Wheel bearings

Tiny
SLEWIS4645
  • MEMBER
  • 1999 OLDSMOBILE 88
  • 3.8L
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 132,000 MILES
I have a running sound going down the road. I suspect a wheel bearing in the front, I can wobble the passenger side just a little, however I was wondering, is there wheel bearings on the rear also? Thanks in advance for any help. Steve
Monday, September 25th, 2017 AT 3:26 AM

2 Replies

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,452 POSTS
Wheel bearing on both ends. In fact the front and rear are very similar parts. Both are unitized hub bearing units. I added pictures below. The left one is the front bearing the right is the rear. The front bearing is a bit larger as it also steers and propels the car while the rear is simply a trailing axle and just supports the rear end.

If you feel any play in a unitized hub front or rear, the bearing is junk. Normally they will make a loud hum for a long time before you can detect any movement. That is from damage to the bearing race and the noise is the balls running over that damages point. Same basic reason why a rumble strip makes the sound it does.

They can be easy to change if you are not in a rust belt state.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/bearing-hub-replacement

However, if you are in an area where you can hear your car rust at night. Things get much harder.

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Monday, September 25th, 2017 AT 11:39 AM
Tiny
SLEWIS4645
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Thanks so much for your help Steve, from another Steve. I am going to change the one I suspect on the front first. I have a little shimmy also, so I feel pretty good about that being the culprit. I will see what goes from there. I do appreciate you getting back in touch with me. AAAA Thanks again Steve.
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Monday, September 25th, 2017 AT 1:06 PM

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