Wheel bearing and hub assembly going... how long will it last?

[alkemist]

Whats up everybody,

My front/right wheel bearing hub assembly had been making noise for over a year now with no performance affects. Yesterday, when I did tire rotation I noticed a greater sound and I can now feel vibration in the pedals when I am going on a highway in a traight line. The vibration tends to go away on turns and comes back with I apply brakes. The vibration is noticeable the most when I brake or go up and down hills. The extent of vibration is not always the same, it comes and goes, however the sound of the shot bearing s is constanly the same.

Does anybody think the vibration could be caused by anything else? It was not present until I rotated the wheels. My first thoughts were unbalanced wheels, but then why would I feel it so much in the pedals.


I am wondering how long will last from this point on. How high is the risk of wheel falling off? Thank you.

[UncleBob]

umm....

you want to know how long it will last? Well, I guess you're determined to find out, but somewhere between .01 more miles, and 300,000 miles. Although I'd guess closer to the first number.

If you want to know whether the "new" problem is related to the known bad bearing, its just a crazy suggestion but.....how about you replace the bearing and see if the problem is still there...?

[curtis73]

If you have a front bearing noise I strongly suggest you fix it pronto. Like UncleBob says, it could last one mile or a million, but when it finally fails, it will lock up sending you into a wall, over a cliff, or into a swamp; taking with you an uncounted number of innocent civilians. They're unpredictable, so its best to fix the problem immediately before another mile goes by.