Why it's a bad idea to ignore wheel-bearing noises

[javacontour]

Nope, we have many living large on credit. Car maintenance comes somewhere after the smartphone, Starbucks, tattoos, food, and rent.

Originally Posted By: alcyon
Jeez, I though us third worlders were the cheapest of the cheap...

 

[javacontour]

There is a corolla in the neighborhood that sounds like it's low on oil when it first starts and leaves the subdivision. Same car sounds fine when returning.

It's a teen female driving.

I have to wonder what is going on with it. Just more anecdotal evidence of your observation.

Originally Posted By: MCompact
Every time I walk through a parking lot it seems 2/3 of the cars driving around are making horrible noises- belts squealing, lifters ticking, bearings growling, P/S pump whining, etc. The vehicle operator -"driver" is FAR to generous a term- is usually talking on a cell phone or stuffing their corpulent face with junk food.

 

[Xrs2zz]

Originally Posted By: MCompact
Every time I walk through a parking lot it seems 2/3 of the cars driving around are making horrible noises- belts squealing, lifters ticking, bearings growling, P/S pump whining, etc. The vehicle operator -"driver" is FAR to generous a term- is usually talking on a cell phone or stuffing their corpulent face with junk food.


So many vehicles I see driving around are making such noises or worse by billowing out smoke from the tailpipe. One vehicle in particular was so bad the other day I had to go a different route home because I couldn't get away from the smoke/smell. It was horrific.

 

[camrydriver111]

Originally Posted By: Xrs2zz
Originally Posted By: MCompact
Every time I walk through a parking lot it seems 2/3 of the cars driving around are making horrible noises- belts squealing, lifters ticking, bearings growling, P/S pump whining, etc. The vehicle operator -"driver" is FAR to generous a term- is usually talking on a cell phone or stuffing their corpulent face with junk food.


So many vehicles I see driving around are making such noises or worse by billowing out smoke from the tailpipe. One vehicle in particular was so bad the other day I had to go a different route home because I couldn't get away from the smoke/smell. It was horrific.


That's why I support mandatory emission testing.

 

[RISUPERCREWMAN]

That's called Natural Selection in the wild. Nature weeds out the stupid ones to cleanse the eco system, or society, of stupid people from breeding and passing on defective genes! LOL

 

[javacontour]

If only.

Instead, they sue and when they win, they breed more. Another consequence is we get more ambulance chaser lawyers to boot.

Originally Posted By: RISUPERCREWMAN
That's called Natural Selection in the wild. Nature weeds out the stupid ones to cleanse the eco system, or society, of stupid people from breeding and passing on defective genes! LOL

 

[camrydriver111]

Originally Posted By: RISUPERCREWMAN
That's called Natural Selection in the wild. Nature weeds out the stupid ones to cleanse the eco system, or society, of stupid people from breeding and passing on defective genes! LOL


Is that the conclusion from the nature vs. nurture debate?

 

[Samzone]

Wow, I let the front wheel bearings on my Element howl for two years before replacing - I feel lucky now that this type thing didn't happen!

 

[JTK]

WOW! That is some molten metal madness right there!

The only time I had a bad wheel bearing scare me was on a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe AWD I owned for a few years. It started making noise on my way to work and on the way home started to ROAR and rumble SO badly, I had to put earplugs in to drive. I pulled over a few times to check for anything hot or loose, of which I found neither. It was just odd to me that it went from seemingly fine to bad to REALLY bad in a matter of under 80 miles.

This was a rear hub. ~$500 for an indy shop to replace. Ugh..

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: JTK
WOW! That is some molten metal madness right there!

The only time I had a bad wheel bearing scare me was on a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe AWD I owned for a few years. It started making noise on my way to work and on the way home started to ROAR and rumble SO badly, I had to put earplugs in to drive. I pulled over a few times to check for anything hot or loose, of which I found neither. It was just odd to me that it went from seemingly fine to bad to REALLY bad in a matter of under 80 miles.

This was a rear hub. ~$500 for an indy shop to replace. Ugh..


My understanding is that wheel bearings will drive you nuts long before they get "really bad". Makes sense. Although there is still the shock and spring, there is not much isolation from the gritty bearings. Heck if you can hear&feel the difference between types of asphalt then all the more easily the bearing can be felt.

 

[Mr Nice]

Maybe the person didn't have the money to replace?

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: madRiver
This kind of thing is what annual state inspections help prevent for unaware vehicle owners.


I have never, not one single time, seen an inspection actually check a sealed hub bearing!

 

[Kira]

A bad rear bearing caused a tire to melt off a '63 Thunderbird's LR steel wheel. I was a passenger.

When I got out to look at things there were "rainbows of oxidation" walking over the surface of the wheel.

It was HOT-HOT-HOT!....but it got us back to Brooklyn.

 

[Canadastang]

That spindle looks very familiar...

89-97 T-Bird/Cougar?

 

[Jetronic]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: madRiver
This kind of thing is what annual state inspections help prevent for unaware vehicle owners.


I have never, not one single time, seen an inspection actually check a sealed hub bearing!


they check for bearing play here, every car, bus or truck that has to undergo testing.

 

[Warstud]

Originally Posted By: supton
My understanding is that wheel bearings will drive you nuts long before they get "really bad".


Yep..mine started making noise between 30 and 45 mph. Then after a few weeks it got noisy at higher speeds...then i replaced it.

 

[cjcride]

There is a corolla in the neighborhood that sounds like it's low on oil when it first starts and leaves the subdivision. Same car sounds fine when returning.
I have to wonder what is going on with it? (quote)


It is the serpentine belt tensioner pulley bearing. Common problem on certain Corollas. Had that happen on my 2001 Corolla, sounds exactly as you described. Sound goes away after about 4 minutes.

 

[simple_gifts]

Only bitog can turn a simple photo of a car issue into a rolling commentary on the ills of modern society.

I'm sure everyone here has never driven a car where something has broken.

 

[cjcride]

Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Only bitog can turn a simple photo of a car issue into a rolling commentary on the ills of modern society.

I'm sure everyone here has never driven a car where something has broken.


Once I had a car that had a broken cigarette lighter.

 

[sleddriver]

I watched one come apart right in front of me, a few decades ago. Old, rusty truck. We were heading into an underwater tunnel too. I saw something odd, then saw sparks, so I slowed way down. The back left wheel really began to wobble, then suddenly separated! It passed the truck body straight into head-on traffic....inside the tunnel!

One guy in a Camero did Chevy proud the way he quickly swerved out of the way then back into his lane.

Of course, the back rear was now on the concrete, throwing up a huge, shower of orange sparks. It slowly ground to a halt. The driver dude jumped out and poured his beer onto it! He was freeking out.

I was the first to go around him. They later closed the tunnel to clean it up.

Can you imagine a head-on 120mph collision with a truck wheel, rolling straight at you.....inside of a tunnel? The first guy swerved, not sure what happened to the wheel after that.