how do you know when a bearing's going out??

[bartonmd]

I just picked up a '91 lumina, says it's a euro, has euro badges, euro dash, euro wheels, BUT has FE2 suspension and no spoiler... so who knows... anyway, it was $150, so whatever... It has ass-crap tires on the rear, you know... the kind that don't show a brand name on them... Anyway, as you get over 10-15mph or so, I hear what sounds like a growling/grinding sound... jacked it up, spun the wheels, seem normal, spin easy, don't make noise (other than light dragging of rotors, which is to be expected).

 

I'm going to take the Yokos off the rear of my lumina and swap them out to troubleshoot as it's the same car, so I'll know this weekend probably, but what kind of noise do the "problem" wheel bearings make when they're about to go?? (BTW, the noise is definately coming from the rear of the car, which has DIFFERENT tires from the front)

 

thanks

Mike

[GnatGoSplat]

Growling/grinding is an indication of a bad bearing. Sometimes a bearing has to be loaded to make a noise, so spinning it when jacked up doesn't always tell you it's bad.

You can verify it by driving and turning the steering wheel left and right while moving when it starts growling. If it's a bearing, the sound will change while you do that.

[Brian P]

when a bearing goes bad in the back, it starts to sound like a train.

 

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

[HokemBokem]

How hard is it to change your own wheel bearing?

[GnatGoSplat]

It's cake.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

Yeah my rear bearing sounded like a Honda Civic with a fart can was attached to it. It was very loud.

 

It's a relatively simple job, if you can do breaks then you're fine. The hardest part is the damn bolts, those caliper bolts can really get stuck. You need a 19mm (or something stupid) to do the job, which isn't included in many cheap tool sets.

[bartonmd]

Thanks guys... I'll let you know when I put the yoko wheels from my lumina on the rear and see if it changes...

 

Mike

[digitaloutsider]

As far as FE2 goes, it was QUITE common for a Euro 3.1 to have FE2.

[bartonmd]

OK, thanks! the several I've looked at all had F41/FE3, so I didn't know...

 

BTW, it is BOTH of the rear hubs... one worse than the other... but for a $150 car... who cares... That makes it a $350 car I guess

 

Also found out what was happening when the guy said he died on him when he came down to a stop once in awhile... torque convertor lockup solenoid... stays locked up every once in awhile... unplugging it until I can get one put in...

 

Mike