1. Wheel Bearings : What They Do and How They Fail
A wheel hub bearing is extremely important when it comes to your vehicle’s suspension, and to
the overall smoothness and enjoyment of driving your car. Wheel bearings decreases friction
allowing your wheels to rotate easily, and support the weight of your vehicle. Due to its weight
bearing resposnsibility, as you may imagine, a Cadillac wheel hub is heavier and more sturdy
than a Mini wheel hub. Even though wheel bearings are engineered to last at least 150,000 miles
the consistent weight of the vehicle can begin to break down the bearings, seals and grease.
When a wheel bearing begins to fail before its time it’s usually due to a contamination or losss of
grease, or because of a misadjustment.
Leaking seals are one of the more common wheel bearing problems. Once dirt and/or water is
able to get into the bearing they will not function correctly. If this happens you’ll know because
of the noise the wheel bearing creates. The importance of replacing a noisy bearing shouldn’t be
underestimated as it could be a fatal flaw if you lose a wheel while driving. When trying to
diagnose wheel bearing noise remember that the noise may occur when turning, and may become
louder or even disappear at certain speeds. A bad CV joint on the other hand only makes noise
when turning. A common mis-diagnoses is also made because bearing pay can allow steering to
wander. This may be mistaken for incorrect wheel alignment or worn steering parts.