Symptoms of wheel bearing failure

[GTRS Fiero]

If you're a-hearin' a grindin', might that be the wheel bearin'?

[scottb]

Mite bee....... jack up said wheel and shake, loose is bad juju

[GTRS Fiero]

Jack it up by...?

[Wreck It Ralph]

The more fun way is to do S-curves in a parking lot. I always forget the rule but like going to the right and the noise stops then it’s the left but front or back is more difficult.

So yeah. Put it on jack stands. Grab one wheel at a time. Try to wobble it by putting one hand on each side and push one side while pulling the other and then reverse. Shouldn’t move. If none move then can be inside the trans.

I also just do the kick test but my foot has been calibrated. 😂

[scottb]

Jack it up by...?

Frame, control arm, unibody........ wheel is much easier to shake when elevated...

A more serious note, wheel needs to be off the ground, grad wheel top and bottom and check for movement, any movement means loose/bad wheel bearing.

[GTRS Fiero]

Not tie rod or ball joint?

[Wreck It Ralph]

Well you could find a bad suspension part but grinding is something rubbing on something. Of course it even can be breaks. Put on stands and play.

[GTRS Fiero]

The sound I hear is similar to the sound you would hear if you drug a sledgehammer on concrete.  Not on my Fiero.

[Wreck It Ralph]

That sounds like breaks but would need to hear it.

What part of town are you in? I’m in Fayette county but also work up in Cobb. I can look at it with you. Shop not ready yet but I got a lot of driveway.

[GTRS Fiero]

If only I were that close.  Figure about 10 hours away.

[The Art Doctor]

Jack up and rotate each wheel slowly, listen for slight grinding or feel for dragging or sloppiness as scott described.  A bad wheel bearing usually makes a howling sound.  It will often stop if you hit the brakes as that puts a side load on the bearing.   I thought I had one going recently, turns out if you are running out of gas and the pump is sucking air it makes a howling sound, hit the brakes noise stops (was fuel sloshing back to cover pump inlet), run out of gas all engine noises stop but howling gets louder even with car not moving, go figure.

[Fierofool]

When checking bearings, ball joints or tie rod ends, support the vehicle by the lower control arm.  If the suspension is hanging, it tightens up everything but wheel bearings or hub bearings. 

[TopNotch]

I refer you back to this post, where I describe using an electronic stethoscope to find a bad bearing.

[Wreck It Ralph]

I refer you back to this post, where I describe using an electronic stethoscope to find a bad bearing.

Dont forget the age old long screwdriver and good ear trick if you are too cheap to buy an electronic or regular stethoscope. 😂

Harbor freight has regular stethoscopes cheap.

[Fierofool]

I have a mechanic's stethoscope with the long sounding rod.  It's come in handy a few times to narrow down a noise.  Great for checking injectors to see if they're the source of the loud tick or the skip in the engine.  It can isolate a water pump or alternator going bad, too.