Has anyone had to replace their wheel bearings? I have a squeaky sound (sounds like rubber rubbing on rubber) coming from my front left wheel, and I suspect it's my wheel bearing. I have ~145k miles. I'm thinking about buying the wheel bearing and removing the hub and just having a shop/dealer replace the bearing for me since I don't have a press.

Could it be a new axle rubbing on the axle seal? I didn't grease up the seal as much as I could have.

Thanks in advance.

 

from my experience wheel bearing is more of a metal on metal sound, however that was on my jeep, be careful if it is wheel bearing and you do in fact do the job yourself, packing them with grease is vital and must be done right or you will encounter same problems.

 

I jacked up the car and checked for side-to-side and up-and-down travel/play. I didn't notice any looseness. When I rotated the tire by hand, I localized the sound to where the axle enters the hub. I slapped as much grease there as I could to see if it was a lubrication problem, and after a test drive, it seemed to go away for a while. I think I will have to pull the axle from the hub and grease it up pretty well to notice a real difference though.

 

My max has the same problem, was it the bearing?

 

maxima runs "sealed" bearings. they don't need repacking and if they do its time for new bearings...unlike your Jeep where you re pack the grease when its needed.

 

that grease didn't do anything besides lubing the brake backing plate. there are rubber seals around the bearing. if you're hearing the noise while it's in the air then your bearings are in very bad shape...or possible your hub.

tire up in the air = no load on the bearing
tire on the ground = 1/4 of the car's weight

 

I haven't heard any noise since yesterday. If I hear any more noise, I'll probably take it in and have it checked. So if my bearing is bad , wouldn't there be a lot of freeplay in the wheel?

 

If there is no movement/play when off the ground, but there is nosie, could it still be the bearing?

 

When my bearing was going bad. It made this Humming/Groaning noise from the bearing. I drove it too far and I needed to replace the Hub also.

 

Mine made a "whooshing" noise, something like rubber on rubber rubbing with an air blowing echo. anyway, got it replaced and installed for about $120 at a mechanic. i heard its dangerous to drive around like that, so fix it soon

 

It most likely is your wheel bearing. I drove it to far and chewed up the hub. I threw caution to the wind and replaced the bearing anyway. Now, about 6 weeks later, I have to replace the bearing agian. This time, I am replacing the hub

 

th full name for the bearing is "hub bearing", ye?

 

I replaced the front wheel bearings in my '89 max. Nearly 200k on the odo. The left front made a "whoop whoop whoop..." noise on right turns only at first, but then sometimes in other conditions as well. I replaced them both. They are not cheap, as they are pretty beefy ball bearings. They actually also have separate seals on each side, the bearings themselves are open. So to replace it all, you'd need two bearings and four seals. You definitely need special tools to press the bearings out of the steering knuckles and the races off the hubs and the hubs in and out. The advantages of renting the special tool that can do it with knuckle installed in the car is that you don't need to remove the knuckle and get your car re-aligned afterward. Hope this helps... good luck!