Do wheel bearings go bad from static loads?

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I know someone who purchased a car that had been parked for 8 months. The wheel bearing was shot off the bat. The seller explained that it must have gone bad from sitting for 8 months. Is this plausible? I had no idea static loads could damage wheel bearings. And it's not like the car was parked in a pit of mud with water up to the fenders.
 
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Was it new??? If it is used, maybe it was already in bad shape when they bought it. To answer, I can't see how just being parked could do that.
 
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Bearings can be damaged from static loads.Its not really noticeable unless your are in a precision application.Wheel bearings in a car no way. They were likely on their way out already. They likely had a little water in them or just condensation. 8 months of sitting there rusting away now bad. Did the seller know the bearings were going bad not likely.
 
As already said no. They can be damaged in shipping if the car is not tied down good and moves a tiny amount, allowing the grease to be worn away from the rollers.
 
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It's possible with large electric motors. Wheel bearings . . . ?

Bearing Damage Possible
Even when a motor is not rotating, it may still be subject to vibration. Proximity to rail lines, busy roads, and/or productions floors will all contribute to the ambient vibration. Even low-magnitude vibration, over time, can cause bearing damage such as false brinelling. This occurs when the machine bearings are stationary but subjected to repeated vibration. Such damage may not be visible to the naked eye until the machine has been placed into operation, when it quickly worsens. I know of one mill where all stored motors are placed on old conveyor belting, to dampen the ambient vibration from nearby machinery.

Motors placed into long term storage should have the shaft rotated at regular intervals both to prevent false brinelling and to redistribute lubricant on the metal surfaces to prevent corrosion. The recommended time interval is monthly depending on the size of the machine. Larger 2 pole machines require more frequent attention than smaller (NEMA-frame) machines. In the case of heavy machines with heavy rotors and long frames, regular rotation of the shaft is critical to prevent the shaft distortion cause by rotor sag. This is a consideration for machines rates approx 1500 hp (1000 KW) and larger. Such machines may need to be rotated weekly. As an extreme example, very large generators a kept rotating slowly at all times to prevent sag. While uncommon, for critical, very large machines, the rotor can be removed and suspended vertically to prevent sagging.
 
On modern cars the wheel bearings are sealed at the factory and lubed for life.

So Fake News!...
 
Buying used can be a pig in a poke. There is a sliding scale of how people will lie. The higher the cost and liability, the bigger they lie. That is why "as is" is a thing and vehicles should have a independent inspection for such things.
 
I am an old duffer & more familiar with wheel bearings from the 70's . I think more modern cars often have sealed bearings .

Unless salt / water gets into the bearing , probably not . Would not be on my list of things to check when shopping for a car , unless I saw other evidence of salt / rust .

We own my lat Mom & Dad's 1991 Caprice with less than 50,000 miles on it . Never considered bearings , although , if we started driving it again , might need to pack the front wheel bearings ? And check all the fluids , including the diff .

To the OP , mow many miles on the odometer of the vehicle in question ?
 
My first car I had to occasionally repack the bearings. I'm just spit balling here but I'd say sealed bearings have been in place for the last 30yrs??? So unless it's a classic vehicle, I can't see it happening.
 
Probably not on the bearing... meaning it was already bad and the seller knew it.

One story close to home that could not have been predicted: I had a 2001 Forester that I owned since 2011 and put over 80k miles on it with no known problems other than the center exhaust bolts had rusted through, easy fix. I sold it to my brother back in April. He detailed the car and flipped it and sold it to a guy that worked for him. Guy called him Saturday and said "I was driving the car, hit a pothole, and the car literally changed lanes! I took it to a shop nearby and he said the rear subframe was so rusty that it snapped when I hit the pothole." So my brother did the stand-up thing and is covering the $500 to have the shop replace it with a used one. First one I've heard of doing this in nearly 15 years of Subaru ownership.
 
Originally Posted by Deontologist
I know someone who purchased a car that had been parked for 8 months. The wheel bearing was shot off the bat. The seller explained that it must have gone bad from sitting for 8 months. Is this plausible? I had no idea static loads could damage wheel bearings. And it's not like the car was parked in a pit of mud with water up to the fenders.


Just one wheel bearing?

They can go out before the car has 3yrs/36K miles on it. You just never know.

Just to add to the above, this could have been a manufacturing defect right out of the box, could be environmental factors or could have been caused by beating an old rotor off during a brake job. If it was a super cheap mail-order replacement wheel bearing, those could last 6 months, or 6yrs.
 
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Let me ask you this, did the car also have extremely rusty brake rotors from sitting? That would reinforce the idea that it was "lot rot" eg damage from sitting.

It's also possible the car was hack repaired recently and they didn't get the torque right on the axle nut. Eg they used an impact.
 
Originally Posted by eljefino
It's also possible the car was hack repaired recently and they didn't get the torque right on the axle nut. Eg they used an impact.

Could be that, or on some of them, the bearing gets pressed into the knuckle, then the hub gets pressed into the bearing. Easy to push the races apart when pressing in the hub if you're not careful. Just throwin' another potential damage source into the mix.
 
Originally Posted by Kestas
Nope, can't happen.


My rear drivers side wheel bearing went out at 27k miles. Mechanic said it was from sitting too long. Made sense to me bc this is a garage queen and never goes out in winter or rainy weather.
 
Originally Posted by willbur
Originally Posted by Kestas
Nope, can't happen.


My rear drivers side wheel bearing went out at 27k miles. Mechanic said it was from sitting too long. Made sense to me bc this is a garage queen and never goes out in winter or rainy weather.

So the car was subjected to a more severe condition sitting in your driveway than say driving it daily? Is a car heavier when it's parked? Seems the more severe condition would be the constant heating/cooling of driving, towing/hauling, putting a boat in water during summer and the exposure to road grime and chemicals like salt.

I'd say the bearings were either defective or installed improperly...because bearings should last a very very long time.
 
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