front bearings

[milehighbear]

I put new bearings on passenger side hub and now when im going forward i have whining type sound like you might hear from a tire. When i took tie rod loose and balljoint loose i did not change them. When i took old bearings out, they were real dry and actually just fell out of the reese on the inner ones. Could new bearings change alignment that much to where the wheel would howl. The steering wheel is actually off now as to where it was straight if you know what i mean. Its like the steering wheel is turning to left but the car is still going straight.

[GenevaDirt]

well if they were that bad and the alignment was done...then yes I would think so. Especially since the wheel is off now. You didn't turn the tie rod in or out while you had it disconnected did you?

[milehighbear]

i did not have an alignment done after, i didnt think it would change that much just because of a bearing being changed. And no, tie rod was not changed

[Mike McKown]

Stand in front of the car with the steering wheel straight ahead and eyeball your front wheels. If the toe is off enough to make the tires howl, you'll see it. If the steering wheel was straight before you changed bearings and is now off to one side, I'd say somebody aligned the front end with the bearing really bad.

[GenevaDirt]

i did not have an alignment done after, i didnt think it would change that much just because of a bearing being changed. And no, tie rod was not changed

what Mike said....I was meaning aligned before the replacement...with a bad bearing.

[milehighbear]

i tried that, and it didnt seem to be off that bad, guess ill just have to get an alignment and if it still does it, ill have to check bearings again. I think ill change the other side first before i get it aligned even thou other side seems good or i may be getting it done twice. I even put two long pieces of angle iron that went from back tires to front to see if tires were off like we use to do in old days, lol

[rcottle]

Do you only hear the noise when going forward?
Raise the frt end of the ground with jack stands and run the car in 3rd gear and see if you still here noise - have buddy help you and make sure both wheels spin and see if you still hear the noise. If you do it is probably still a wheel bearing.
Also anytime you disassemble anything with struts, knuckles, hubs i would have the alignment checked. Let me know what your results are

[rcottle]

Also make sure tires are not touching the ground........

[milehighbear]

thought about doing that too. Guess ill have to do that tomorrow hopefully when it warms up a little. Ill let you know my results

[skeeters_keeper]

You can check your own alignment, best with someones help though

Park the car on flat ground with the steering wheel pointing straight ahead, put something flat (a piece of 2x4 or plywood etc) along the outside of each tire, and measure that with a tape measure. Measure in front of the tire, and behind the tire. Adjust the offending tie rod end(s) and your good to go. Keep an eye on tire wear just in case you got it off a little, but this will deff get you straight enough to get rid of any "howl".

[jglutz]

Lift the car and spin the suspect wheel....typically...any bearing problem that you can hear while driving can be heard or felt by spinning the wheel....slight but still there.

[milehighbear]

okay, here's what i did. I jacked car up and started it and ran it in 1st, 2nd, 3rd gear. It did not make the howling noise. I also spun both wheels by hand and bearings feel nice and smooth. So next i took a board,put it under the back of the tire, at the very edge, marked where the edge of the other tire was, then went to the front and did the same thing. I was about quarter of inch off so i screwed tie rod in, checked it again, front and back, now they are both same. Drove it, still have the howl. So, tomorrow night if i get a chance, im going to switch the tires around and try that. If that dont work, i'll just have to drive my truck(Of course a Ford Truck) and wait till i come back from my week down at Fort Worth and go at it again. Thank you guys for all the suggestions. May take me awhile, but after 60 years, ive gotten a little stubborn about finding the problem.