Wheel Bearing Noise Fooled Me

[sciphi]

Ended up replacing both front hubs on the Buick today. I thought it was the drivers side bearing going, and so it turned out to be. No more loud growling from the drivers side, but it was still growling from both sides, still slightly louder on the drivers side. A neighbor took a ride, and said it was the passenger wheel bearing. Rotating the tires didn't do anything, so that hub was replaced too. Silence prevailed.

Boy did I get fooled today.

 

[j_mac]

I guess GM has been having all their bearings made in Mexico too. Ford started having theirs made in Mexico in about 1996 and ever since they have been having bearings go bad in everything on their cars. In the pre-'96 Fords you just didn't have a bearing go out anywhere on the car. Those were US bearings then.

 

[beast3300]

GM FWD are great for both front hub bearings.

 

[sciphi]

One replacement bearing was Korean, the other Chinese. I'll see which lasts longer. The Korean bearing was finished much better.

The passenger side bearing looked identical to the replacement that went on. Weird.

 

[beast3300]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
One replacement bearing was Korean, the other Chinese. I'll see which lasts longer. The Korean bearing was finished much better.

The passenger side bearing looked identical to the replacement that went on. Weird.


You got 6-8 months either way.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: beast3300
Originally Posted By: sciphi
One replacement bearing was Korean, the other Chinese. I'll see which lasts longer. The Korean bearing was finished much better.

The passenger side bearing looked identical to the replacement that went on. Weird.


You got 6-8 months either way.


1-year warranty on both. Good to know I'll be doing it again when it's warmer out!

 

[onion]

Had the much same thing happen with my '94 Corsica.

I thought the noise was on the driver's side. I could feel that the driver's side bearing was a little loose, so I replaced it. Noise was still there.

Just for troubleshooting purposes, I took that driver's side wheel bearing that I'd just replaced and put it on the passenger's side.

Noise gone.

I was going to buy another wheel bearing... 'cause that bearing that was now on the passenger side (formerly on the driver's side) had 170,000 miles on it turning in one direction, and was now turning in the other direction. But I never got around to it. I drove it for about a year and a half... about 11000 miles of mostly stop & go and short trips. The wheel bearings never gave any more problems.

Then the transmission died about 700 miles from home in BFE Kentucky (long story as to why I was there in THAT car). So I'll never know how long that loose bearing would've lasted turning backwards.

 

[Trav]

What brands are they and which one seems to the best made? I didn't put the GP away because we have no snow yet and one started howling in the front a few days ago when it was real cold.
The rear ones also need to come off to replace the e brake hardware so i guess i will just replace all 4.

I am looking at SKF brand but have no idea where they are made,might be cheap Chinese junk for all i know.

 

[pbm]

I put a Timken in my Buick 2 years ago and so far so good.
The wire from the ABS to the front hub has the chintzyist connection I've ever seen. I basically had to replace a good bearing because the wire broke right at the hub and caused my ABS light to come on.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: Trav
What brands are they and which one seems to the best made? I didn't put the GP away because we have no snow yet and one started howling in the front a few days ago when it was real cold.
The rear ones also need to come off to replace the e brake hardware so i guess i will just replace all 4.

I am looking at SKF brand but have no idea where they are made,might be cheap Chinese junk for all i know.


Both were from Advance. One was "National" brand, the other was "NTP" brand. The National seemed to be better made.

All the part numbers for the bearings are the same across all the brands. There's one "expensive" part number and one "cheap" part number. It looks like they are all the same product, just re-boxed.

The more expensive bearing is definitely better-machined on the exterior.

 

[Nick R]

When I still had my cavalier I replaced the front passenger bearing with an SKF unit, that was Made in USA. FWIW our expedition (Also ford) has 70k miles on the OE bearings and they are fine.

 

[Kestas]

You'll be lucky to find ANY OEM bearings made in the US anymore. The US auto companies gave an edict requiring their bearing manufacturers to use "low wage sources" to reduce their supply costs. Good luck with your "Made in USA" search.

Regardless, OEM bearings are markedly better than aftermarket bearings.

 

[JustinH]

Most of the people posting about bad wheel bearings are in the salt rust belt. Any relation to bad wheel bearings and road salt? I have replaced bearings in every GM FWD car I have ever owned, just did one in the saturn and one in the pontiac this year.

I have just been replacing them with generic parts found on the internet because the dealer wants too much for parts that last the same amount of time.

 

[jdeare]

I thought my bearing(s) was going last year, but it turned out to be the intermediate steering shaft instead. Will be interested to see the longevity of these bearings.

The only place I've seen made in USA wheel bearings recently is through here: http://mibearings.com/

I'm a little sketched out by their website though.

 

[Kestas]

Originally Posted By: JustinH
Any relation to bad wheel bearings and road salt?

Only if there is a problem with the seals. Otherwise they should be fine.

My 98 ZX2 still has the original wheel bearings after 201K.

 

[mechtech2]

Noises in cars can be tough to find the source of.
Rotating noises seem to be ventriloquists.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Noises in cars can be tough to find the source of.
Rotating noises seem to be ventriloquists.


Agreed.

For the folks who think the road salt has something to do with wheel bearings going, have you driven the roads up here? They're moonscape at best, rutted washboards at worst. And that's just the pavement. These bearings take a LOT of abuse from the roads. The roads in more southern areas have smaller and smoother bumps. That's what I concluded from moving back here from South Carolina this summer.