Is it safe to drive with a bad wheel bearing?

[CarolAnn]

My nephew thought it might be a torn CV boot (or some kind of boot) - but when I called a garage to get a price on replacing the boot, he said it was probably a bad wheel bearing.

Car growls when I turn the corner - or more like a whiney moan. Sounds like me when I don't want to get up so early.

Anyway, it'll cost abour $300 to fix (or more) - so can I drive on it for a few weeks without the wheel falling off or damaging something under there so bad it costs four times as much to fix?

[12vman]

If it's a front wheel drive, I'd be cautious! It could put you in a very bad situation! :o

[AlchemyAcres]

Sure sounds like a wheel bearing, CV joints tend to 'click' when they're going bad.
The only way to know for sure is to have it looked at.
It's not safe to drive the car.
At the very least, the bearings can heat up excessively causing a seize up or other damage adding to the repair costs.

$300 is a lot to have a wheel bearing replaced, I'd shop around....80-90 percent of that cost has got to be labor.
The last one I replaced cost $35.

~Martin

[MadTripper]

Typically, if you raise the wheel in question, you can tell if the bearing is going bad. *Grasp the top and bottom of the tire with both hands. *Try and push the top while pulling the bottom and then switch by pulling the top and pushing the bottom effectively wiggling the whole wheel. *If there is any noticable play, your bearing is headed south. *
On a side note, if you grasp the right and left sides of your tire and notice play, it is typically a tie rod.
Additional signs of bearing problems are abnormal amounts of brake dust on that rim, extreme heating of the rim after a drive, and whining or humming from that wheel.

I replaced my Talon front hub assembly about a year ago. *This is much easier for the backyard mechanic than trying to remove the old bearings and press new ones in. *At the time, I couldn't even find bearings only. *So, in my instance, the assembly was about $150.00 and it took me about 2 hours. *The longer it goes, the worse off you will be because of the expansion and shrinking of metals as they heat and cool. *My car was also AWD which tends to be more pricey for parts. *

Tripper

[annabella1]

Yep it can fall off mine did. Yes it took a lot more labor once that happened. Luckily I have a mechanic who feels sorry for me.

[CarolAnn]

Well, I learned a WHOLE LOT today!

First, the jerk at Blaines Farm & Fleet that told me I needed TWO front wheel bearings didn't know what he was talking about.

Second, when you're low on power steering fluid, it makes a noise that some people think sounds like a bad wheel bearing!!

So for a couple of bucks, the noise is gone. That's WAY better than the $300+ it would have cost if I'd trusted the mechanic!

Finally, when a business has a sale on tires, but only has one in stock so they "have" to sell you the really, really expensive ones, that's called "bait and switch."

Dang. They got me on the tires, and one of those brand new very expensive tires doesn't hold air, so it means another three hour wait there to have it fixed. >:( Grrrrrr!

[bee_pipes]

I appreciate the story. Someone just asked me today if they had a bad wheel bearing. I am loathe to work on cars since they got so complicated. The symptoms MadTripper gave, above, we indications to me of a bad ball joint on an old '72 maverick.

Now I have a good mechanic that I trust completely. Finding him was lucky.

Regards,
Pat