Wheel bearing??

Have read 100's of posts here that have helped me a lot over the years. This is my first post. I have an issue that has me stumped. Constant roaring noise in front end when going straight and turning right but goes away completely when turning left. So, I told my self left front wheel bearing... Jacked up truck this afternoon and no play in front left tire but play in the right one. This goes against everything I have read and common sense. Any insight would be appreciated!

 

When you turn left it takes the weight/load off of the left side of truck so if your right bearing is bad sound will be more noticeable and vice versa when turning right. That being said I have seen when this wasn’t the case. The best way I’ve found is jack it up and spin the wheel and listen for roaring noise indicating bad bearing. You can also put one hand on the spindle while spinning the wheel and usually feel the roughness if the bearing is bad. Hope this helps

 

Typically Tacomas don't have play, you have to spin them and listen.

You could change the left side, but it's basically a gamble.

Also to make sure it's not differential noise, make sure to engage 4x4 quickly to see if the noise goes away.

 

I edited my post from earlier. Turning left puts load on right of truck so you’ll hear noise on right when more weight is on that side. Hope I didn’t confuse you with my first post

 

Thanks. Yeah, I was confused before you edited but I think you are saying what I was thinking. What did you mean in your post about you have seen times when this wasn't the case. The turn test didn't predict the bad bearing?

 

Engaged the 4wd, no change in pattern of sound.

 

I have a friend that has a tundra and his roared when weight was on the left side but the right bearing ended up being the bad one. Found out after jacking it up and spinning the wheel and feeling roughness through spindle but it’s generally coming from side noise is on when loaded by truck weight when turning

 

If one has gone out the other isn’t far behind. Replace both and be done with it.

 

Nay on both posts. A bearing that roars is generally due to excessive tolerances. When you put pressure on it, you ‘tighten’ it up and the noise is reduced. Hence, when you turn left, a noisy passenger side wheel bearing will go quiet as you put pressure on it. If the vehicle has over 100K, I would replace both side bearings.

 

Don't see year or mileage on yours but Tacoma's are famous for bad wheel bearings - just replace both like the other guys said - use good ones so you don't have to do it again. I bought mine and a set for my brother in law from someone on Tacoma World and haven't had a problem since. Maybe someone will post a link.

 

Here’s the guy to get them from.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/wheel-bearings-hubs-press-service-4x4-6-lug-2wd.537080/

 

Do you have a 2nd gen Tacoma?

 

If you know someone with a Steelman Chassis Ear, it's great at determining which bearing is bad.

 

you don't need chassis ear to know a 10yo bearing wore out

 

I'm not saying it's NOT bad, I'm just saying it helps if you're trying to make sure WHICH ONE is bad. I've had to change enough wheel bearings between 4 cars/trucks to know that the left turn/right turn method doesn't always work, and many times the noise doesn't even change.

 

replace all of them

 

Hey, assuming you're replacing the whole hub assembly, here's my suggestion: Drench the four hub bolts with loctite and torque the piss out of them.

I did my hubs a few years ago, and carefully followed the FSM torque spec for all fasteners, using a torque wrench with a crows foot for the hub bolts. I bought the hubs from the guy on TW (which by the way is definitely the way to go) and the bolts came with some pre-applied threadlocking material, so I didn't add any more.

Despite this I had my hub bolts come loose within 1000 miles -- one backed out so far that it started hitting the base of the wheel studs while driving. I was lucky to be in the company of an expert who identified the problem right away, before the bearings or other parts were ruined. But this is a very bad problem.

I'm left to conclude that the torque spec in the manual is entirely inadequate. I bought a long-handle wrench set and tightened them about one ugga-dugga shy of a hernia. God help me if I ever need to remove them, but they definitely won't back out on their own now.

Perhaps that's bad advice, but it's what I'd do.

But to reiterate the prior posts, here's some unquestionably good advice: it doesn't matter which bearing is causing the noise, replace them both. And unless you can press your own bearings, just buy new hub assemblies from the guy on TW.


Quick edit: My hernia wrench isn't calibrated, so make sure not to totally overdo it.

Also, back then, I scoured the internet trying to deduce which side was bad based on noise while driving. I don't remember which one I decided was the culprit, nor the symptoms and arguments that led me to my conclusion. But in the end I was wrong. It was only clear after removing them from the truck. Glad I decided to swap them both!

 

New
You are right, using the left/right turn/noise method it would have told me left but spinning the wheel told me right and it was the right. Changed the right and noise is gone. Going to do the other side today as some other members have advised though.

 

Just bought a set from him, he's great!