What a bad wheel bearing sound like?

[trube78]

I had the drivers rear go bad. It squealed rather loudly but was most noticeable at about the 20 to 40 MPH range when driving window down with a wall along side the car (on a bridge, in a city, etc.) At highway speeds road noise was too loud to hear the squeal.
I verified it was bad by:
1. Washing the car and pressure washing the wheel area. Small pebbles in the brakes/shrouds can cause a similar problem.
2. Drive at a speed where you hear the squeal. Change lanes back and forth (or turn) without changing speed it will momentarily get louder or go away (If you can drive by a friend at speed he will hear it when you do not. The squeal is very audible outside the car not in it without a reflective surface alongside the car.)
3. Jack up the rear of the car (both sides) and put on jack stands. Remove the wheels and verify the brakes and e brakes are retracting.
4. Check for rubbing of the medal shroud around the disk. On two occasions I have fixed a squeal after a state inspection of the brakes (they replaced the wheel without using the alignment pin -- a difficult task if you are not talented/careful)
5. Spin the hub. I could feel it dragging in comparison to the other hub. As I increased speed the bad side made a rubbing sound the other did not.
6. The on road tests may indicate a problem due to wheel alignment, tire wear, or balance issues. So if you hear a noise on the road do both the garage tests.

If you are hearing a whoomp, whoomp, whoomp vice a squeal the bearing is about to fail which can double or triple your repair cost. So get it fixed now!!

I have done bearings on about 30 cars. Modern American, Old British, Japanese, I would not hesitate to do most repairs but this is a bit more difficult and requires tools you probably do not have access to. It cost north of $600 at a dealer for the repair (obviously depends on the area/dealer.) A decent local shop can do the job and usually asks about $300. If they hesitate or admit they have not done this repair before -- I would go else where.
Hope this helps.
ATB,
tom