechanic in a few weeks when those tax stimulus checks arrive.
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Ronin J wrote:The noise I get is only noticeable at very low speed, ie under 25-30 MPH, and only during deceleration. As far as while turning there is no change in the general "road noise" I get from the car. Like I said the only play I get is at 12 and 6, and id say its maybe only 1/8th inch at the top/bottom of the tire...any other directions are pretty solid. Im thinking Im going to have them checked and replaced if need be by a professional mechanic in a few weeks when those tax stimulus checks arrive.
What you just described does not sound like a wheel bearing.
FU Tuning
Ronin J wrote:The noise I get is only noticeable at very low speed, ie under 25-30 MPH, and only during deceleration. As far as while turning there is no change in the general "road noise" I get from the car. Like I said the only play I get is at 12 and 6, and id say its maybe only 1/8th inch at the top/bottom of the tire...any other directions are pretty solid. Im thinking Im going to have them checked and replaced if need be by a professional mechanic in a few weeks when those tax stimulus checks arrive.
if you got direct deposit for your taxes it will arrive in may, if not your paper check may not come till august.
Yep doesnt sound like a wheel bearing.
I'm about 90% sure I have a bad wheel bearing on my driver's front wheel. I don't notice it unless until about 70KM/H and up. That's when a droning noise can be heard in the cabin. I shook the wheel when I had it on stands the last time, and it did have a small amount of movement in it, and the other side had none. My brother also thinks it's a wheel bearing.
Yours doesn't sound like one, particularly because you said the noise is at low speeds, and under deceleration. I could see the tires making more noise then, especially from the added load caused by braking.
Thanks for the opinions guys. Theres a local shop who has worked on my cars in the past, and proved to be trustworthy, so Im gonna have them give things on the front end a look over in a few weeks, just to be sure. As far as taxes, direct deposit for sure, its the only way to go. I filed real early this year so I should get mine pretty quick. Id be pissed if i had to wait til Aug.
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My bearings on the 04 went out last year. If it does not hum at all at highway speeds, maybe its not your bearing. See if the sound gets worse and go from there, mine continually got worse, obviously.
When mine went out I could hear it at almost all speeds, when I slowed down it would be a little louder but when I got going you could still hear it. Also.. if you're going to change them.. do both... mine were about 50 bucks a pop. I went a few months on the bad ones.. you'll be okay.
JBOK.org / J-Bodies of Kentucky
btw.. its not very hard to do you can save money and avoid the shop. just need some elbow grease getting that @!#$ on and off.
JBOK.org / J-Bodies of Kentucky
so if you turn left and theres still sound, but turn right and it goes away, which one is bad?
1DirtyJ wrote:btw.. its not very hard to do you can save money and avoid the shop. just need some elbow grease getting that @!#$ on and off.
I dont really have the tools or time to do it myself.
If it turns out they do need to be replaced what kind of $$$ should I be ready for? I know the bearings are around $100 for a set, but what kind of labor time does it take to do em?
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Jack the car up in the front. Start it, and put it in drive. Slowly let off the brake. Let the wheels spin by idle. Then go to each of the front wheels and grab the spring near the top. If you feel vibrations in that spring, its most likely that sides wheel bearing. Be sure to check both sides.
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