This article is all about wheel bearings and its replacing! It is the wheel bearing that connects the wheel to the axle that is an essential part of the wheel assembly. It is important to note that each wheel has a set of wheel bearings. A smooth and consistent rotation of the wheels and tires is ensured without causing excessive friction. There is a metal track called a race that holds spherical steel balls in place on most vehicles’ wheel bearings.
It is important to note that modern wheel bearings are made as sealed bearings, ensuring the components are protected against the elements, water, and debris. Generally, if your wheel bearing fails, you may not be able to drive the wheel. This can prevent it from stopping or cause it to fall off while you are driving. There is no doubt that when a wheel bearing fails, it can cause significant damage to the vehicle, so it’s very important to keep an eye on them and keep them in good shape before the wheel falls off.
Define Wheel Bearings
The wheel bearing bears the weight of your car at the junction between the wheel hub and the wheel. As a result, it is responsible for allowing your wheel to turn freely. If the wheel did not have a wheel bearing, it would produce an enormous amount of friction when it was being turned on the axle, resulting in premature wear and tear to both the axle and hub.
Your car’s wheel bearing is supported by the axle shaft and rides on it, so it is a very important part of the car. It is a nut that fits into the hollow section of the wheel at the center. It is attached by the lug bolts that secure the wheel to the car Installation.
The wheel bearing is pressed into the wheels back before it is bolted into place with a screw. There is a bearing problem in a wheel that you need to be familiar with if you have ever had to change a wheel.
Design of Wheel Bearings
A wheel bearing could be described as a set of steel rollers encased in a metal frame in the simplest possible form and consisting of either spheres or cylindrical shapes. As the name implies, the frame is called a race, and it consists of two circular tracks that are connected by a girder that holds the bearings snugly in place, while allowing them to rotate with the movement of the wheel. Wheel bearings have an interior that is heavily lubricated in order to assist in reducing friction and allowing the bearings to move easily.
There are a variety of wheel bearing types that are available depending on the year, make, and model of the vehicle. But as with most automotive systems, the basic form of the wheel bearing gets a little more complicated and consists of a variety of types.
Main Reason of Wheel Bearing Malfunction
Bad Noise: It is believed that bad wheel bearings lose their lubricity, which in turn causes an increase in friction, which is the cause of the noises. The sound that you can hear is usually like two metal pieces rubbing against each other as they are driving, making a kind of humming noise.
It is believed that bad wheel bearings lose lubricity over time, which results in an increase in friction, which results in the noises. If you hear a sound that gets louder as you drive faster, there is a possibility that the noise is caused by a wheel bearing.
The steering causes increased stress on the front wheel bearings. A humming or moaning noise or an ABS (Anti Braking System) warning light could indicate that one of your car’s tires is beginning to fail. There is a possibility that you will need to replace the wheel bearing.
Too Much Wobble: It is normal for a car’s wheels to stay firmly in place when it is being rocked, rather than wobbling around when it is being shaken. If it does, then you will need to take it to a doctor to make sure that it is not damaged. Any way you look at it, the presence of too many wobbles on your wheels when you’re driving can be very dangerous.
In the event that the wheel bearings are not installed properly or using the wrong tool types they can be damaged. Additionally, reusing old parts like bolts, splint pins, nuts, and the like, can cause the wheel bearings to operate in an unsafe manner, resulting in accidents.
Uneven Tire Wear: The wheel bearing of your vehicle has a good chance of becoming damaged or worn out when you drive through uneven terrain, which can lead to increased accident risk. It is likely that contaminants, such as water, mud, or road salt, can sometimes get past the seals on the vehicle’s bearings due to frequent driving through water or road salt. It is likely that this will lead to further contamination of the grease and damage to the bearings.
Last but not least, you should ensure that your vehicle’s tires are in good shape so that the wheel bearings are not subjected to additional stresses and pressures, which could result in damage.
Heat & Moisture: The heat and moisture are the two main threats to the health of a wheel bearing. It is possible for bearing to be destroyed due to a lack of lubricant causing friction, which results in extreme heat.
Corrosion of the bearing can gradually lead to its eventual failure if water is allowed to enter it. When a wheel bearing is not functioning, it usually manifests itself as excess noise due to this problem. There is a problem with the bearing, while you hear a grinding or clunking noise.
Vibration in Steering Wheel: As you drive along, you will probably notice your steering wheel vibrating as you drive along, especially if the wheel bearings are in a bad condition. This type of noise is usually heard at lower speeds and gets worse as you drive along, just like the grinding noises when you are driving along.
As you can see from the steering wheel, there is also a symptom that you can identify from the car feeling loose. In this case, it can be a bit hard to convey, and you might not notice it if you are not an avid driver. However, a bad wheel bearing causes a car to feel loose, resulting in less precise handling.
Types of Wheel Bearing
Precision Ball Bearing
A spherical roller bearing is similar to a ball bearing in many ways. As a result, they have a higher rotation speed than standard ball bearings. Due to their reduced friction, they can handle even higher amounts of load and pressure than standard ball bearings, allowing them to handle even heavy loads and pressures.
These features make it possible for the car to perform better due to these benefits. They are capable of withstand higher pressures, makes them suitable for more demanding and extreme applications due to their high pressure tolerance. It is common to find this bearing type in cars that are race cars, high performance cars, exotic cars, as well as aircraft.
Ball Bearing
The cylindrical bearing is one of the most commonly used types of bearing since it is very versatile and simple to use. This type of wheel is very good at handling radial loads, which refer to the weight of the vehicle that is on the wheel, as well as thrust loads, which refer to the cornering pressure of the wheel. This can be found in the wheels of most cars, bicycles, and even roller skates.
Roller Bearing
There is a good chance that you won’t find this type of bearing in a motor vehicle, due to the fact that they are not efficient at handling cornering pressure. It is only possible for them to handle loads at speeds between low and medium. It is usually found in shopping carts or hand trucks where you will find this type of product.
Tapered Roller Bearing
In addition to cars and trucks, tapered roller bearings are also commonly used in industrial applications. There will be cone-shaped roller bearings instead of balls in these machines, which will help them to handle cornering pressure better. Therefore, tapered roller bearings are used more commonly compared to standard roller bearings because of this reason.
How to check Driven Wheels for Wheel Bearings Replacement
Driven Hub Dismantling
The process of disassembling a driven hub is essentially the same as that of disassembling a non driven hub.
- The main difference is that the hub nut is usually extremely tight, so it’s a good idea to loosen it from the bottom if at all possible. As some cars require you to lift and remove the wheel, then replace it with a new one, and then lower it again, it is advisable to remove the hub dust cover and hub nut locking device in the usual manner.
- There is a need to prevent the car from moving to loosen the nut. You will even need to have someone inside the car apply the brakes if necessary to loosen the nut. With a length of pipe, you can extend the handle of a socket wrench to gain more leverage. Identify whether the hub nut has a right hand thread or left hand thread, and then loosen it as needed.
- If the wheel does not have a central hole, then remove the hub nut with the wheel off in cars. As a result, it helps to have a helper apply the brakes while you remove the hub nut.
- Under the frame members, raise the car on axle stands and work with it on axle stands. Apply the handbrake on the wheels that are at the bottom, and if it operates on those wheels, then hock the wheels; otherwise, release the handbrake. The wheel nuts should be loosened before the wheels are raised. A disc caliper can be moved, or a drum can be started as usual.
Front Wheel Drive
The entire hub carrier assembly on a front wheel drive vehicle should be removed. Disconnect the ball joints by unscrewing the nuts, and then using a ball joint separator, separate the balls from the joints. The track control arm and the strut should also be removed if there is a strut on the car.
The hub carrier may now be ready for you to pull it free from the hub. The outer joint of the driveshaft should be disconnected if it is not. It is important that you support the part of the drive shaft that remains on the car so that it does not strain its joints.
Rear Wheel Drive
Generally, if the bearings are attached to the hub carrier, they will have to be removed in the same way from a non-driven hub if they were to remain.
- The inboard oil seal should be carefully priced out, taking care not to scratch the seat of the seal.
- When removing the hub carrier from a rear wheel drive vehicle, you will not have to remove the drive shaft as the drive shaft will be disconnected when the hub carrier is removed. Thus, you will be able to remove the hub more easily.
- In the case of an inboard tapered ball bearing, the inner race of the bearing may remain on the drive shaft after the bearing is installed. If this is the case, you should tap it off gently with a soft-faced hammer in order to remove it.
- During the cleaning process, the water shield needs to detach from the hub carrier for cleaning the hub. You will now be ready to remove the drive flange from the hub.
- When the carrier is not attached to the car, use a suitable socket or pipe as a drift and knock the flange off. It is not advisable to hammer the carrier directly if it is not attached to the car.
- You are sure not to scratch the seating, throw it away, check, renew, lubricate, and reassemble.
- There is no need to drive out the outer races of the tapered roller bearings if you wish to inspect and lubricate them, as long as you can still clearly see them from the outside as long as they can be viewed clearly from the outside.
- An impact puller may get rid of the inner race of the outboard bearing if it begins on the drive flange. It is also possible to leave the grease seal on the drive flange while removing the outboard grease seal.
Independent Suspension
It is widely believed that cars with front wheel drive engines are equipped with front wheel bearings. Similar to the ones in rear wheel drive vehicles, have an independent suspension system in their rear wheels.
- The bearing used in driven wheels here, has a lot in common with the bearing used on non driven wheels. There is a big difference between the bearings of the live rear axles and those of the dead rear axles.
- A driven hub has a drive shaft that projects hub from the inside, as opposed to a non driven hub.
- As a result of non driven bearings, the hub is designed to turn outside a solid stub axle that has a central, stationary position. The arrangement of some driven hubs is similar to that of a driven hub. The only difference being that the stationary wheel is smaller.
- Due to the hollowness of the hub carrier, the drive shaft runs through it in order to attach itself to the hub. In the same way, you dismantle the hub bearings in the same manner that you dismantle the hub bearings of a non-driven hub.
- The hub, formally referred to as the drive flange, is often seen on bearings inside the hub carrier, but that is not always the case. Thus, the outer race is stationary, whereas the inner race revolves around it.
- On the inner side of the hub assembly, there is likely to be a plastic water shield that is either attached to the drive shaft or that is clipped to the hub carrier on the inner side.
- The outboard side of both bearings has an additional grease seal. Whenever you dismantle a hub, replace all grease seals. Between the seals and bearing races, there may be additional spacer rings. You may make notes or drawings of how parts are arranged and which order they are arranged when dismantling the car.
Life Span of Wheel Bearing
Your car’s performance is greatly impacted by the bearings on its wheels. They have a lifespan of 75,000 to 1,000 miles on average. In terms of the lifetime of wheel bearing, the quality of the bearing plays an important role.
In general, wheel bearing replacements can be done at home, but special mechanical tools will be required. Depending on the vehicle, different steps may be required. If you wish to change your vehicle’s wheel bearings without visiting an auto mechanic, then follow these steps. To begin with, you must determine whether you need to replace the front or rear wheel bearings.
Thus, it is very important that you consult a highly recommended auto mechanic in order to ensure that the wheel bearings in your vehicle are strong and able to withstand any impact that your vehicle may endure.
How to Extend the Lifespan of Wheel Bearings
You may have heard that rough roads can shorten the lifespan of the wheel bearings on your vehicle. It might be a good idea to avoid driving on bumpy roads regularly. It is also important that you take better care of your car when going over speed bumps, and be understanding of what it is going through.
- If you drive your car too fast over a bump, you will damage the wheel bearings in your car. Depending on the severity of the damage, other parts of the suspension or steering assembly might even be damaged.
- You try to avoid driving through deep water and mud. As a result, excess dirt and moisture might seep into the wheel bearings, which could cause them to wear out more quickly.
- Apart from being more careful while driving, you should also make sure you go to the right auto repair shop when your vehicle needs proper repair. There is no doubt that you need to find a mechanic with a great deal of experience with any car.
- The correct installation of the hub assembly and wheel bearings is important due to bad or improper installation may cause unnecessary damage to your wheel bearings throughout the vehicle’s life. As a result, they live for even shorter periods.
The Benefits of replacing Wheel Bearings
A faulty bearing can cause a variety of problems in your car, some of which can be detrimental to the safety of your vehicle. There is a possibility that it may affect the steering of the car and the way it drives, which is, of course, a big safety concern.
It is important to have your car inspected immediately if you notice any abnormal noises coming from the wheels during your drive, if the wheels won’t move easily, or if you notice the steering wheel shaking while you drive.
In order to ensure that your car handles properly and to reduce the risk of serious damage, you should replace a faulty wheel bearing as soon as possible.
Wrapping it Up
Nevertheless, if you notice symptoms or your car is older, you should consider taking it to a repair shop. If your car is fairly new, if the mileage is still comfortably below 100,000 miles, & if it is not too old, you can sit back and enjoy the ride. It is unlikely that your wheel bearings will need to be replaced any time soon. The good idea is to check the wheel bearings and other parts for damage.
Replacements of major components such as wheel bearings can be time consuming and expensive. Consider how long you plan to keep your current car if you’re having trouble deciding whether to make repairs.
