Bad wheel bearing?

Before I pull the trigger on replacing my front left wheel bearing/hub assembly, I wanted to get some input. The issue I am having is a slight off-center wheel. My wheel hub seems to have as much as a 1/16" up/down travel in it, when measured from the ground to the hub edge and to the studs as well (with the tire off). When I raise the tire off the ground the wheel spins fairly freely. There is no noticeable play in the wheel when I grip the tire and attempt to move it side to side. Occasionally I am able to hear a very slight ticking coming from the bearing area, other times there is no tick. I also get a front end vibration that seems to come from the driver side when coming up to highway speed, which is more noticeable when the bearings are "cold", then gets better after a few miles on the highway.

Has anyone else run into this type of bearing issue? Is there some other cause I should be looking for?

 

You're getting a slight vibration when driving?

Where exactly are you moving the wheel/hub assembly from? The hub assembly is attached to a lot of things that are not 'rigid' (so to speak). Brakes, rotors, Steering knuckle, suspension components, upper lower control arms, CV joints, axle shafts, etc etc etc. 1/16th isn't much when you're talking about all those components.

Are your wheels studs, rotors, rotor holes, in good shape? Are your wheels torqued properly? Have you tried rotating the tires to see if anything changes?

There's sooooooooo many things to look at.... need more information.

 

Everything looks to be in very good shape. My initial thought was I had a bad tire. I used a bottle jack underneath the lower control arm, just enough to get the tire to clear the ground. When I spin the wheel and watch the clearance between the ground there is an obvious rise and fall about 1/16". Then I checked the passenger side tire using the same method, no clearance variation was noted. Then I swapped the front wheels, and the same changing clearance was still noted on the driver side while the passenger side was still perfect. So the tires and wheels seem to be eliminated as the culprit. Then I took the driver wheel back off and took measurements of the hub clearance to the ground as I spun it by hand very slowly, which is where I am noting the 1/16" discrepancy. The lower control arm/yoke etc. are completely stationary, being supported by the bottle jack (hence the bearing housing is also completely stationary). I also checked the spacing between all the wheel studs, and they are all perfectly spaced and in good condition. Additionally, I've done these measurements several times after driving, and the 1/16" variation seems to always be in the same two spots on the hub 180 degrees apart. Driving around seems to have no impact on the location of the variation.

 

You may be looking at a failed bearing, or a bent wheel hub. Either one would require replacement of the unit. Sounds like you have done a lot of good testing to eliminate any other failures. If you decide to go with the bearing assembly let me know. I will take care of you. Cluck the link in red in my signature and check out what I offer. Let me know if you decide to go with it.