How To Determine Wheel Bearing Failure Modes And Troubleshooting?

Determining wheel bearing failure modes and troubleshooting comes with a lot of things to put into consideration. For example the causes of wheel bearing failure, the symptoms, how to replace, and lots more.

What Is Wheel Bearing?

A wheel bearing is a metal ball located in the wheel assembly for connecting the wheel to the axle. It’s specifically designed to minimize rolling features with its sets of steel balls(steel bearings) or tapers(tapered bearings) to give free spin to your vehicle’s wheel while it sustains your vehicle’s weight. 

How Does A Wheel Bearing Work?

Wheel bearing works by rotating one side of the bearing while the other end does not rotate (fixed on suspension). The purpose of the rolling element is to minimize friction, give free rotation between the outer and the inner race and carry the load of the vehicle.

How To Diagnose A Bad Wheel Bearing

Bad wheel bearings will lead to many issues, and it might go beyond what you expect. Here is a simple way to diagnose bad wheel bearing:

Listen For Noises: When you hear humming, howling, cyclic chirping, squealing, and growling noises while you are driving especially when it changes anytime you increase the speed of your vehicle is a sign that either your wheel bearing or CV joint is bad.

Check For Play: Raise your vehicles above the floor with your jack stand, hold the tires at both edges, and try to shake them. When they are shakeable, it means your wheel bearing might be damaged.

Rotate The Wheel: Lift your vehicle with a jack stand and rotate the wheel with your hand to notice if your wheel bearing rotates smoothly and quietly. When you notice rough rotation or grinding noise, it means your wheel bearings might be bad.

Inspect For Heat: Inspect each wheel bearing by touching the wheel hub after the drive. A bad wheel bearing will be hotter than the other because of the increased friction. If you notice that there’s a temperature difference, use caution to minimize burns.

Visual Inspection: You may need to visually inspect the serviceable units of the bearings in some cases. This process involves checking for metal shavings, rust, and debris that might be around the bearing area.

Common Causes Of Wheel Bearing Failure

Overweight Loads: Wheel bearings give support to the load weight. So, carrying loads that are way heavier than your vehicle capacity can make the wheel bearing wear out quickly.

Faulty Installation: Wheel bearings can fail when they are not installed based on the manufacturer’s recommendation, thus leading to a high chance of wheel bearing failure.

Unbalanced Tire: When your vehicle’s tires are unbalanced, it makes them work harder than their capacity. This will strain the wheel bearings and make them fail unexpectedly.

Poor Road Conditions: Remember that the wheel bearing is what carries your vehicle and makes the wheels spin freely. Therefore, driving on bumpy roads, salty roads, potholes, and dirty roads frequently will make your wheel bearings fail prematurely.

Environmental Factors: Your wheel bearings will get damaged when you drive through deep waters, dirt, potholes, and other contaminants.

Poor Quality Bearing: When your vehicle wheel bearing quality is low, it’ll make it fail prematurely even when you take precautions.

Inadequate Lubrication: Lack of lubrication or contaminated lubrication will make your wheel bearing fail prematurely.

Wear And Tear Due To Aging: Naturally, wheel bearings are subject to wear and tear over time just like every other mechanical part. The friction and heat the wheel bearing generates when operating can gradually downgrade the wheel bearings.

Lack Of Maintenance: You need to give your wheel bearings adequate maintenance for longevity. Not taking regular checks to identify and care for the wheel bearings can make them fail unexpectedly.

Symptoms Of Bad Wheel Bearings

The symptoms of a bad wheel bearing are easy to identify when you take note of the instructions below:

Noise

 This is the most obvious and common symptom of bad wheel bearings. When your wheel bearing is in bad shape you will hear clicking sound, humming noise, squealing, and growling sounds irrespective of your level of speed. The more you accelerate, the more the noise increases, and vice-versa.

Wheel Wobble

Simply use a jack to lift your vehicle above the floor and check for wheel movement. You should be unable to shake the wheel and tire. Nevertheless, if it shakes, that means you need to replace the hub assembly. There’s a high chance the wheel and tire can separate unexpectedly if you do not fix it.

ABS Failure

There will be illumination in the anti-lock warning light when the tire, ring, and wheel wobble. The speed sensor in the wheel will no longer operate properly, and the ABS may not operate or may operate at irregular intervals.

Uneven Tire Wear

When you notice that one particular tire wears out faster than the other, it might be due to the bad wheel bearing of that particular tire. Although other factors like improperly inflated tires, tire misalignment, damaged vehicle, and worn suspension components can make a tire wear out faster as well.

Vehicle Pulls To One Side

You’ll observe that your vehicle pulls to one particular side whenever you apply brakes to your vehicle. The place your vehicle often pulls to when you apply brake signifies where the damaged wheel bearings are. Nevertheless, a brake rotor or brake caliper can also cause this type of problem. 

Vibrating Steering Wheel

Another symptom of a bad wheel bearing is steering wheel vibration. The more you accelerate, the more the intensity increases. Additionally, the vehicle steering will automatically turn the vehicle to the left or right-hand side while in motion. However, you need to know that the vibration can also be a result of a flat spot on the tire, damaged parts, or an imbalanced tire.

Loose Steering

If you notice that your steering seems less responsive or less precise than it used to be, bad wheel bearing might be the problem. However, it can also mean that you need to align the wheel of your vehicle. Consider visiting an auto repair shop if you notice any of the above problems.

Brake Issues

You can experience inefficient braking as you drive. This is because when your vehicle’s wheel bearings are bad and you press on the brake, the rotor makes them feel weak when the rotor pushes the piston further. 

How To Replace Wheel Bearing

The process of replacing your damaged wheel bearings is not as difficult as you may think. It’s something you can do on your own when you follow the DIY guide.

First of all, you’ll need the following instruments in the process:

• New wheel bearings (same make and model of the damaged one)
• Car jack
• Wrench and screwdriver
• Rubber mallet, chisel, and hammer
• Wheel chocks
• Hand gloves
• Rags

Now, that you have the tools listed above, the next thing to do is to start replacing your wheel bearings. Here’s how:

Park Your Vehicle: Park your vehicle on a flat surface and use wheel chocks to chock the tire to avoid it rolling away. 

Jack Up The Wheel: Uplift the particular wheel that you want to replace. 

Detach The Caliper: When you remove the wheel, you have automatically exposed the brake caliper. The next thing you should do is to make use of a socket and ratchet to remove the bolts holding the caliper. 

Remove The Caliper: You will see the rotor when you remove the caliper. The next thing you will see when you remove the caliper is the plastic dust cover, remove it so that you will be able to access the screws and bolts holding the rotor.

Take-Off The Rotor: Remove the cotter pin, castle nut, and the washer for you to have access to the wheel’s outer bearing. Remove the wheel’s outer bearings as well and detach the rotor by lifting it from its slot. Gently use a rubber mallet to tap the rotor if it feels stuck.

Take-Off The Hub: Take away the bearing, you’ll easily find it in the hub. Lose the bolts and separate the hub from the axle with a slim socket wrench. You can easily attach a new hub assembly if you have one. However, if it is just the bearing you have, then you need to disassemble it and replace the bearings. 

To disassemble and replace the bearings, you have to separate the end piece and remove the center bolt. The next thing to do is to move away the races that are screwed in the bearing assembly. You’ll need to apply force at this stage, so use a hammer and chisel to remove these parts. Clean the grease from the hub assembly after you remove it. 

Install The Wheel Bearing: At this stage, it’s time to install your new wheel bearing. The first thing is to properly grease it before you insert it into the slots and set up the new races in their position. Make sure the wheel bearings align well for smooth rotation.

Reassemble The Wheel: Once you have successfully put the wheel back in its place, repeat all the steps in reverse order.

FAQs

How Many Miles Can I Drive With A Bad Wheel Bearing?

The mile you can drive with a bad wheel bearing is 10,000 miles. When you drive beyond these miles, your vehicle might face high complications.

Conclusion

Wheel bearing failure will surely occur because it’s just like every other mechanical component that is prone to failure, but knowing how to determine and troubleshoot wheel bearing failure when it occurs is one smart way to tackle wheel bearing failure.