What are the signs of a bad wheel bearing? HELP!

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SilversunMSP

Member
I been getting a loud wobble sound from the front of the car that gets louder and faster as you accelerate. It's been this way for about 2 months now and has gotten to the point where it's driving me crazy. I thought it was the tires so I bought a new set of four and got an alignment but the problem is still there.

The wobble sound gets louder when you turn to the right and there's a vibration in the wheel.

Is it possible the problem is the wheel bearing or is there something else I should be looking at
 
that sounds like a wheel bearing but u would think that they would let u know at the tire shop. expecially if its loose and by what ur telling me it sounds like its loose as well as making nosie, the two ways a wheel bearing fails. jack up on the side u think its coming from and put one hand on the top of the tire and one on the bottom move the tire by pushing the top and pulling the bottom. and keep rocking it if it moves then its a bad bearing and they shouldve never aligned it. but if it doesnt move the it failed by noise. but if it did fail by movement fix it and go back for a free alignment. hope that helps
 
It is possible that your wheel bearing is shot, but may not be the only problem. Wheel bearings will usually grind or can click when they go out. A "wobble" sound could be a bent rim or maybe even a loose suspension/steering component letting the wheel move a lot. A good way to check is to jack the car up, put it on jack stands, and holding the offending wheel at 12 and 6 o'clock and try to shake/tilt it. You should have little to no play in that direction. Also rotate the wheel while it is up in the air. Listen for grinding or clicking but remember the brake pad will be rubbing a bit too, so ignore that.
 
silvermsp88 said:
that sounds like a wheel bearing but u would think that they would let u know at the tire shop. expecially if its loose and by what ur telling me it sounds like its loose as well as making nosie, the two ways a wheel bearing fails. jack up on the side u think its coming from and put one hand on the top of the tire and one on the bottom move the tire by pushing the top and pulling the bottom. and keep rocking it if it moves then its a bad bearing and they shouldve never aligned it. but if it doesnt move the it failed by noise. but if it did fail by movement fix it and go back for a free alignment. hope that helps
Click to expand...

I was beaten by a minute!
 
same problem here... except I did the 6 and 12 o clock tilt and it didnt move at all.
 
MSPDriver said:
same problem here... except I did the 6 and 12 o clock tilt and it didnt move at all.
Click to expand...
The caliper may be holding onto the rotor enough to prevent any noticeable movement. You may need to remove the wheel and unbolt the caliper (no need to remove the brake line) in order to properly verify the bearing in loose or worn. Listen closely for any odd sounds and turn the hub a few rotations to see if there is any resistance.
 
This guys an expert. I have done all four. :) / :( good that its over but...it sucked). Sounds like a wheel bearing. The fact that you can play with the frequency and intensity of the noise when driving by playing with the wheel is a sure-fire way to tell. Be careful not to crack the wheel bearing when putting it in. (I ended up doing one twice.) Chances are if ones going the rest are also getting there so be careful. Make sure you jump on it quick so it doesnt freeze up and lock. That would be a mess. You should hear a pretty noticeable click if you shake the tire in and out as mentions above but there doesnt have to be. The only issue is telling which wheel it is that bearing is failing without the click when on a jack. My guess is the front right, but there is really no sure way to tell without getting in there. Best of luck.
 
Mine just failed. I noticed a rub like noise after a rainstorm back in January. I could hear it most when doing figure 8's in reverse in the parking lot. It sounds like a bearing issue, but a couple days later it went away.

I drove on it for the next 2 months, and that was a mistake. I replaced my control arms bushings thinking a wobble/clunk like noise was caused by my shredded rubber bushings, since I fixed a very similar noise by replacing my passenger side engine mount. When I replaced the control arm bushings, the wobble of the bearing became very noticeable, and a quick tug on the wheel in the air verified it.

The problem is the hub had fused to the bearing. I took the knuckle into a shop but they couldn't remove the inner part of the bearing from the hub and I had to buy a new hub from mazda at a nice $200. Then I had to drive to another mazda dealer to get a new retaining clip, $15. The bearing I already had from onlinemazdaparts for $36. The store I took it to is pressing the new one in for free, but I figured I'll tip the guy $40.

So this turned out to be a nice $250 repair with my own labor not accounted for. It really hope this was a fluke, and the other three are fine, because otherwise a new car is really starting to make sense.
 
Yeah it's a shame they don't make wearable parts more replacable on this car. Ball joints anyone?

BTW, I wanted to add that while my wheel bearing was most definitely shot, the major wobble noise was actually my sway bar. The HPK spring/strut combo I installed lowered my car. The constant pressue from the sway bar caused the bushing to prematurely fail and bumps were causing the sway bar to strum like a banjo string.

I am not sure how anyone is lowering their car without adjustable end links, or maybe they are just living with the noise. I made some custom endlinks to avoid paying $200, but they failed quickly and now have their own set of noises to add to the symphony that is my protege.
 
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