96 Conour, 2.0 wheel bearing Qs

[c150L]

Just over one year ago, my RF wheel bearing went out. I took it to a local shop and $190 later, I was back on the road. 13 months later, I took it in for an alignment and another shop said the RF wheel bearing needs to be replaced. I took it back to the shop that did the bearing and they agree, that bearing is bad. Sounds like they want to chrge me to put another bearing in. Cound they have messed it up the first time they put the bearing in? The bearing's making no noise, but there's about 1/16" play top/bottom. Could it just be loose?


Rear wheel bearings... I replaced both rear hubs and bearings. I still have wheel noise in the rear. (One old bearing was quite noisy, so I put 2 new rear hubs in.) Thee are both new hub/bearing assemblies. Ant ideas what I missed or did wrong?

 

[AliasJerk]

when wheel bearings go bad its pretty easy to detect it, especially if its in the front. Basically when you turn you will hear a growling noise coming from the bad /failing bearing. So in your case, if you turn left and hear a rubbing/moaning sound your passenger front bearing is probably going bad, and it is common for bearings to fail early, usualy this happens because the shop just repressed a new bearing in the existing hub and didnt do a good job of it.

I probably would end up replacing the whole hub with a junkyard one, but thats really only for people who have the tools.

 

[Tony2005]

While it is true that they may have messed it up by not pressing it in correctly, it is also possible that the bearing just wore out. I had a lower ball joint replaced and then 13 months later, there was a slight movement. Bad enough for me to want to replace it. The warranty was for 12 months. Living in the DC area with potholes and what nots and driving in all kinds of conditions, I couldn't really pin the blame on a bad ball joint or installation.

If you had the misfortune of hitting a pothole or curb hard, that could damage your wheel bearing or ball joint (or for that matter, any part related to the suspension).

Did they put in a new axle nut when they took out the hub? Maybe all you need is a new axle nut.

 

[c150L]

The RF wheel bearing is making no noise. The wheel just has mevement , that should not be going through the bearing. Top/bottom play. (side/side too.) I don't know if they used a new nut. I doubt it.

So one pays $190 for a new wheel bearing installed. It lasts just over a year and that could be normal? The LF wheel bearing has 160k miles and 11 years.

I was debating picking up a whloe different knuckle & hub from a yard.

 

[jamesmason1]

The RF wheel bearing is making no noise. The wheel just has mevement , that should not be going through the bearing. Top/bottom play. (side/side too.) I don't know if they used a new nut. I doubt it.

Check this thread out, sounds like your problem. If you click on the search option on site toolbar and type in some key words like "wheel movement" or "wheel bearings" you'd be supprised on how much it's covered.

http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=12580&highlight=wheel+play

 

[Tony2005]

The RF wheel bearing is making no noise. The wheel just has mevement , that should not be going through the bearing. Top/bottom play. (side/side too.) I don't know if they used a new nut. I doubt it.

So one pays $190 for a new wheel bearing installed. It lasts just over a year and that could be normal? ....

Yes, it could be normal. As I posted previously, if you hit a curb or went over a pothole very hard, you could have ruined the wheel bearing or any other suspension item. Jack up the right front. Have some one step on the brakes, if there is no more movement on the wheel, it is probably the wheel bearing. It there is movement on the 3 and 9 o'clock, it is probably the tie-rod/lower ball joint.

Edit. Incidentally, my LF wheel bearing was changed at 10 years and RF is still the original at 11 years. LF lower ball joint and tie rod are still the original at 11 years. RF tie rod is original but the lower ball joint was changed twice, once at 10 and once at 11 years. So this thing about one side being good after 11 years and the other side having to be changed every year "happens".