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Hearing a weird humming or grinding
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noise when you're driving, especially
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when you turn. Yeah, that could be a bad
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wheel bearing. I'm Tom from Car Justify,
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and today we're talking about how to
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spot the signs before things get worse
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or, you know, the wheel literally falls
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off. All right, so first symptom, and
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this is the most common one, is a deep
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humming or growling noise. Kind of
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sounds like you're riding on knobbyby
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off-road tires, even if you're not. If
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the noise gets louder the faster you go
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or changes when you turn left or right,
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that's a big clue. I've seen this a
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hundred times. One side goes bad and
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starts howling like a banshee. Second
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thing to look out for, vibration through
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the steering wheel or floorboard. Now,
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not all vibrations are wheel bearings.
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Could be a tire issue or alignment. But
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if the shake gets worse with speed and
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you've ruled out tire balance, you might
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be dealing with a bearing that's
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starting to fail. Number three, loose or
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wobbly wheel. If you jack up the car,
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grab the wheel at the 12 and six o'clock
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positions, and it rocks back and forth.
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Yeah, that's bad. Could be a ball joint
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or tie rod, sure, but wheel bearing is
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high on the list. I had a customer once
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whose wheel was basically flopping
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around. We caught it just in time.
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Fourth, ABS light kicking on randomly.
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Some wheel bearings have the wheel speed
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sensor built in. So, when the bearing
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goes bad or starts to wear unevenly,
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that sensor gets thrown off. Your dash
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light comes on and boom, you're chasing
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down ghost issues. And hey, don't ignore
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uneven tire wear. If the wheels not
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spinning true, because the bearing's
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toast, it'll wear the tire edge faster
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than normal. That one trips people up
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all the time cuz it looks like an
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alignment problem, but the root cause is
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deeper. Now, and this one's kind of
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sketchy. If you've got a burning smell
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near the hub, that could mean the
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bearing's gotten so hot from friction
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it's cooking itself. At that point,
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yeah, don't drive it. Seriously, you
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could seize the hub or worse, lose the
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wheel. Not worth the risk. Couple DIY
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tips if you want to check it yourself.
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Jack up each wheel one at a time. Spin
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it and listen. If it feels rough,
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crunchy, or doesn't spin freely, that's
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a red flag. Also, grab that tire and
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give it a shake. Like I mentioned
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earlier, trust your hands and ears.
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They'll usually tell you what's up. Now,
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replacing a wheel bearing can be a DIY
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job. But I'll be honest, on some cars,
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it's a pain. Pressed in bearings need
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special tools, but if you've got a
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bolt-on hub assembly, it's not too bad.
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Just take your time, follow torque
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specs, and don't cheap out on the part.
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Cheap bearings fail fast. Ask me how I
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know. All right, quick recap. Humming
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noise that changes with speed or turns,
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steering vibration, ABS light, wheel
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play, uneven tire wear, or a burnt
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smell. Those are your top warning signs.
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Don't ignore them. If this video helped
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you out, give it a like and hit that
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subscribe button. I've got plenty more
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straight talk car advice coming your
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way. And drop a comment if you've had a
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wheelbearing fail. I want to hear your
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horror stories. They're always wild.
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Catch you in the next one. I'm Tom. This
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is Car Justify. And as always, keep your
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wheels turning and your wallet
