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Wheel bearing help...even after searching

W

Whitey08

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Ohio
I'm pretty sure I need new wheel bearing/hub assemblies on my '88. I have a roar/vibration that corresponds to wheel speed and turning. I went out and jacked up each side and checked for any play and there was nothing. I spun the wheels and it just sounded like the brakes were making a bit of contact, nothing out of the ordinary, seemed to spin pretty smooth, maybe a bit hard to spin. Is it possible to have a shot wheel bearing with no play in the wheels? The noise is starting to get bad, especially when turning, almost making a grinding sound now.


Any suggestions?

The sound is coming from both sides and both u-joints have no play.
 
It probably is the wheel bearing, I had those same issues. To see where the noise is coming from, jack all four wheels in the air, put into 4wd and into drive and have someone listen for noise while the tires are turning at a reasonable speed. I would not do this if the tires are not balanced because it might bounce of the jackstand. If something bad happens, its not my fault.
 
To determine if the wheel bearing is going out, you may have to really pull on the wheel (12 o-clock and 6 oclock hand positions) and check for a very small amount of play - sometimes it's not that obvious.

I'm starting to get what sounds like wheel bearing noise in mine, and there's almost no extra movement from what I can detect.
 
IH392 said:
It probably is the wheel bearing, I had those same issues. To see where the noise is coming from, jack all four wheels in the air, put into 4wd and into drive and have someone listen for noise while the tires are turning at a reasonable speed. I would not do this if the tires are not balanced because it might bounce of the jackstand. If something bad happens, its not my fault.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure why but the picture I got in my head was hilarious.
 
Yeah i'm pretty much sure its the bearings, my mechanic friend came over and drove it around the block and he said they were the culprits. Luckily I found one parts store here in Cincy that has 2 in stock, and access to a lift/big ass impact:cheers:


all I think I should need is a 13mm 12pt socket, 36mm for the axle nut and whatever size torx socket for removing the brake caliper


Thanks all


Dan
 
You ruled out bad u-joints? Jack the tire up and crank the steering wheel over. It its binding or noisy only with the wheel turned, then its likely a bad u-joint. If you have to replace the unit bearing, you might as well do the ujoint while its all out anyway.
 
It certainly is possible to have a bad wheel bearing without play. Sometimes one of the bearing races will become pitted and it will roar and growl quite loudly while exhibiting no play at all. On a 4Wd it might be hard to spin the wheels, but usually you'll feel or hear the roughness if you rotate a wheel.
 
im gonna say its the wheel bearings...i had to replace mine and they didnt have side to side movement...but they had in and out movement and would pop when i would turn
 
My right front will roar pretty loud unless I'm turning towards the right. It also has no play that I can feel. Would y'all call it a bad hub bearing or something else? I'm new to Jeeps and open to any suggestions. Thanks
 
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