What You Need To Know About Wheel Bearing Replacement Cost

Anytime you think of maintaining your vehicle, understanding the actual cost is paramount. This article traverses deeply into what you need to know about wheel bearing replacement costs including factors to consider, types, and so on.

What Is Wheel Bearing?

Wheel bearing is an important component in a vehicle’s wheel assembly that supports and guides the shaft and axle and it enhances smooth and efficient rotations in your vehicle’s wheel while you’re driving.

Types Of Wheel Bearing

Generally, there are five types of wheel bearings namely; ball, tapered, roller, angular contact, and hub unit wheel bearings.

Ball Bearings

It make use of hardened steel balls between the inner and outer races to reduce friction. They are specifically designed to control the axle shaft’s thrust movement and to give optimal performance when operating at high speed. 

Roller Bearings

These are unique because they have a longer contact area to support heavier loads. Additionally, they make use of rollers that are present between the inner and outer races to minimize friction. They uses smaller needle bearings, you’ll also find needle bearings in some types of vehicles.

Tapered Roller Bearings

They support radial and axial loads, they are commonly found in vehicles. Tapered rollers tolerates more weight because the bearings and rollers are tapered. The rollers are fastened in a cage between the inner and outer races so that they can move freely in the cage and allow heat expansion.

Angular Contact Bearing

This type of wheel bearing also withstands high radial and axial loads and it can be adjusted to support combined loads in both directions. You’ll find them mostly in high-precision wheels, in sports cars for example.

Hub Unit Bearings

It’s a modern development. Manufacturers use them more in passenger vehicles for easy installation and reliability. Lastly, they’re pre-assembled and maintenance-free units that help to join bearings, hubs, and seals into one.

Symptoms That Indicate You Need To Replace Your Wheel Bearing

Here are the most common signs you’ll notice that suggest you have to replace your wheel bearings:

Strange Noise: This happens when the grease in the wheel bearing leaks or degrades. It will make the ball bearings grind together, thus resulting in excess heat and extra stress that is capable of making them wear out over time.

Uneven Tire Wear: When you observe that your vehicle wheel wobbles back and forth while you are driving, it means that your vehicle has developed a looser fit thus resulting in wheel bearing wearing out.

Vehicle Pulling To One Side: You’ll notice that your wheel bearing drifts to one side or stops being responsive when your vehicle has a damaged wheel bearing.

Other Steering Issues: When this happens, it indicates that your wheel bearings have been excessively damaged. The sign is you will feel a serious wobble in your vehicle steering. The wobble will further get worse as you accelerate more.

Braking Issue: You’ll not only see signs of damaged wheel bearings when your vehicle is in motion, but you’ll also see the symptoms when you apply a brake to your vehicle.

Factors That Determine The Cost Of Wheel Bearings

According to research, a few powerful factors can determine the cost of wheel bearings:

Vehicle Make And Model: Vehicle make and model can contribute to the cost of wheel bearings. Some vehicles like sports cars, performance vehicles, and luxury vehicles may require customized wheel bearings that are sometimes more expensive than those that are utilized in standard vehicles. 

Labor Costs: The labor cost can influence the cost of your wheel bearings because the service provider will charge you based on how complex your job is, how easy it is to access your wheel bearings, and even the hourly rates. There’s the possibility of additional service charges like the wheel hub inspection and brake system inspection.

Type Of Wheel Bearings: There are various types of wheel bearings like ball bearings, roller bearings, and tapered bearings. All these are types of wheel bearings and the type your vehicle uses can affect the replacement cost because their costs vary.

Additional Components: In some instances, you may need to replace other associated parts like wheel hubs, seals, or axle nuts in the process of replacing your wheel bearings. Since you need to replace additional parts, it’ll inflate the overall cost of your repair.

Quality Of Replacement Parts: This is another important factor that determines the cost of wheel bearings. OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) Buying wheel bearings directly from manufacturers will better fit your vehicle and will be durable, although it might be expensive. But when you buy aftermarket wheel bearings you might get different quality at affordable prices.

How To Replace A Car’s Wheel Bearing

Replacing a car’s wheel bearing is as easy as anything else under the sun when you follow the procedures below.

What you need to do first is to make sure you have the following materials ready:

Materials Needed:

• Jack and Jack stand
• Lug wrench
• Socket set
• Screwdriver
• Pliers
• Grease
• New wheel bearing
• Hammer
• New cotter pin
• Bearing race and seal driver set

1. Did you have any of this material ready? The next thing is to go into the main business of the day. Here are the procedures:
2. Make sure you park the car on a flat surface, use wheel chocks to chock the wheels, and put on your safety glasses and gloves.
3. Use your jack to lift your vehicle above the floor and secure it with a jack stand. Lift your car to the extent that you’ll have enough space to work on the wheels.
4. Now remove the wheel with your lug wrench, take off the wheel, and set it aside.
5. Identify the location of the wheel bearings on your vehicle. Mostly they are around your hub assembly. Remember you have to remove the drum to access the wheel bearings, that’s if your car is made up of a drum brake system. 
6. Remove the bolts securing the hub assembly to the steering knuckle or axle with your socket set. When you do this, you automatically expose the wheel bearings
7. After you have successfully removed the hub assembly, remove your old wheel bearings. Your vehicle might require you to remove the cotter pin and castle nut holding the bearing with your plier. After you have done that, slide the old bearings off the spindle carefully.
8. At this stage, the next thing to do is check the spindle and hub assembly thoroughly if there’s any signal of damage. Severely clean the parts, and remove old grease and debris that might be present.
9. Inspect and be sure the races are free from wear, and use a bearing race and seal driver to install new races if need be.
10. Put enough wheel bearing grease to your new bearings for smooth operation. 
11. Install the new bearings by sliding them onto the spindle then fasten them with the castle nut. Then align the cotter pinhole by slightly backing it off, put a new cotter pin through the hole, and bend it to secure the nut.
12. Reassemble the hub assembly to the steering knuckle or axle bearings with your socket set. Then tighten the bolts securely.
13. Put the wheel back onto the vehicle, hand tighten the lug nut, then lower your vehicle to the ground.
14. Lastly, test drive your wheel drive and make sure it’s functioning properly.

FAQs

Do You Need To Replace All Of The Wheel Bearings?

No, you do not need to replace them all at once. You only need to replace the ones that are damaged.

What Is The Average Cost Of Replacing Wheel Bearings?

The average cost of replacing wheel bearings is around $350 for just one wheel.

How Often Do I Need To Replace My Wheel Bearing?

You need to replace your bearings at least every 85,000-100,000 miles.

What Is The Cost Of Getting A New Wheel Bearing?

A new wheel bearing cost around $80

Conclusion

Several factors can influence the cost of wheel bearing replacement cost like bearing quality, labor cost, the type of wheel, and so on. When you have a deep understanding of these factors it’ll help you set realistic budget expectations.