Wheel Bearing Going Bad: Sounds?

Still possible it's a tire with the tread starting to separate. Swap tires left to right and repeat the sweeping curve test to see if the sound switches.

 

I got one that's pretty bad around 2,000 RPMs but over 65mph it's gone

 

Lift the front of the truck off the ground. Grab the spindle with one hand and spin the tire with the other. It should be whisper quiet and smooth. Any roughness felt through the hand that is holding the spindle is a bad bearing.

Don't need to remove the caliper or wheel. I do this on every car that is up in the air getting an oil change or something. You'd be surprised how effective it is

 

I hear a slight grinding sound from both wheels, when lifted & spinning by hand, but assumed it was brake pads.

 

Your not looking for noise necessarily, but do you feel any roughness through your hand?

 

If it ever quits raining I'll try this. I went ahead & bought 2 wheel bearing/hub assemblies built by BamaToy1997.
If I end up replacing them, do I have to use a new axle nut or can I re-use the ones on my truck already?
I have no rust & 91K miles.

 

Not necessarily.. Mine went away when turning right, noticeable at any speed above 60 mph... but it was the drivers side bearing bad. Changed the passenger side, didn't fix it. changed the drivers side, it went away

 

I bought 2 just in case!

 

You can reuse the axle nut as long as its torqued properly, maybe put a couple drops of loctite on the threads

 

I just did this myself. You Texas people don't deal with the rust we have here in Massholia...axle nut is 100% reusable.
When you get the hub off the knuckle you will be staring at the end of the axle and inside you'll see the speed sensor. Don't touch it. Wipe around the edge uf the knuckle and lube the oring on the new wheel bearing before sliding it in.

Check out my posts in this thread
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/hub-assembly-additional-parts.570697/#post-18825027

 

I've actually done it before on a buddies Taco about 3-4 months ago. His came w/new nuts but the ones I just bought don't so I was wondering. Thanks for the link!

 

Try turning your hearing aid down while your driving or just shut them off Ole' man

 

I'm not THAT damn old!!!

 

I did this and didn’t feel anything on the PS and maaaaaaybe a very subtle vibration on DS. Nothing really noticeable, though.

 

It's hard to describe what you're feeling for if you've never felt good ones and bad ones.. it was taught to me by an old tech I work with

Think of it this way.. if you hold a skateboard (with bad wheel bearings) in your hand and spin the wheels you can feel the roughness. If you replace the bearings and re-spin the wheels the difference is night and day.

Do you have a stethoscope? Put the metal tip right at the back of the knuckle and have a helper spin the wheel around. You should hear absolutely nothing

 

I know this all too well! I used to skate 1/2 pipe comp's in the late 80's-early90's. I didn't feel what you're describing.

 

Bust out the stethoscope!

 

I'm at 94k miles and started getting same noise last week. I'm pretty sure its the bearings. Ordered new hubs/bearings today. It looks pretty straightforward and was planning on a brake job soon anyhow.

Any update on your situation?

 

Waiting for the parts to arrive. Whatever my sound is, assuming it’s bearings, is getting louder every day it seems.
It’s an easy job to do and doesn’t really take any special tools, except for a 35mm socket and torque wrench. I’ll post back after I swap them out on my findings!

 

Okay, yeah I need to get a 35mm socket and my old torque wrench only goes up to 150 ft lb.
Funny thing I found an old 36mm in my tool box from 30 years ago when I owned a VW.
Good luck with your repair!