Wheel Bearings - How often do these fail?
 

I have some noises coming from the front end. I have ordered poly bushings and dtss eliminators. I was wondering if I should go ahead and replace the wheel bearings (at least the front) while I have it all apart?

I guess what I'm asking is: Has anyone had to replace the one's on their car, and if so what were the symptoms (sounds, pulling, etc.)? Also are these a common part to fail on these 20+ yr old cars?

i would replace them... 20+ years is long enough...

while you have them out... inspect the races too... (hope you wont have to replace those!)

I had ONE go out on my original FC. The right front to be exact. It destroyed the hub as well. Hooray for warranties.

What were the symptoms?

(Clicking, screeching, grinding, wheel fall off, etc.?)

Usually excessive vibrations are a good sign.

Wheel fall off hahaha that had me laughing pretty good.

It was a roaring sound that would change pitch dependent on lateral force.

first sign of wear (in my case) was after hard driving, you'll hear a rhythmic swishing type sound coming from the outside wheel in a turn. bearings can last 20 days or 20 years.. just gotta grease them well and keep the fronts torqued to spec (22 ft.lb). they'll need to be retorqued a few times in the first couple hundred miles as they settle in.

To answer the OP's question, if properly maintained & lubricated, wheel bearings should still be going strong long after the rest of the car is a rusted rotting hulk. In my 35+ years of driving, I only had a wheel bearing fail once - it was in a '73 Camaro, and it was due to my own incompetance as a teenage DIY mechanic.:banghead:

Cool, thanks for all of the information. I doubt mine are failing. After changing all of the bushings if I still have any noises then I might go back and do the wheel bearings.

Just curious, where did you see 22ftlbs? The FSM uses a pull type scale to measure resistance when tightening them.. I'll have to pull up the exact numbers again, but I was just curious where you learned the 22ftlbs?

Since this thread is already going in my direction: While rolling I can hear a 'cricket' sound with the windows down. (As if I were constantly driving beside a pond/slew full of croaking frogs or crickets). The sound is still present under light or hard breaking, and the noise doesn't change while turning. It does change with speed, but not with RPM. I can't hear it when I spin the wheels by hand, and the wheel bearings don't seem to have any play in them. Should I replace them and see if that helps, or is there something I'm missing?

just ahd to dig in the FSM... ok so i got the 22ft.lbs from about halfway through the front bearing procedue lol.

it says torque to 14-22, then back it off and finish with a pull gauge. i dont have a pull gauge, and im lazy, so i just left it at 22. seems to be fine.
the only issue i had was after a couple hundred miles the bearing gets loose (breaking in/seating), so i had to retorque.

A fishing scale = pull gauge. Has a hook at one end, handle on the other and measures tension in Lbs when you put the hook on the wheel stud & pull per the FSM procedure. You can get one at Walmart or anywhere else that sells sporting goods, about $5. If you follow the FSM procedure to the letter, including the pull scale part, you won't have the problem you're seeing of the bearing getting loose in a few hunderd miles.

If you maintain the bearings, they'll never fail. Regrease them every few years and do it properly and they will last forever.

Rear wheel bearings on the otherhand seem to be a bit more fragile as they are non-serviceable. You're pretty much at thier mercy.

If you jack the car and there is any play in the wheel, fix it. Once the bearings start to move places they shouldn't, they will fail quickly, chew up everthing that they touch, and in the worst case, they will completely fail, fall apart, and your wheel could fall off. It ALMOST happened to my trailer when I loaned it to a friend and he overloaded it and continued to drive down the highway. He got LUCKY.

That is the same noise I'm getting. It's most noticable when applying brakes when something is beside me to bounce the sound back (other cars, bridges, walls, etc.).

I have new springs (Eibach), shocks (Tokico), new calipers (all around), drilled rotors, ceramic pads, steel braided lines, alignment.

I have ordered poly bushings, rb sway bar end links, and dtss eliminator bushings.
I'll let you know if they stop the clicking sounds. I read in another forum that it is most likely the sway bar end links.