[drice82]

anyone had a wheel bearing go bad? if so what did it sound like, and if you replaced it how hard was it?

i have a rubbing/grinding noise on driverside wheel area not really audible from pass side. only noticable above 30mph. it comes and goes. this is the only thing i can think of as it happens when hubs are locked or unlocked. not tire rubbing on arm as there is no tire wear on sidewall. any help would be awesome.

D

 

[Dick Foster]

I doubt that the wheel bearings are bad. I'm guessing this is about a Tacoma. But if it has manual hubs, maybe it's time to pull, clean, lube and reinstall them. Best thing to do is jack up that front wheel and give is a spin so that you can better detect what is going on.

 

[tanKoma]

when mine went bad it made a very low kinda "wobbly" tone when i let my truck coast

 

[Dick Foster]

I forgot to add that changing front wheel bearings in a Tacoma is a real pain in the ass. They are beefey as hell and sealed which is why I doubt that yours are bad.

 

[rainman]

Funny I just had this problem. Turned out it was the joint between the half shaft and the differential. Sprayed some lube in there and the noise was gone. BTW, I have manual hubs and I didn't lock them for a while so some rust developed there and made the grinding noise.

 

[drice82]

i do have manual hubs but it does it regardless of if the hubs are locked or not. infact i notice it most when unlocked doin daily driving stuff. so the hubs are not moving and neither is the front drive line which is why i was thinking it wasnt the hubs. they havent been cleaned and i will do that but i dont think that that is what it is

 

[drice82]

the half shaft being between the diff and the cv's?

 

[drice82]

when mine went bad it made a very low kinda "wobbly" tone when i let my truck coast

your bearings went bad? the noise is cyclical? like not a constant noise but gose between loud and quiet on beat? did you change or have a shop do it?

 

[Kyota]

When one of my bearings was bad on my old 90 the wheel stood 3-4 degrees off vertical. Like a mid 90's ford ranger front wheel, haha...beams

 

[rainman]

Sounds like it might be the bearings then. I was talking about the joint where the whole half shaft goes into the diff. There is a little plate that holds the gear oil in. And that was rubbing while the half shaft was turning.

 

[ShowStop]

anyone had a wheel bearing go bad? if so what did it sound like, and if you replaced it how hard was it?

i have a rubbing/grinding noise on driverside wheel area not really audible from pass side. only noticable above 30mph. it comes and goes. this is the only thing i can think of as it happens when hubs are locked or unlocked. not tire rubbing on arm as there is no tire wear on sidewall. any help would be awesome.

D

I just replaced my front wheel bearings and they were still in good condition after 200k miles. Are you running big tires or wide rims? With a stock set-up, those bearings should last at least 150k miles.

 

[drice82]

When one of my bearings was bad on my old 90 the wheel stood 3-4 degrees off vertical. Like a mid 90's ford ranger front wheel, haha...beams

the camber is off? mine leans out! prolly right around there 3-5 deg top out. bad enough that i can easily see it and it tore up my tires. did you replace it or have it done?

 

[drice82]

i ahve 32x1150 on stock wheels.with a bit o wheelin thrown in there....

 

[Kyota]

the camber is off? mine leans out! prolly right around there 3-5 deg top out. bad enough that i can easily see it and it tore up my tires. did you replace it or have it done?

I replaced it. Took it apart then went to Franklin with the new bearing and they pulled the old and pressed the new in for like 15 bucks. Then reassembly. Mine leaned inward, by the way. I think I might still have pictures of it...maybe

 

[bottlebuster]

when mine went bad it made a very low kinda "wobbly" tone when i let my truck coast

I had a similar noise, also with vibration in the steering wheel above 45MPH... long story short it was cupped/unevenly worn tires. I bought new tires and it rides like new... Just a possiblity...

 

[synovus]

the camber is off? mine leans out! prolly right around there 3-5 deg top out. bad enough that i can easily see it and it tore up my tires. did you replace it or have it done?

Derrick, a couple things that might help determine whether it's a bearing or not:

1) Jack up the tire in question, grab it at 12 and 6 o'clock and push/pull on it. If there's play in it, it may very well be a bad bearing.

2) If it's a passenger side bearing gone bad, you should be able to hear significantly more noise while turning to the left, versus turning to the right.

If you find that it is indeed a bad bearing, you can save a good bit of money by buying the bearings and other needed parts from trdparts4u.com, taking the spindles off yourself, and then taking the spindle and new parts to a machine shop with a press to get things pressed out/in. Or, if you happen to know someone with at least a 12-ton press, you may find that you can do it yourself (with the friend's help).

 

[wslytoy]

I had a wheel bearing go bad, it sounds like you're running boggers all the time haha! There is basically just a loud roaring rotational noise. I had it changed out by a shop. It was expensive too haha!