Wheel bearings

[telo_tony]

How can you tell if your front wheel bearing are going bad or if it is the rear wheel bearings? What can you do to test this

[Glenn8963]

Originally Posted by telo_tony

How can you tell if your front wheel bearing are going bad or if it is the rear wheel bearings? What can you do to test this

put the car up on 4 jack stands. put it into neutral, do not start up the engine, make sure the parking brake is off............

spin wheels, LISTEN for noises.........or feel for vibrations

[YotaRunner4]

What makes you "think" that the wheel bearings are going bad? I just had to replace my rear bearing assembly. I was hearing a whining/rumbling sound from the rear that was speed dependent. When traveling around a corner/curve (by turning the wheels left or right while traveling forward), the sound would diminish. If it is your front bearing, Toyota will cover it under the PowerTrain warranty. If its the rear, you're SOL.

[YotaRunner4]

Originally Posted by Glenn8963

put the car up on 4 jack stands. put it into neutral, do not start up the engine, make sure the parking brake is off............

spin wheels, LISTEN for noises.........or feel for vibrations

Just to add, you are better off removing the wheel and just spinning the hub. Some vibrations/grinding may be dampened by the tire if you are turning it and you may not feel it is easily.

[telo_tony]

Originally Posted by YotaRunner4

Just to add, you are better off removing the wheel and just spinning the hub. Some vibrations/grinding may be dampened by the tire if you are turning it and you may not feel it is easily.

sounds like a roaring sound...

I jacked up the car and did what you said. I spung the wheel and listen for noise. It sounded like metal rubbing against each other, Kind of sounded like the brake pad so I loosened the pads and spung it again and no noise....

[YotaRunner4]

Originally Posted by telo_tony

sounds like a roaring sound...

I jacked up the car and did what you said. I spung the wheel and listen for noise. It sounded like metal rubbing against each other, Kind of sounded like the brake pad so I loosened the pads and spung it again and no noise....

What year is your car and how many miles do you have on your tires? Bad tires can cause a roaring noise as well. When spinning the hubs, you will probably "feel" the one that is bad. It will not be a smooth turn - more of like a "gritty" turn (as if sand were inside the bearing). Also, you may also notice that a hub spins freely then "catches" (kinda hard to explain) in certain spots. This could indicate a bad bearing as well. Are you checking all 4 wheels? By just comparing the spin of each, you should be able to tell the bad one.

[telo_tony]

Originally Posted by YotaRunner4

What year is your car and how many miles do you have on your tires? Bad tires can cause a roaring noise as well. When spinning the hubs, you will probably "feel" the one that is bad. It will not be a smooth turn - more of like a "gritty" turn (as if sand were inside the bearing). Also, you may also notice that a hub spins freely then "catches" (kinda hard to explain) in certain spots. This could indicate a bad bearing as well. Are you checking all 4 wheels? By just comparing the spin of each, you should be able to tell the bad one.

My car is a 2007 with 58000k miles and the two tire i bought in March and the front tires were already there when I bought the car but still okay.

My brother in law checked my car and he said they rotors and wheel bearing were okay and that it was my tires making the noise. I am not sure if I should still take it to Toyota and have them look on it as well or just wait..

[YotaRunner4]

It very well could be your tires. Have you pinpointed whether the noise is coming from the front or the rear? If so, rotate your tires and see if the noise moves with the tires. If it doesn't it likely isn't the tires.

[somick]

To test the front bearing search for "Eric the car guy" on Youtube.

What he does: he jacks up one side and puts the car in Drive. The one with the bad bearing will tell you that right away. But of course you need to be VERY CAREFUL.

Good luck,

Sam

[Hajoca]

I use a spring scale for measuring fish.

For rear / non driven wheels:

Tie rope to lug nut and pull, note spring scale reading when hub starts to move.

For front axle, the drag of the drive line components will affect the readings as well.