How do you know when you wheel bearings are going bad?

I suspect mine are going bad due to increased noise when driving. I have what hears like humming and increased road noise. And it is not the tires. My car has 52K on the clock.

Anyone had this issue yet that knows the symptoms?

 

52k seems low for wheel bearings to fail, but it's not impossible. Does the sound change when you are turning one direction or another? How did you rule out tire noise? If you jack the car up, can you wiggle the wheel and feel any play in the bearings?

Jason

 

If the noise becomes pronounced at higher speeds, and goes away as you bring your car to a stop, it's probably the bearings. You can confirm it by carefully rocking the car back and forth at higher speeds--essentially loading and unloading the bearing race and listen for a change in the sound. If the sound comes and goes as you rock it, it's probably the bearing.

 

My car was extremely low for two years. So I figured if I had two years of rough riding KW suspension in, it might have sped up the process.

Tires are brand new and I know what tire noise is like.

I will test it more, I definitely hear it less at lower speeds and most at 40-60mph on smooth roads under light load.

 

Hm, Interesting way of testing it,
i usually pick the car up off that wheel
and rock it back and forth by hand, if it moves its usually the bearing.

 

Well, Colin, for those that don't have easy access to a jack or lift, this will give them a quick diagnosis, but I'm sure you knew that.

 

Your hunches are correct about the wheel bearings.

I've already had mine replaced, the right at 47,000 miles and the left at 52,000 miles.
The left should have gone maybe 5,000 more miles but I was going to do MTTS 2012,
coast to coast, and didn't want any surprises along the way.

If you run low offset wheels and do track days, as I do, they will wear out sooner than expected.

Hope this helps...

 

Another good indication of a bad wheel bearing is if the sound gets louder (or goes away) when turning in one direction versus the other. If you turn to the right (loading the left side) and the sound gets louder, it is a bad wheel bearing on the left side. I had the drivers front go bad with way less than 47,000 miles. The wheels I was using were the same size and offset as stock.

 

Its definitely getting louder and definitely has a distinct rubbing/chucky gritty sound. On the highway while rounding left turn I hear what sounds like cupped tires. Since my tires are brand new and I only here it when I turn left at highway speeds I am going to assume its the FR wheel bearing.