About a month (roughly 1,000 miles ago) I noticed a humming/roaring sound coming from the front ride side of the car. It gets much louder when making left turns at speed, and disappears completely when turning right at speed. I have not noticed any play when I had the wheel jacked up. Since my parents (I'm 17) are paying for the $90 part from NAPA, they think it isn't a huge priority and will probably go several years before there is any chance of catastrophic failure. Well, being a Bobistheoilguy member, I'm a bit OCD about stuff. I fully realize the dangers of driving on a wheel bearing that can fail when it is bad, including wheel flying off, destroying the hub, and knuckle with heat generated, etc. Problem is, I cannot convince my parents to replace it. I'm still waiting to start work at target,m so I'm not making any money. Anyone have experience with this? How long should it be feasibly safe to drive on it before it needs replaced?

well ive been driving on my bad front bearing for about 8 months now in my 95 beretta (same setup as a j-body) and i haven't died yet. it gets really annoying though...

i would say tell you're parents that you would rather not risk you're life or others on the road so you are parking the car til they fix the wheel bearing. they will soon realize that driving you around everywhere blows goats and soon fix the bearing

(theoretically)



I must confess... I feel like a monster!

That would require riding the bus to school no thanks. And they wouldn't care anyway I think. I'm just concerned about the likelihood of catastrophic failure. I do worry about that though. The noise isn't enough to bother me. Is the Jbody set up so that if it failes, then it will seperate and the wheel will fly off?

yes. the wheel is going to fly off in a couple hundred miles killing you as well as a school bus full of fourth graders. the wreck will be catastrophic and many will suffer.

please tell you're parents that an internet guru told you this so you can get it fixed.



I must confess... I feel like a monster!

put it this way, imagine one wheel locking up and highway speeds. its one of those things you just fix regardless. its literally life or death in some cases.

not something to screw around with and can cause MUCH more $$ to fix once it does fail... which it will. I'd try to drive home that point too that $90 is cheap compared to the costs incurred if it fails catastrophically.

it's kinda like russian roulette though. sometimes you can go for long distances on a bad wheel bearing, other times it can fail relatively quickly. do you really want the metaphorical gun to your head with the possibilty of one in the chamber??

Just cause one guy can run around for 8 months on a bad bearing,doesn't mean you will have the same luck.
If you are driving the car,shouldn't you be fitting the bill to fix it?So the responsible thing to do,(while waiting on target) is take the bus.
If you ever had a front end suspension part come apart on you while driving, you would understand my point of view,play it safe,even if it mean being a short bus occupant for awhile lol.

My parents bought and own the car legally. I am the primary operator of it, but they take care of the usual stuff, they just want me paying for gas. Anyway, she caved and bought the new bearing today. It is an SKF Unit from NAPA and says Made in USA on it. The old one I took off was.. Surprising. The seal was broken and it was full of crap. It still rotated fairly freely, but it was very loud, and the ball bearings were cleary visible, and the bearing race was heavily pitted and gouged. It is dead quiet now, handles better. Oh, and that old unit that failed after only 32,000 miles said, guess what on it. Made in China.

well there you go.

glad you got it fixed.



I must confess... I feel like a monster!

Didnt Fluffy total his Cav from a failed wheel bearing?

I have never seen a wheels bearing bad enough to fall off. I have had some bad wheels bearings on different cars over the years. I have one I have been driving for about a year maybe more. My girlfriends car had 2 bad wheels bearings replaced one, the other is just not getting really bad.

I have been told by friends in the repair business that they tell people it will fall off, or cause major damage to scare them into spending the money then. Not soo much because it could happen. Chances are slim.



FU Tuning

John's right. About the worse I've seen is when the damage advances to causing the inner races to spin on the hub, which can wipe out the hub too. However, on many cars these days, the hub/bearing is treated as an assembled unit for easier repair as well as improved assembly line efficiency when the car is built.

However, there is the potential for corollary damage in the brake assembly once the bearing gets bad enough and the rotor starts moving about, as well as tire wear/diminished fuel economy due to loss of correct alignment. So yes, the longer you wait, the more you risk. A complete loss of control is unlikely, but more damage to the car is not.



Bill Hahn Jr.
Hahn RaceCraft

World's Quickest and Fastest Street J-Bodies
Turbocharging GM FWD's since 1988
www.turbosystem.com

I had a friend of mine his 02 Cavy the driver side rear bearing completely failed and he totaled his due to the wheel falling off.

I go threw wheel bearing non stop and ive ALWAYS replaced them as soon as i hear sounds or signs of faliure. Better play it safe then be sorry. And it takes like 20 minutes to replace them and they are cheap!

last fall i had one completly go out in my 01 ram 1500 i had a 3 in lift and 35" tires, in a hurry going thru town it decides to go from noticing while going around corners to screeching like raped mink and being on a tight deadline i keep going, minutes later truck lurches side to side a few times and the wheel folds into the wheelwell i will post a pic if i can find it, anyways moral of the story is its definatly cheaper to fix right away because you are going to have to fix it eventually and it will only cost more in the end

How do you know when its bad?

it can have play in it, like if u wiggle the wheel back and forth or up and down and it could potentially make a growling noise, these are the 2 most common symptoms

My Sunfire I let go for about a year on a bad bearing......when it went it wasnt pretty.....i was turning left near my house at about 30Kms/H and heard a bang and a @!#$ load of crunching.......the wheel was wobbling like hell, crunching, the whole nine yards the rest of the way home.......my advice, just change the damn thing, its cheap and easy to do, after that experience I wont let one go that long again, so save yourself the worries, the awful vibrations and noise and spend the $100 and change it.

Think of it this way, the axle goes through the hub assembly. In the back is the large shaft knuckle, splined shaft goes through bearing, and in the front there is a big washer and nut.

Unless you also break the splined shaft, I don't see how the wheel is going to come off. They can lock up causing you to loose control though.

Just my thought, bad bearings are annoying. Been there done that. I have replaced both of mine and have 2 new spare hub assemblies on my shelf in the garage just in case.

Thomas

"Oil Leak ? What oil Leak ? Oh, Thats Just The Sweat From All The HorsePower!!"

DSMskyline {Desert Tuners} wrote:Think of it this way, the axle goes through the hub assembly. In the back is the large shaft knuckle, splined shaft goes through bearing, and in the front there is a big washer and nut.

Unless you also break the splined shaft, I don't see how the wheel is going to come off. They can lock up causing you to loose control though.

Yep, not going to fall off the front.

I drove my DSM around for a couple weeks on a bad rear bearing. I finally replaced it when my camber was nearing -20-degrees lol.




fortune cookie say: better a delay than a disaster