Hey Veeky Forums I'm going on a road trip but my car has a faulty wheel bearing - could this be detrimental?

Depending on which bearing it is you can just pop it out, shove some axle grease in a new one and put it in the old race for a temporary fix.

Nope. The bearing is the only point of connection to the hub.

You guys are all fucking retarded. The wheel bearing needs to be replaced. It's like a $15 part. Your wheel can lock if it fails while you're driving and you will die

So you drove your car around without a axle/hub nut.

Hey user, I'm gonna stop you there.

What part of the car do you think the spindle nut clamps onto?

If you knew anything about cars, you'd be aware that in most cases, on an undriven wheel, the spindle nut clamps the inner race of the bearing and does not interface with any rotating part. So, if the bearing fails to the point that the outer race completely separates from the inner race, the only thing keeping the wheel on is the brake disc being within the caliper. If the undriven wheel has a drum brake, it is entirely likely that a separated wheel bearing will lead to the wheel and its hub coming off completely, as the brake will not retain it. It is also possible for the brake disc to shear from its hub if the side load is great enough, as it is not designed to take axial loads.

OP here, currently on the trip. Will update you guys if I make it

If not, remember me

I'm going to stop you as well.

Here is a hub assembly.
Through it goes the axle shaft.
If the bearings fail to retain axial loads, the hub assembly will separate, breaking the brake disk in half and pulling the axle shaft apart at the joint.

Neither of you understand what a spindle nor axle/hub nut is do you.

Even if the bearing blows the fuck up. it's still attached with this.

You're assuming there's an axle you fucking retard read my post again

>undriven wheel

But that's wrong

google it
metallurgist.com/truck-trailer-wheel.html

>truck trailer wheel is designed the same as a cars
WOW IT'S NOTHING

Well that's even worse, that hub is for both 2wf and 4WD. When used on a 2wd suv or truck, the axle is simply not there and a spliced hole is left in the hub.

So then absolutely nothing is stopping it from falling the fuck off but the bearings and the brake disk.

>hub and bearing assembly are fundamentally different in configuration not just larger

But it is.

front wheel bearing(s) off a gen 1/2 Camaro

other tapered roller bearing is installed with the rotor.

Jeus christ chevy sucks at saftey. Ford at least puts it to where if the bearing would explode like that, the wheel could not come off the assembly because of the large nut holding the assembly in place.

>implying this different from the design of a car's spindle
You just don't know what a spindle looks like I guess

Remember everyone, Veeky Forums says to not use your axle and hub nuts as they do nothing at all.

>magical nut

Here is a wheel hub assembly.. For the second time

Note that most cars and trucks use this idea of putting it all together like this as a unit.

Please show me where a nut is to stop this?
What happens when those balls, or tapered rollers are ground away?

See

>Ford at least puts it to where if the bearing would explode like that, the wheel could not come off the assembly because of the large nut holding the assembly in place.
But that's wrong
18 seconds on google yielded this image of a Mustang front hub, which CLEARLY shows that if the bearing inner race were to separate from the outer race, the hub would slide over the nut and fall off just like on any other car.

Failed wheel bearings will result in wheels flying off. You think an axle shaft will support a wheel on the highway by itself? Protip : they wont

>these dumb fucks are looking at the back side of the assembly

You see this part here in red? Yea thats what the nut sits on. Guess what, with the nut in place you cannot remove the assembly, even if there wasn't a fucking bearing at all, the nut sits on that lip.

And you can't pull out your axle assembly if its properly mounted. And you won't be able to pull out the spindle as it fucking slides in the back of the assembly.

You double niggers.

But you're wrong. The nut is STATIONARY so it CANNOT SIT ON A ROTATING SURFACE.

The assembly in your picture would have the nut resting on the INNER RACE OF THE BEARING just like this one.

Yeah the one in your pic will just yank the axle out.

>yank the axle out
If you car doesn't have mounts for your axles. It's a shit fucking car.

See
See pic related.

bullshit

>mounts for the axles
show a picture of what you're talking about or shut the fuck up

splined shaft will just snap off if the bearing fails
It's not going to be able to take the axial loads when the bearing separates and starts bending the snout upwards

what about cars with CV shafts? Those joints aren't designed to handle outward thrust loads.

Did that out of order.

See

See pic here

...

>all of this fucktard user trying to prove a wheel won't come off if the bearing fails
Bottom line is that if there's no axle there's nothing but the brake disc holding the wheel on when the bearing separates

See pic.

>goal posting

Also see pic.

inner CV joints are designed to slide in and out of the housing due to suspension cycling.

Do you think this shit will keep a wheel on? They're usually held in place with a super thin cir-clip so when you hold a CV shaft up, it wont just fall apart.

>samefag

also that axle bracket, which holds the half-shaft bearing, is there just so there isn't a retaining clip on the shaft itself where it installs into the transmission. They exist so you have equal CV shaft lengths to lessen torque steer.

pic related

I'm pretty sure its 3 idiots that are trying to prove you wrong, but you've got your head buried in the sand saying NO NO YOU'RE ALL WRONG!

>pic related, you.

See pic.
Then wait for following pic.

>using this image
>being this wrong
From FB I take it.

See pic then Wait for following pic of what happens to the axle shaft.

You same fags are getting less and less coherent

...

wheels not going to seize, dumbshit

See pic.

>dodge
And you haven't proven anything other then shitty design.

>.t busrider
I've driven several cars with shit bearings for thousands of miles all it really does is just get really noisy

All American pickups are the same way.
Also, see
>Note that most cars and trucks use this

Wow the drive axle came out
Nothing to do with the wheel bearing dipshit

Regardless of wheel bearings, that pic is showing what happens when you rely on the drive axle (the shaft with the magical nut on it) to hold the wheel to the car.

>entire post is about how when the wheel bearing fails the wheel fly's off
>one user points out that is not true with the proper locking nut design
>BUT SEE THE AXLE GETS FUCKED UP
That is called goal posting. The wheel is still attached to the knuckle.

Fix it before your trip to save on your mpgees.

It's a hub
It has an axle going through it.
The axle has a nut on the end.

When the wheel bearing fails, and the wheel attempts to leave the car, the axle will be pulled apart.
See for what that looks like.

>wheel doesn't leave the car
Exactly, the nut prevent the wheel from coming off the car.

I don't see what you are arguing against here. the user is right about the nut holding the wheel on.

Yeah, and OPs repairs just got a lot fucking more expensive. Not moving goalposts at all, you're omitting the conditions of success, which is NO ADDITIONAL DAMAGE.

What are you on about? No one in this comment chain said not to replace it. They stated that the nut would hold the wheel on.

Stop back peddling because you lost the actual argument at hand.

The nut.
That attaches to a shaft.
That then immediately goes through a cv joint.
See for details.

The shaft the nut resides on will pull apart.
See for details.

I would replace it especially if you are going to be driving alot, it will put alot of ease on your mind knowing it's good because even if it's unlikely for the bearing to explode and lock up your tire you would get increased tire wear and if it's disk you could wear the pads and disk un evenly
Story time
>truck devolps weird as noise while driving
>can't for the life of me figure out where
>driving to work on the freeway and suddenly I feel alot more play in my steering wheel then there should be
>get off at my normal ramp and make a left turn
>sounds and feels like my right tire is crushing the bones of infant babies
>stop turning but it won't go away
>get the rest of the way to work and finally realize it's the right wheel bearing because it only sounds like bones being crushed when I make left turns
>push top of tire and it moves 3 counties over
>limp it home
>get new bearings and races take apart hub bearing are beyond gone
>a couple needles are out of the bearing and a few are ground flat
>outter looks OK but replace everything along with the old seal
>but for some reason I can't tighten the hub nut correctly and it's either to tight and I can't move the hub or too loose and there's alot of play in it
>finally find that sweet spot after an hour
>drive it and it sounds and feels fine until I come back into my driveway
>hit the breaks and I can hear my breaks shudder and my pedal comeback at me
>think it's maybe uneven wear from the disc cause it was making the bad bearing sound for about 2 months
>ffw 4 weeks ago finally had enough of the breaks being a bitch and rip apart hub to see what's going on
>bearings are fine
>brakes are fine
>begin to repack the bearings
>staring at hub wondering what the fuck is that noise
>look at spindle
>lol benis haha
>get some grease and lube her up
Ooooooo.jpeg
>peice of metal comes off the spindle when my hand hits the spindle while jacking off my truck
I was drunk fuck off
Cont.

See

>wonder what the fuck it is because it blends in perfectly with the spindle
>flip it over and see rubber
>get a screw driver and remove some gunk
>weeeew it's an old fucking seal
>for the last 3 years I've been driving my truck with an extra seal
>realize this is why my old bearing failed and why I couldn't get the bearing tightened right
>throw the assembly back together
>tighten the hub nut and I get it perfect the first try
>drive it
>brake shudder is gone
>mfw
All thanks to the fucking mexicans that owned my truck before didint know your supposed to remove the old seal before you add the new one

this.
>mfw one lost its roller bearings and seized on me in less than 5 miles

ur already ded

Made it to Delaware from MA with no issues so far. Destination is Florida. I think I'll be fine, but I definitely appreciate everyone's input so far

How much noise was it making before seizing?

When mine failed and the wheel came off, it was just a matter of a strange squeak-squeak-squeak coming the rear that was not particularly worrisome against all the rest of the rattles and noise the car made on the highway.

I ran on a bad wheel bearing for 18,000 miles. It became fused to the race and had to be removed in pieces with a chisel and blowtorch.

I'm pretty sure the race is fucked or the new one wasn't reinstalled correctly, because I'm somehow getting 3-4 less average MPG. Hotter plugs might have something to do with it, though.

OP here. No squeaking, no added tension or noise when turning on one side. Just some lowered speed/noise when accelerating or at high speeds. It sounds like mine is just beginning to go, compared to the others in this thread

Probably. I had a friend with one bad enough to go RARARARARARARARARARARA even at relatively low speeds that gave me the fear, but at least in that case it was a driven wheel with an axle nut holding things together.

I had a similar model with bearing starting to go bad on a driven wheel, and that one gave me plenty of advance warning by making something that sounded like amplified tire noise. Got it replaced because it was irritating, although the wheel didn't have any play an it probably would have kept going for quite a while. It wore down the housing though and wound up blowing through the replacement bearing within a year and having to replace everything south of the strut because all the bolts were seized up.

Jeez yeah, mine doesn't sound like that haha. Mine just makes a whirring/low roar noise when getting to speeds like 60/70. I have an 02 Aztek, and other than that it drives pretty smoothly.

Just about to reach Virginia btw

Nigga I almost died when a wheelbase bearing hungry assembly broke on me, wheel went sideways and severed the break line and it instantly pulled hard left towards the concrete divider.

Wheel bearing hub assembly*

Sorry guys on mobile. But yea it almost killed me. I corrected the steering and got going straight again and pulled off the highway and realized I had no breaks right in time to see if was gonna hit some kids getting off a school bus. Pumped breaks with no result, pulled e brakes and steered so that I would crash into the lake (topless jeep) and swim out of my car rather than killing a crowd of elementary students. Luckily the jeep stopped before I flew into the lake.

A buddy of mine had a ball joint on the verge of coming apart, causing his car to dart in different directions at random. It's truly terrifying when one of your wheels starts doing its own thing. Having no brakes on top of that and no good places to dump the vehicle must have been a nightmare.

Things like this makes me a fan of bringing back those special tires they used to have in driver's ed where the instructor could hit a button at any time to cause a tire to deflate so that the students would learn how to react.