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Repair Topics / Axle
Bearing
Car Axle Bearing Questions and Answers This category contains featured questions as examples. They relate to most vehicles.
Question: 1998
Mercury Mystique mileage 102,000. Recently
our Mercury Mystique started making a noise
from the left front wheel, since it sounded
like a bad tire I took it to the local tire
store. After driving it they put it up on
the lift and they showed me that while
spinning the left front wheel you could hear
a clunking noise inside the transmission.
They said that they thought I should have
the transmission checked out. They also said
that my left front wheel bearing housing was
bad and that was what was making the noise,
but they suggested that the bad bearing was
caused by the transmission. What inside the
transmission would cause the bearing to go
bad? If I decide to re-build the
transmission myself, how hard is it on this
car and will I be able tell what is causing
the noise when I get the transmission open?
Answer:
Obviously it is easier to replace a wheel
bearing than to rebuild the transmission.
With the car up on a hoist, the engine
running and the transmission in gear, the
noisy component should be easily pinpointed.
Its probably a
axle bearing problem.
Question: 2003 Toyota
Camry mileage: 84,000.
Hi Bob and Ken! Are Front Wheel Bearings
something that still needs
maintenance/replacing these days If so, is
it fairly easy for a DIY or am I not saving
much $$$ by taking it to a shop? First, I
don't know if that's my problem.
"Occasionally" I can notice a grumbling
noise in the front. It happens (sometimes)
when I coast down a hill only at the point
if I turn the wheel to the LEFT. The noise
will stop when I straighten out. Do you
think that is worn bearings or are my brake
pads rubbing?
Answer: Yes, is
defiantly sounds like a axle bearing, remove
to replace with new unit to recheck.
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Question:
2003 Volkswagen Jetta mileage: 116,000.
I was trying to repair the front wheel
bearings on the driver’s side and it got
stuck. After I removed the hub nut and
brake calipers, I tried to remove the rest
of the hub assembly to access the bearings.
I tried using a puller to remove the
assembly and all that did was push the axle
spindle (not sure of the name) off the wheel
instead of pulling off the hub assembly.
What did I do wrong?
Answer:
The tool you need to remove the hub is called a �slide hammer.� or a "bearing
replacement press kit" will do the job.
Question:
1997 Olds 88 mileage: 89,000. Hey,
guys I have just purchased this
beautiful car for a very good price due to
left rear axle being out about 1/4 of an
inch. Unfortunately, I do not have
much experience with rear-ends at all let
alone the fact that this one has the limited
slip rear-end. I have pulled the rear
end apart and of course found that the wheel
bearings on this side are shot.
Any suggestions on how to press the new
bearings would be greatly appreciated.
I am trying to repair the car where it sits
so I have taken out the shaft to press the
bearings at the garage I work at. What
I am wondering is if there is any secrets or
tips that I should know about to press the
bearings in the rear-end.
Answer:
No secrets. Just use the proper fixtures to
hold the bearings and axle. Be sure to
put the retainer back on the axle before you
press on the new axle bearing.
Question:
1999 Chevrolet Suburban mileage: 95,848.
I know that this is a hard one to answer
without doing the road test yourself.
I guess that I am just asking you to tell me
of the most likely places to look. I
am experiencing a thrumming sound which can
start anywhere between 45 and 70 mph.
I have only driven this car about 1000 miles
since I bought it a month ago. I had
to replace the upper control arm bushings on
the left side and I bought 4 new tires and
had the front-end realigned. I changed the
differential gear lube (which showed signs
of a very small amount of moisture present
as foam) and the right rear axle bearing,
which was really probably OK, but the roller
retainer had a break in it. The races looked
good. I repacked the front wheel
bearings, taking out the outer ones and
cleaning them thoroughly but just repacking
the inners since I did not have the seals.
The thrumming is inconsistently directional.
By that I mean that one time the thrumming
will stay or get worse if I make a steering
correction to the RIGHT and quiet down
completely and immediately if the correction
is made to the LEFT. A little
later the correction to the RIGHT will be
the one to quiet the thrumming down
completely and immediately and the one to
the LEFT will establish the thrumming again.
The universal joints seem good and the
thrumming occurs even if you slip it into
neutral and coast. What do you think?
Where should I look next? Should I
just keep driving it until is gets worse?
Answer:
Its sounds like your axle bearing needs
replacing, disassemble to inspect "all"
races to replace as needed.
Repair Topics / Axle
Bearing
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