How to diagnose a bad wheel bearing

'

You just answered your own question.

To check for play and listen to it.
And to ask yourself the qualifying questionnaire of:
Is it original?
Is it 100k mi/10yr+
If you answered "Yes" to both of these questions, then you need a wheel bearing.

It's like a skateboard bearing. Cheap and easy to install.

Not a bad idea given you might go in there anyway to replace axle seals that can leak gear oil onto rear drum brake pads.

I doubt it
considering I've bought a front bearing for $60

 

If you can remember who posted stuff, it’s not too hard to find.

You made it easy. All I had to do was find the thread started by you
And that was really easy, since you’ve only started 7 threads.
I went to your user profile, then postings, then all threats started by you.

 

It’s not as easy as a front. At least not for me.
And I’ve only had my rear axle out. And that was “harder” than doing the front bearing. (At least for me)

The bearing is on the axle.
The shaft is all in the way, so you need a way to “get around the shaft” to pull/press the bearing.

By the time it’s done, if you don’t have a press, or the tools. You’ll probably be close to or over $400-500. That’s buying the press, the tools needed, and parts.
I looked into buying the stuff to do mine. I forget the total. Bit it isn’t cheap.
Cheaper than a dealer or shop? Yes, but it’s still a good bit of money.

 

Boy he sure does make it look easy

 

The parts are decently cheap, bearing is around $100 and the seal and o-ring maybe another $20.

 

Can I drop an axle while driving if it gets really bad? In other words, how important is it to fix this now, being that I can't even hear it?

I drive my kids to school every morning, I'd rather not look over and see one of my rear wheels overtaking me.

 

with this design yes if the bearing is bad enough and comes apart, the axle shaft in theory could separate from the housing. Never heard of it happening though. Very unlikely given the scenario you are in, and sounds like condition isn’t bad at all. More likely to happen to a jeep that have those c clip axle shaft rear ends, that’s always a funny scene on the trail.

 

Fix now is way cheaper than fix when u have no other choice
And kids in the truck hmmm

 

I had a car that had two rear diffs develop a howl within the first 60,000 miles. The first was likely because the original owner did not have the dealer perform the required FREE-with-coupon-right-the-owners-manual 1,500 mile rear diff oil change. Ya. I won't mention the brand because it might annoy some members here, but the savvy ones here can figure it out. 30k and it's howling. (purchased with 20k on it) The dealer that I bought it from (impeccable used car shop specializing in one make) admitted they couldn't do it because the lash adjustment was brutal to get right...if not spot-on in the set up, you're screwed: miles later. They advised me to take it to a specialty gear and transmission shop and offered to help with the bill: ( I declined). I took it to a specialty shop. I knew him. Rock solid rep. Wizard at rear end and transmission rebuilds. 30k later it's whining again. Rebuilding rear ends is a throw of the dice. Voo-Doo science. I was advised by the same shop to replace the rear end with a low mileage salvage. He offered to find it and install it for free. I declined the free install but gave him the job. The rear end was quiet and trouble free for another 250 thousand miles. 300,000+ on that car. You can prob figure out what brand. It's a short list which includes Toyota. YMMV.

 

I've drove with a bad wheel bearing for a couple years anyways as I couldn't locate the noise. Truck on stands, in drive, 30 mph, and I hear nothing with a stethoscope. The bearing needed weight on it I guess...

The only way to lose the axle would be for the retainer ring to break and then, the axle still needs to be pressed off the axle. Which, could of course be done. I suppose if it were the drivers side, you could go into a rotary and use it as a skid pad to pull the axle out. Round and round and round...

Had a friend way back when who would literally smoke a tire in a rotary until it popped.

The car was a POS. The big block V8 he shoehorned in though... Gotta luv a car that barely idles.

But I digress.

Bought a napa koyo replacement and the rest of the parts from the dealer. The rear bearing alone was over 200., During their bucket sale.