Hey Veeky Forums I'm going on a road trip but my car has a faulty wheel bearing - could this be detrimental?
My mechanic who's surprisingly a great guy, knowledgeable and not out for money, says it isn't anything that will break me down. Looking the subject up though - just about everybody is saying to replace it because it could lead to deadly outcomes. Replacing it would put a dent in my wallet and plans, since I'm leaving very soon and didn't think this would be much of an issue.
Is this crucial to fix before the 1k mile trip? Can I make it and get it fixed at my destination, or is this absolutely necessary?
I killed a wheelbearing in my truck and have ignored it for 11,000 miles, if anything, it's less loud now.
Really depends where it is.
William Stewart
It will definitely cause increased wear on your tire along with an uncomfortable and tense ride. Theoretically the wheel could seize but it'd probably take more than 1k miles to get to that point even if your particular car has that potential. At the very leadt, ignoring it will cause very accelerated wear to other parts of the suspension on that corner.
Bentley Moore
Expect it to be louder by the end of the trip, replace it when it becomes unbearable. They don't really blow apart until they're extremely worn, like the driver has been hearing the noise for a long time.
>It's only 1,000 miles you'll be fine.
Ethan Collins
Depends.
My wheel literally came off due to a bad bearing. The car went *THUNK* and I watched the wheel roll itself across the parking lot in disbelief.
So have some common sense about it. I at least had the common sense to find a parking lot after my car started trying to nail itself into trucks coming the other way and cliffs to the other side.
I was out of a car for months afterward because it came undone in the middle of nowhere. Best to get it taken care of near where you live now because it will cost less, happen more quickly, and won't ruin your vacation.
Isaac Parker
Had a buddy who ignored a noisy wheel bearing for a while, eventually it straight-up caught fire and took some suspension/steering stuff with it.
Anthony Morgan
How much play is in the wheel when you push the top and bottom of the tire? Is it noisy when you drive? I drove a year on a bad rear wheel bearing. just do it m8
Juan Jenkins
>could this be detrimental?
Depends on how it fails and what speed you are going when it fails. Someone at my university dorm had a car with a bad rear bearing and ignored it. One day, the wheel started to come out right in the parking lot. It was a good thing he was going slow. Otherwise, it would have been a high speed scraping on the ground after panic braking with whatever brake fluid was not leaked out. Would be more exciting if the gas tank scraped the ground too.
Ryder Clark
>bearing becomes unbearable
Hudson Nelson
>wheel came off because of wheel bearing user, something else went wrong.
