Questionable Wheel Bearing diagnosis

[CaliforniaBC]

Hello all, fist time posting here.

 

Yesterday I had the front struts replace on my '99 Forester and when I went to pick it up I was told a rear wheel bearing may be going out. This was at a larger chain place here in the west. I was surprised since my regular mechanic gave it a once over the week before and the checklist indicated the bearings were "good".

 

The diagnosis from the chain repair shop was based on a sound heard while test driving after the strut repair, so they didn't check it out on the rack or anything yet. But the guy was pretty convinced the bearing was going.

 

On my own I jacked up the car and turned the wheels, checked 3 of them. I could turn them but none spun freely and the only noise I heard sounded like it was from some rub from the rotor and brake caliper. All 3 wheels had this sound. There was no play in the wheels up or down or side-to-side and no grinding feeling transmitted through the springs as I turned the wheels. These were all tests I found on various sites online. Plus, I do not notice any sound when I'm driving it.

 

Based on this does it sound like my wheel bearing(s) are going out? Please let me know if I can clarify anything or add more info.

 

Thanks!

[Rooster2]

Since you can't hear anything unusual, and your mechanic said all is good, I wouldn't be concerned about a wheel bearing. Chain stores have a bad reputation of creating work to be done on your car, regardless if it is needed or not.

[idosubaru]

that era forester is really good at eating up rear wheel bearings. there have been some modifications to the wheel bearing over the years, make sure you get the latest and greatest from Subaru if you get it replaced, here's more information on it:

http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-repair-seattle-wheel-bearings-explained-part-1/

 

i'll sit in the rear cargo area while someone else drives. if it's bad it'll be notably louder on one side than the other. without doing that sometimes it sounds like tire/road noise and ambiguous in direction.

 

i've never done wheel bearings on another make of car, i work almost exclusively on Subarus, but i have never seen a bad wheel bearing have any play in it while on the vehicle.

 

noise and heat (using a temperature gun) are the best way to diagnose a subaru wheel bearing in my experience. if the bearing is bad that hub will be hotter than the other side. some folks have used mechanics stethoscopes or rods on the strut coils to amplify any sounds, i haven't had that method work yet but i've only tried it once or twice.

Edited July 9, 2012 by grossgary