wheel bearing 2003 toyota camry

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Originally Posted By: engineer20
if i don't replace a bad bearing, what could happen? could i wait a year or 10k miles before changing the bearing?
for how long can i drive with a bad bearing without changing it without causing further problems?


Don't put this off. A bearing failure can cause an accident. And even if it doesn't, it could ruin the hub - very expensive.
 
From everything I've read, a wheel bearing will drive you nuts long before it gets dangerous.

Just because he's an engineer doesn't mean he's a car or bearing engineer. Geez.
 
I thought I had a bad wheel bearing on my 96 Camry, and asked 2 indy shops here in Minneapolis what the cost would be. Your quote of 400.00 is certainly in the ballpark.

Don't skimp on the bearing, as they are being produced in China now. National, Timken, etc are now manufactured offshore.

BTW, as another person indicated, I ended up having a caliper with sticky slides. The bearings were in good shape yet (227k). I was going to do the brakes the same day, so it ended up being a pleasant surprise.



Originally Posted By: engineer20
Does my toyota camry have a wheel bearing problem? i haven't found the time to go to a tire shop, as i've been there and they said they needed several hours and i didn't have the time but my indy mechanic said I had a wheelk bearing problem and i needed it replaced and it would cost around 400 dollars. Is that typical? is it an easy DIY job (i herad it's not)

how would i know I need a wheel bearing replacement

and is it due to going on a lot of unpaved "gravel" roads at high speeds? or bumping into curbs?
what can I do to prevent this and what are some good tire/wheel maintenance things I can do to prevent this from happening so that I can have good wheels/tires despite the rough roads in michigan?

what are the symptoms of a bad wheel bearing? my wheel begins to make a strange noise after 20mph and it sounds like a helicopter
 
Originally Posted By: mjk

BTW, as another person indicated, I ended up having a caliper with sticky slides. The bearings were in good shape yet (227k). I was going to do the brakes the same day, so it ended up being a pleasant surprise.


Sticky slides is a good thing to check before replacing the wheel bearing....
 
thanks. i'll check for stickly slides as well

is a place like goodyear/belle tire a good place for them to give me a free diagnostic as they say it's free? thanks.
 
Originally Posted By: engineer20
Where did I go wrong? What can I do to prevent this from happening?


Stuff breaks. It's an 11 year old car. Do you expect stuff to last forever?

Originally Posted By: engineer20
thanks. i'll check for stickly slides as well

is a place like goodyear/belle tire a good place for them to give me a free diagnostic as they say it's free? thanks.


Gee, it's a free diagnostic. Do you work for free? I sure don't.

If they're giving you a free diagnostic, then there's clearly an incentive to sell some work...or maybe a lot of work. Do you see the moral hazard? I'll let you decide on the correct course of action.
 
A free diagnostic to diagnose a problem?

I'm pretty sure if I go walk into a random shop acting like I don't know anything and I ask them "Can you check if my battery is bad?" Or "Can you check my brakes/tires?" that they're gonna come back saying yes they're bad and they need replacement.
 
I had a bad bearing on my Corolla at around 220k, but mainly due to an accident that damaged a lot of other things on the car.

It gives a grind / squeak of different frequency depends on whether load is applied to the side / corner and whether I'm turning or not. It goes away if I lift the wheel up in the air and a lot of shops fail to diagnose it (until I got a reference to a race shop that does a lot of Porsche and engine rebuild, they knew it by a test drive in 5 mins).

Cost me $350 but $400 on a Camry is reasonable today.

IMO wheel bearing should last at least 200k if you never hit anything, I'm still on my original wheel bearing at 240k on my Integra.
 
i've been away and haven't had internet access for a while
sounds good, but i see what you mean regarding the free inspection

anyways, i hit a lot of stuff (not objects) but huge potholes on the road. the roads in silicon valley and in general, outside of michigan are all just road heaven compared to the horrible roads in michigan. it's probably just the bad roads and 150k miles

but can you tell me more about sticky slides? the noise for me sounds like a helicopter
 
Originally Posted By: engineer20
how long can i go without fixing it? 2000 miles?

can i wait until december before i fix the wheel bearing?


you can wait till something dies a violent death, but is that a good idea? You may have collateral damage and have to replace the whole hub.
 
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2k was the length of time it took to go from "I think I hear a noise" to "I can't stand it." You're probably fine, but there is no set answer, as no one knows just how bad the bearings are.
 
Originally Posted By: supton
2k was the length of time it took to go from "I think I hear a noise" to "I can't stand it." You're probably fine, but there is no set answer, as no one knows just how bad the bearings are.


No one ON THE NET for sure...there's no substitute for a mechanic visually inspecting a car....though it is likely a mechanic would agree that "it can go" at any time.
 
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A friend has a 2003 Taurus, which made the classic wheel-bearing sound. The sound went away when turning right, so we assumed it was the passenger-side bearing. 4 hours later, with a new hub fitted, we took it for a ride and there was no change. A professional mechanic acquaintance of my buddy said it was not the half-shaft (our other thought) so we replaced the driver's side hub. Bingo. Neither one "felt" bad when spun by hand.

I'm still not sure why our original diagnosis was wrong...shouldn't the bearing make less noise when unloaded?
 
Originally Posted By: Rand
Originally Posted By: engineer20
how long can i go without fixing it? 2000 miles?

can i wait until december before i fix the wheel bearing?


you can wait till something dies a violent death, but is that a good idea? You may have collateral damage and have to replace the whole hub.


You've gone a month since your first post. As Rand said it could go at anytime and take other stuff with it - like you and whoever is riding with you. You're pushing your luck.
 
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: Rand
Originally Posted By: engineer20
how long can i go without fixing it? 2000 miles?

can i wait until december before i fix the wheel bearing?


you can wait till something dies a violent death, but is that a good idea? You may have collateral damage and have to replace the whole hub.


You've gone a month since your first post. As Rand said it could go at anytime and take other stuff with it - like you and whoever is riding with you. You're pushing your luck.


Some people only hear/read what they want to.....
 
Originally Posted By: RF Overlord

I'm still not sure why our original diagnosis was wrong...shouldn't the bearing make less noise when unloaded?


My personal experience is some sliding door hinges are noisy unless you put some weight on it, maybe the same theory?

But, you could have find an underground parking structure and go in circle with a friend outside the car to hear which corner it came from. That'll tell you for sure which side yours is on.
 
my local goodyear has BAC bearings
and belle tire has moog bearings
which are better?

the goodyear ones are slighly cheaper (that shop is pretty cheap and they use BG products for car maintenance)
 
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