I got my front right wheel bearing replaced at the dealer under warranty and now my alignment is off. With the steering wheel straight the car drifts to the right. So my question is after wheel bearing replacement is an alignment needed

 

Yes. Anytime you replace your stock suspension, drivetrain conponent, etc., the alignment will be altered. If the car is pulling to one side, that is a clear indication that you need an alignment.

 

Yes... spend like $45 on it and save $$$ in new tires

 

THANKS! don't understand why the dealer didn't tell me. I know they did the bearing under warranty so i would have gladly paid for alignment!!

 

Where the strut attaches to the spindle has a bit of "play". This will cause the alignment to be out when put back together.

 

they won't probably cause you will go back with another stuff so they can slam you or charge the Warranty....

 

the alignment should have been covered under warranty with the bearing replacement.

 

hey boondox, whats the function of the wheel bearings? do you need to replace them regularly?

 

I second that notion

About how many miles are the bearings good for?

 

You would replace them as they need replacing....

You would hear a humming sound from the bad bearing while driving, if it gets bad enough you will hear it pop when you take certain turns.

You can sort of test for it by jacking the car up, grabbing the tire on the top and bottom and push and pull on it; if there is a lot of play... you most likely have a bad bearing.

 

Yeah humming noise that gets louder with speed. Also causes the wheel with the bad bearing to move around. I would figure that the alignment should have been part of the warranty repairs as my car wasn't out of alignment when i took it in for service... I am not gonna cry over 50.00 dollars.