Wheel bearings?

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 8:56 am

I just finished replacing my brake pads and rotors and I've still got an annoying squeeking/scraping noise coming from the front driver's side wheel.

I had just replaced the pads back in september and thought the rotors were ok to leave for a while longer. When the noise began a week or so back, I figured the rotors must have been worse than I thought since it had only been a little more than 10k miles since pad change. So, I ordered a new set of rotors and another set of pads and put 'em on this morning. The pads from sept didn't look bad at all. Way more than 1/2 the pad thickness still intact. the inside pad on bothe sides were worn unevenly kinda crowned in the middle.

So, I go for a ride around the block and the squeeking scraping is still apparent. not nearly as pronounced as before but definately there. And it stops when the brake is applied. It sounds exactly like the wear indicators on brake pads.

Would worn wheel bearings make this noise? and stop when the brake is applied?

or is it just the new pads/rotors wearing in?

or something else that I haven't considered?

I don't know if it matters but I should also mention that it occurs most often while turning to the right. not so much going straight and hardly at all turning left.

I'm stumped

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 9:09 am

Wheel bearing.

Mine did the same thing.

Front wheel bearing diagnosis

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 9:12 am

that's not what I wanted to hear.

This is gonna be expensive, right?

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 9:14 am

Were you getting a tax refund this year?

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 1:06 pm

BCA Bearings Hub Assembly

$174.44

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 1:53 pm

barch97 wrote:BCA Bearings Hub Assembly

$174.44

Few more of those type of repairs might take the edge off of your dislike of extended warranties

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 1:58 pm

how much is the warranty that covers me to 90k miles?

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 2:16 pm

About 1K but, that was almost a yr ago and with a discount.

BADs Crew · Post by **BADs Crew** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 3:39 pm

When you got your pads, did they come with the small tube of silicon that you put on the back of the pads to stop the squealing? When I use to do my own brakes I always used it. When I had the pads installed on mine I had a metal to metal sound on the front passenger side off and on for 3 days. It would stop if I hit the brakes. Here's a LINK that might help.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 4:00 pm

Time to visit the alignment shop. They will be able to check the wheel bearings and inspect the balljoints.

Don't start spending money on parts until you're sure.

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 7:14 pm

Don't forget to lube the caliper side pins on all 4 wheel cylinders.

If you don't you will get uneven brake pad wear, rotor damage, and a squeeking noise.

I would try this before buying new wheel bearings just to make sure this isn't your problem.

Steve

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 11:10 pm

killian96ss wrote:Don't forget to lube the caliper side pins on all 4 wheel cylinders. If you don't you will get uneven brake pad wear, rotor damage, and a squeeking noise. I would try this before buying new wheel bearings just to make sure this isn't your problem.

Steve

You have made me a believer on this issue. Adding five minutes to an oil change/lube job is well worth it!

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 2:42 am

killian96ss wrote:Don't forget to lube the caliper side pins on all 4 wheel cylinders. If you don't you will get uneven brake pad wear, rotor damage, and a squeeking noise. I would try this before buying new wheel bearings just to make sure this isn't your problem.

Steve

Yeah, I remember someone (maybe you?) suggesting that in the brake change discussion. Sounded like good advice then. So, I was sure to grease 'em up good this time. Still squeekin' though.

As much as I hate the idea, I'm pretty sure it's the wheel bearings. I'll be takin' it in to get checked out tomorrow for sure though.

jeff024 · Post by **jeff024** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 5:18 am

I know you have aftermarket wheels could maybe it be a wheel making contact with the caliper?

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 6:14 am

I suppose that's possible but I didn't see any signs of contact on the caliper or the rim.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 7:45 am

jeff024 wrote:... could maybe it be a wheel making contact with the caliper?

It would do that all the time, not just in corners. There is no permissible lateral movement in wheel bearings.

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 11:55 am

Just got the call from teh shop... The good news is, the bearings are fine. Movement in front end is within spec.

The bad news (and considering the alternative not such bad news afterall) is, the rear brake pads are gone and rotors are grooved beyond repair.

So, all things considered... teh barch is quite releaved.

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:18 pm

So, any reason why I shouldn't go with the cheapest rotors and ceramic pads I can find for the rear? Stock lasted nearly 86k miles, how much braking does the rear even do?

Snoman002 · Post by **Snoman002** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 5:42 am

barch97 wrote:Just got the call from teh shop... The good news is, the bearings are fine. Movement in front end is within spec.

The bad news (and considering the alternative not such bad news afterall) is, the rear brake pads are gone and rotors are grooved beyond repair.

So, all things considered... teh barch is quite releaved.

How did they check? I'm just asking because I had a wheel bearing go bad on our Bravada that showed NO signs of wear. It made alot of noise on the highway and a squeak at low speed (noise would go away when turning and when appling the brakes) but when inspecting the front it was not loose AT ALL. I removed it and spun it by hand and still it seemed fine, the only thing it had was about every fifth revolution there would be a slight grab, but very very very slight.

So if the shop tried to do the "shake the wheel" test it might not show that you have a bad bearing when you actually do.

I do feel your pain on the price of those bearings though, $170 was not what I wanted to spend on one wheel bearing.

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 6:39 am

I was not present when the vehicle was inspected. So, I can't say for sure but, he said "front end movement was within spec". I assume that means that he put the truck on his alignment rack and attached one them dial indicator things like in HenryJ's link and measured it to be less than GM's specified allowable movement. He did not however offer any gaurantee that there was absolutely no problem with the bearing.

He did hear the very same audible screeching/scraping/squeeking while driving my truck into the garage. So, while it was on the lift, he removed the rear wheels and inspected the brakes. The rear pads on both sides were worn down to nearly nothing and the rotors were deeply grooved. Thus his hypothesis that the rear brakes were the source of the noise.

I guess I'll find out this weekend, when I change the rear pads and rotors, if that was the source or not.

Snoman002 · Post by **Snoman002** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 7:34 am

I definatly agree that with the rear brakes in the shape they are in that they need to be addressed first. To do otherwise would be throwing parts at a possible problem, a very expensive way to fix an issue. I would also have to say that since the guy said that it was "within the specs" instead of "it felt tight" that a more through test was done then just grabing the top of the tire and seeing if it moved.

I was just sharing my experience because I found it strange that my bearing showed no signs of wear otherwise (the test above was not done). In fact mine got so bad that I could feel the vibrations from the wheel bearing with my feet on the passenger floor, and it got so loud at highway speeds that having a normal conversation was difficult. This was all happening while the tire "felt" tight. All the other S-10 bearings that I have had go bad showed significant lateral movement before any noise was detected.

As for what it would have done if the test above was used, I'm unsure, but myself and the tech at the hobby center could detect no movement in the wheel when pushing and pulling on the top and bottom of the tire (although .005" is dang small).

Good luck.

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 7:44 am

I'm kinda surprised at how common the bearing failure is. I suspected that with the sealed hub setup, that they'd last an awful long time. Assuming of course they were properly installed in the first place.

How old is your Sonoma and how many miles when yours failed?

*Edit: Oops, should've read your signature first
1991 GMC Sonoma Extended Cb
4.3L Automatic, 2" BL, 31" BFG's.
14 years is "an awful long time" for any part. Mine are less than four years old.

Also, I suspect that driving conditions / terrain effect the life span. Do you drive off-road much? Hubs under water? sandy?

Is driving mostly highway or in town? More frequent stop/go might contribute to shortening the life of bearings.

Snoman002 · Post by **Snoman002** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:21 am

The actuall falures were on the 92 S-10. The biggest thing that took those bearings out were the larger tires and 15x8 rims with 4" BS. That thing is currently on it's 3rd set of bearings (the cheaper bearings last less than a year). Those rims and tires are MURDER on suspension components, I burn through a set of MOOG balljoints in a year or less. Also when I was burning through bearings I drove ~5 miles of washboard dirt roads every day, I'm certain that that played a part in the short life of the bearings.

The Sonoma does need a set of bearings but I'm unsure if those have ever been replaced (just bought it), it also has 31's and some 15x8 5" BS rims.

The Bravada currently has only had one bearing replaced and it is at 120K right now (the one went out at 115K).

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:33 am

I've got aftermarket rims as well but they're the same size as stock (15x7). I think they're a little heavier being steel than the stock aluminum rims but not by much. they do have 4" backspace though as opposed to the stock 6".

I wonder how much of your failure was due to weight and increased width/diameter and how much was backspace? does backspace effect the bearing? I guess it does change the angle at which the weight of the wheel bears on the hub but, I'd think that 4" backspace is closer to straight up/down over the hub than 6". So, backspace in this case may actually increase the life of the hub/bearing.

purduecrew · Post by **purduecrew** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 11:29 am

dont feel bad about them wheelbearings, i used to replace the front hubs on my lifted dodge everytime i changed the oil

thank goodness for autozone lifetime warranty

Post by **Walt** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 12:13 pm

I just had my driver's side bearings replaced under warranty. Th ey started making a humming noise and I could feel some vibration. Barch, Brule posted about this very issue in a thread a while back--about how the wheel offset and backspacing are different, and how both can cause extra wear on components. Hopefully he'll remember it and re-enlighten us

SONOMA915 · Post by **SONOMA915** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 7:19 pm

When I diagnose wheel bearings, I find an empty parking lot or a safe strech of road, go about 40 mph and turn to the left or right like making a fast lane chenge. If the noise changes then you just need to find out which side is faulty. You can also use chassis ears, but the top method works for me everytime.