Symptoms of bad wheel bearings?

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 29, 2008 4:31 pm

STEERING SYSTEM
CONDITION POSSIBLE CAUSES CORRECTION
FRONT END NOISE
1. Loose or worn wheel bearings.
2. Loose or worn steering or
suspension components.

EXCESSIVE PLAY IN
STEERING
1. Loose or worn wheel bearings.
2. Loose or worn steering or
suspension components.
3. Loose or worn steering gear.

FRONT WHEELS SHIMMY
1. Loose or worn wheel bearings.
2. Loose or worn steering or
suspension components.
3. Tires worn or out of balance.
4. Alignment.

VEHICLE INSTABILITY
1. Loose or worn wheel bearings.
2. Loose or worn steering or
suspension components.
3. Tire pressure.
4. Alignment.

Jeep4me99 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 29, 2008 8:36 pm

it will also sound like a tire is out of balance. Mine was doing the annoying wub wub wub wub wub wub that mimiced my speed.

Pote · **Posted:** Tue Dec 30, 2008 5:10 pm

Jeep4me99 wrote:

it will also sound like a tire is out of balance. Mine was doing the annoying wub wub wub wub wub wub that mimiced my speed.

Just had my front right replaced this fall. just like stated above....will feel vibration, will hear audible noise (just louder driving) in time with speed changes and the jeep feels sluggish.

callaway · **Posted:** Tue Dec 30, 2008 5:17 pm

hmmm... I've been thinking my wheels are just really really out of balance... Maybe the bearings are bad...

Jeep4me99 · **Posted:** Tue Dec 30, 2008 6:07 pm

yellocoyote wrote:

Pote wrote:

feel vibration, will hear audible noise (just louder driving) in time with speed changes and the jeep feels sluggish.

This sounds like the problem to me.

Being that I've never checked these out before, is there a way to check to be sure? I hear they're easy to replace, but they're not exactly cheap... :roll:

pull off your tires, break caliper mounts and rotor (as if you were changing brake pads and all). That will expose the hub. Turn it and see if you can hear any grinding or it is a bit hard to turn...almost like its rusty. It will be typical of a bad bearing. (If you don't pull off your brakes and rotors...don't mistake the pad rubbing a bit on the rotors for a bad hub.)

If you have to replace...Jeep sells a value line that is $120 each. They will try to sell the $300 part first, but ask for the value line. I'll get the p/n next time I go out to my Jeep. They don't usually keep them in stock, so it might be a special order. Luckily I found one at a Jeep dealership in Maryland and picked it up on my way back to Richmond from NJ.

Jeep4me99 · **Posted:** Tue Dec 30, 2008 6:32 pm

PN - V2508352AA - Not sure if they are left and right specific or not, I wouldn't think so though. (for some reason i though it was VA25.... as well just in case)

Also beware...one dealer quoted me $170 for this part :roll:

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Tue Dec 30, 2008 9:50 pm

Why is the value line less expensive? If it’s coming from the factory, you’d think it would be a new part and not a rebuilt part, so I‘m confused as to why they would have two different parts at two different price points. :?:

HoppedUpOnGoofballs · **Joined:** Sat Nov 29, 2008 10:36 pm **Posts:** 203

Search for that part number (V2508352AA) here:

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/ ... eid=213674

$82 each..

Jeep4me99 · **Posted:** Tue Dec 30, 2008 10:20 pm

dieselenthusiast wrote:

Why is the value line less expensive? If it’s coming from the factory, you’d think it would be a new part and not a rebuilt part, so I‘m confused as to why they would have two different parts at two different price points. :?:

not sure...but they don't reman those parts...

but darn...wish I knew about the $82 part...thats one heck of deal!!!!!

Guest · **Posted:** Wed Dec 31, 2008 3:53 am

If it's a Wheel Bearings, Inc brand, don't buy it.

This past summer (3 wheeling trips) I installed one, and it's toast again and ready to be replaced.

Buy cheap, buy twice. Pony up for the good stuff with a lifetime warranty. My drivers side i didn't cheap out on, and got a Timken with a lifetime warranty.

BTW...on that "Value line" stuff... the OEM part is the expensive one...the cheap one is some no-name brand that they ordered from an outside parts supplier.

*EDIT*
Upon further inspection, it appears that I am not correct on that last part. But I do stand by the buy-cheap-buy-twice philosophy

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 31, 2008 7:48 am

Buying OEM parts off the internet from those TradeMotion websites(Wycoff is one) you are buying parts from a dealership or OEM parts house at/or just a little above "cost",buy at a dealership,autoparts store,or online store(Jparts.com/RockAuto.com) you are paying close to list since they are making some money selling the part.

Quote:

Buy cheap, buy twice.

Agreed,there are just some parts of your vehicle you should never go cheap on,your life and others are at stake(but then again yours is void for buying cheap in my opinion).

Guest · **Posted:** Wed Dec 31, 2008 3:28 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

Quote:

Buy cheap, buy twice.

Agreed,there are just some parts of your vehicle you should never go cheap on,your life and others are at stake(but then again yours is void for buying cheap in my opinion).

What can I say? Hard to say no to a $62 wheel bearing.

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Tue Feb 24, 2009 1:12 pm

if you're slightly dragging a tire down the road due to a bad berring i'd imagine it would throw an abs error code thinking a sensor was bad since your left side is going 65 and your right side is going 70 probably wouldn't make much sense to the abs system

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Tue Feb 24, 2009 1:27 pm

i'm not saying it would from an experience standpoint

but it makes sense in my head that it could/would

know what i mean?

once you get it cleaned up might wanna check all your abs connections
i had one on my bronco II that plugged into the rear end that was forever comming unplugged when splashing through bogs and what not at 50 mph

by the way, how's the weather in Elgin, still got snow mounds in the parking lots? my gf hasn't been complaining about the snow latley so i'm assumming it stopped blizarding a few weeks back?

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Tue Feb 24, 2009 1:57 pm

sounds a bit better than the 3+ that was on the ground back in early january, it was snowin real good when i left in the first week of jan, got there on the 15th of december and it started snowing the very next day and let up like 3 days total before i left

i love the snow, i wasn't the one complaining hehe

RED_KJ_666 · **Posted:** Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:10 pm

Had the same sounds ABS light and all that. I thought it was a Wheel bearing but turns out that the Passenger side Rotor was Mega Warped, Almost cup shaped. I made the mistake of driving 100KM through a mountain road area then Splashing into the first big mud/Water hole I could when I got to where we where wheeling.

Symptoms of bad wheel bearings?

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