How to Tell Which Wheel Bearing Is Bad

However, car noises heard on time are also the ones that warn us that some things can be amended before the whole mechanical burden arises.

One of the most common noises that a person might detect in a car is the one that indicates that a bearing may be excessively worn and not in good condition.

 How can you tell if a defective bearing is the cause of these strange noises? And if it is… Which bearing is it? Watch the video below:

Dissimilar to engine bearings, wheel bearings don’t have a constant supply of oil lubricating and cooling them, so this means they have to be autonomous and also be sealed constricted enough to keep road dust and water out of them. 

The wheel bearings in your car have to support the full weight of your vehicle while you’re driving through roads.

Likewise, they need to take the lateral forces of corners you take and need to do all that while enabling your wheel to turn at a huge number of cycles every moment, so regardless of what sort of bearing you have, the side effects of a fizzled bearing are the same.

 A wheel bearing will go for the most part flop because of setting or harm on the surface of the rollers or the bearing race.

How Can I Know Which Bearing Is Damaged?

The first thing you will need to do is to ensure that the bearing is really the one that produces the noise since this one is very subtle, and it is better heard at slow speeds.

 So you have to move and be attentive. You can test this by gently swaying your car while driving slowly. If the noise decreases when you move to the right, then the damaged bearing might be on a left wheel. 

If it lessens when you sway left, the right wheel bearing might be probably wrecked.

The noise of a broken wheel bearing can sound similar to a brake pad dragging or humming. You will need to check if there is any clearance between the wheel and the part that supports it.

The best would be to raise the vehicle with the help of a hydraulic jack and push the wheel towards you with back and forth movements.

If you notice that it moves in an inflexible way, the problem is the one you suspected. If not, it could be a gap in the tires, suspension or steering. 

Rule out any tires noise after rotation or grinding noises that usually have more to do with brake or wheel spacer problems rather than bearings.

​A ragged bearing will release more hotness than a decent bearing so you can once in a while locate a good or well-used bearing by feeling your vehicle's wheels close to the fasteners. On the off chance that one wheel is hotter than the others, it might be a bad bearing.

In conclusion (but more welcoming words), the best way to check for bearing damage is:

The last thing to consider before closing this read is the wheel spacers as a handling agent. Are wheel spacers good or bad? You might have heard a lot of questions like this, and the answer is, they are not bad to use at all.

By positioning the wheels further apart using wheel spacers can get the car to stabilize and corner smoothly, making the life of the bearings longer and useful.

Bearing damage generally occurs slowly over the course of days, weeks or maybe even months. You may notice this since the noise will start getting louder and louder.

 It’s important to replace wheel bearings since failing to do so can cause further (and more expensive) loss to your drive axle and the outcome could be your wheel completely coming off while you drive.

Be on the lookout for the signs we mentioned before to avoid this from happening.