CNY_Dave Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 *Have* searched but could not find a definitive answer- Is a press required to do the front wheel bearings on an '03 OBW? If no, has anyone successfully done it with the knuckle still on the car? I remember some GM ones being very easy- wheel bearing went on/off from the outside, didn't have to pop the ball joint or anything. It sounds like I'm going to be wishing it was that way on a subie... Thx- Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 you sure an 03 needs wheel bearings already? bth my legs 92 with 152,000 miles and a 94 with almost around 190,000 has originals...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY_Dave Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 you sure an 03 needs wheel bearings already?bth my legs 92 with 152,000 miles and a 94 with almost around 190,000 has originals...... It makes a classic (to me the mechanic, in a past life anyway) wheel-bearing noise, but it also made this noise, more softly, when I bought the car, and it stopped when I put snows on last season. The noise came back when I put the stock potenzas back on, and the noise recently has gotten worse. So, I think it could still be the tire, have not jacked it up to check the wheel bearing yet, just doing the background work for whenever it needs doing. The noise was actually worse and funkier on a recent 50 deg. F morning, which I have not seen a wheel bearing do before. I'm 75% sure its the tire, but until I jack it up... BTW I have about 80,000 miles on it. Bought it in October with 55Kmiles. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svxpert Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 <<It makes a classic (to me the mechanic, in a past life anyway) wheel-bearing noise, but it also made this noise, more softly, when I bought the car, and it stopped when I put snows on last season. The noise came back when I put the stock potenzas back on, and the noise recently has gotten worse.So, I think it could still be the tire, have not jacked it up to check the wheel bearing yet, just doing the background work for whenever it needs doing.The noise was actually worse and funkier on a recent 50 deg. F morning, which I have not seen a wheel bearing do before.>> wheel bearing noise doesn't come and go, its continues(sp?). awhile back, some used a hub-tamer type tool to do a wheel bearing. i always use a press. hope it helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 It makes a classic (to me the mechanic, in a past life anyway) wheel-bearing noise, but it also made this noise, more softly, when I bought the car, and it stopped when I put snows on last season. The noise came back when I put the stock potenzas back on, and the noise recently has gotten worse. So, I think it could still be the tire, have not jacked it up to check the wheel bearing yet, just doing the background work for whenever it needs doing. The noise was actually worse and funkier on a recent 50 deg. F morning, which I have not seen a wheel bearing do before. I'm 75% sure its the tire, but until I jack it up... BTW I have about 80,000 miles on it. Bought it in October with 55Kmiles. Dave My money is on a noisy tire, since taking the tire off, then installing snows, eliminated the problem. A tire with a bad belt can make some rrrrrrr sounding noise that is similiar to the sound of a bad wheel bearing. Having owned a several cars over the years, a wheel bearing going bad would start making the rrrrrrr sound, and would only get louder and louder. Noise would be louder still when stressing the bearing on a turn, like a freeway exit. However, to answer your first question, I am pretty certain that you will need aa hub tamer, or hub shark, etc........some sort of a press to swap out the bearing, if it comes to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmwood22 Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 My inclination tells me a tire is feathered. Take your hand and rub it over the tread on your tires, specifically the tire where the noise is coming from, if it is feathering, also known as uneven wear, and represented by bumps on the tread, this is most likely your culprit. This has happened to a couple of my car's tires, never a problem just an annoyance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDave Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 Rotate the tires front to rear then drive it on various road surfaces, particularly the smoothest pavement you can find. I imagine if there is still any noise it will have moved to the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hohieu Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 I acutally had tire noise and a bad rear wheel bearing simultaneously. After replacing the bad rear wheel bearing, the roar from the rear went away, but I still had a wump, wump, wump and a slight vibration transmitted to the brake pedal that were particularly noticeable at slower speeds . At first, I thought it was the driver's side double offset joint (inner) as I had recently rebooted that halfshaft. I replaced it with a good used OEM unit, but the noise was still there. It finally went away after I replaced the tires so I now have a good spare half shaft ready to go back onto the car. BTW, my bad rear right bearing had no play or apparent roughness. A good way to check, though, is to put one hand on the coil spring while rotating the wheel. Even slight roughness in the bearing will be transmitted to the coil spring. You'll need to have all four corners off the ground and the car in neutral to check it this way. To be sure it's the bearing, you can also pop off the brake caliper. I replaced my wheel bearing with a Hub Tamer #6490. It had everything I needed to perform the service on-car, and its low force bearing installation minimizes risk of deforming the new bearing. If you already have a bearing separator and hub puller, the kit from Harbor Freight will also work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY_Dave Posted August 22, 2008 Author Share Posted August 22, 2008 Thanks all- I am a pretty experienced mechanic, and all indications point to the tire (which is unfeathered, but the potenzas are worn to the point where there is just a touch of tread left on the shoulders, where the tread only goes partway down), it sounds hella-like a wheel bearing, even getting slightly louder on left turns (its the rt-front making noise), but if it IS the tread on the shoulder of the tire, then it should indeed make it louder if its the tire making the noise. The way I bomb on/off ramps, I'd figure the left-front bearing would go 1st. If I wasn't so lazy I'd just jack the damn thing up and check it... Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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