Partsteng

Can Wheel Bearings be Serviced?
Wheel bearings need periodic checking and depending on the type of wheel bearings in your car, there are a variety of service options. Wheel bearings most commonly fail for the following reasons:

Misadjustment
Contamination
Loss of grease
Fatigue spalling
Wheel bearings on most modern cars sit inside a sealed hub assembly that is mounted inside the steering knuckle. These sealed bearings are maintenance-free, but if a sealed bearing has gone bad there is no other option but to replace it. The average lifespan of sealed bearings is typically anywhere from 80,000 to 120,000 miles. Sealed bearings are more expensive than serviceable bearings, but they come prepacked with grease and don’t require regular maintenance.

What Do Bad Wheel Bearings Do to Your Car?

Wheel bearings form part of a mounting point and are essential for keeping wheels connected to the car so any weakness can have serious consequences for both the drive-axle and steering assembly. If a bearing is showing signs of serious wear, it could loosen the entire wheel assembly, and in some cases, entire wheels and tires have fallen off while the vehicle is in motion.

A bad wheel bearing can also cause brake rotors to wobble, reducing braking performance and as you know, anything that affects braking performance can make a car downright dangerous to drive. At the very least, a bad wheel bearing will cause uneven tire wear and be responsible for tires wearing out faster than they normally would.