Front Wheel Bearings

[denguy]

How would you check your front wheel bearings to see if they were OK and installed correctly?

[kumalaba]

i just grab mine @ the top of the tire & pull in & out to see if there is any play. im sure there are better ways to check them but this is the only way i know how

[FestYboy]

i use the above method to verify clamping load and then a stethescope to listen to the bearing as it turns

[Chobobulous]

You can use a screwdriver like a stethoscope. Pretty neat.

[WmWatt]

Drive without using the brakes and feel the hub to see if it's hot. If you use the brakes that heats up the hubs too so don't.

[Movin]

Drive and listen for rumble. Elevate and punch the tire, it should go thud, not rattle.

[denguy]

Thanks............everything in the front end feels tight but I am still getting an increasing shake over 50mph.

[zoom zoom]

Probably tires, I have an incessant shake in ALL my cars over65/70 and everything has been replaced, ball joints, inner rod ends, racks, front and rear swaybar bushings, struts, knuckles, literally EVERY front end component. I did have one set of tires balanced but I'm thinking it was a botched job, they only charged me like $8 to balance them and the mechanic tried to lift my car from the side(where it dents/bends the rockers) until I yelled at him to lift from the crossmember, luckily I got there in time I had went to get a pop from the machine.

I also threw one of the weights off doing 35 thru town 3 or 4 days later. I heard a ting and the vibrations got worse above 70, but it usually stops around 75/80

[Bert]

One nice thing about graduating from 12 inch 'trailer tires' to quality 13 or 14s is highway travel becomes so much more smooth.

[zoom zoom]

It's on all my cars, 12's, 13's, and 14's...but I haven't bought a new tire or had all four balanced in many many years. I only had two balanced that one time last year.

[WmWatt]

Try rotating the tires to see if there is any change in performance. I've swapped my front tires left-to-right a couple of times and had noises dissappear. Maybe it helps them wear more evenly?

[Movin]

Spin to check for a bent wheel. Have the tire balance guys use the fine setting. The tire weight hammer tool has a lead clipper built in to support this function.It will balance to 1/10 ounce on this setting.