wheel bearings or not?

[tbird6820]

Cool site . I have a 1999 lumina that when I drive I hear a low howl that gets louder as I increase speed that is comming from the front end. I checked the cv boots and they are fine. I suspect its the front bearings, How do I check this?

[savannaz34]

Originally Posted by tbird6820

Cool site . I have a 1999 lumina that when I drive I hear a low howl that gets louder as I increase speed that is comming from the front end. I checked the cv boots and they are fine. I suspect its the front bearings, How do I check this?

the very top link of the forum that says VERY IMPORTANT may help.
you should try it
it will direct you to the help you need

[jeffcoslacker]

I've had two go bad on the 1997, it started with a low moan in the front, gets louder with speed. Gets better or goes away if you lead the steering one direction slightly, gets worse the other way.

When you lift the front and give the wheels a good spin, you may be able to detect a bit of hiss or rumble from the bad one. Good hub bearings are silent. Some cars you may need to push the brake pads away from the rotor slightly, so you're not hearing pad drag.

Anyway if it's real bad, there will be no doubt...aside from the noise when spun, you might even feel a bit of grind when you rotate the wheel slowly...

The last one I let go so long before replacing it, it sounded like it was fulla broken glass and rocks...you could actually see sparkly metal shavings around the center of the hub flange, and it had lost it's oil packing, so it was black with oil residue and dirt (another thing to look for).

Replacement isn't too hard, but requires a couple of tricky tools to get back into where the bolts hold the hub in place, and caution not to damage the ABS sensor. You'll also need a T-60 Torx socket and a breaker bar to remove the caliper support...hubs cost $65-$90 or so, depending on where and what quality...

Made the mistake of installing a house branded cheap one (Carquest) the first time, to save $30, it lasted just over a year (and just beyond it's warranty) and didn't even have 5000 miles on it...don't screw yourself with substandard parts...I should know better, but did it anyway...

[tbird6820]

I'll go ahead and check as you described and see what I come up with. I've also been reading other posts and book marked Autozone.com (repair).

This would be my first do it yourself and after reading your post it seems pretty easy to take on, thanks.

I'm glad you also metioned installing cheap brands, I've been just looking at prices on line because a shop quoted me about $250. per side which made me chock.

[tbird6820]

I checked the bearings on both sides as you suggested and sure enough both are bad, one side sounding alot worse.

I'm going to buy the T-60 Torx socket and I have the breaker bar.

[tbird6820]

I found the bearings right here and they ask w/o abs or with?

[jeffcoslacker]

The ABS reluctor ring is on the bearing on some vehicles...not on the Lumina, it's on the CV shaft.

When I looked up your year on O'Reilly Auto Parts, it didn't ask for ABS or not.

Some stores' systems automatically ask for that kind of info, whether it's relevant or not...

[jeffcoslacker]

PS you'll need a big hub socket to remove the nut from the CV shaft...I wanna say it was a 36 or 38mm...can't remember at the moment.

I just had the store bring out an axle for my car, and sized the nut on the new one. Then I rented the correct size from them.

Be sure you don't tug on the CV shaft when the bearing comes off, the inner joint can fall apart. Tap the splined end with a plastic hammer or block of wood to pop it free before sliding the hub away from it...keep the shaft pushed back in place.

[tbird6820]

I just ordered the hubs so I'll let you know how it goes.