Testing a wheel hub for failure Topic is solved

[Chuck W]

If it's not loose and/or grumbling under a load (like during a turn), it's most likely fine.

[abscate]

Don’t forget to ADD the inner wheel seals on a p80 hub job….watch the 99 chassis break

viewtopic.php?p=605703&hilit=Front+whee ... ls#p605703

[WhatAmIDoing]

You generally won't feel any play or hear noise (unloaded) when a wheel bearing starts to fail. And from what other mechanics have told me: you don't need to worry about replacing it until it makes noise all the time. I had a Subaru where the bad bearing only made noise when cornering. And it was like that for 70k miles before it got worse.

Is it making noise all the time? Confirm it is not brakes first.

[abscate]

Confirming above with small sample experience, I’ve run growlers for 10-20-30k miles on the p80 chassis.

[FireFox31]

If one wheel turns and the other does not, the wheel that doesn't turn has more resistance. This could be dragging brake or bad bearing.

I believe this test provided the easiest accurate result. With the car lifted in neutral, the bad bearing wheel would not turn, sending all power to the less resisted good bearing.

I just replaced the suspect bearing and it was indeed failed. When driving, it emitted a quiet hum and I was easily able to turn the wheel by hand with the car lifted. With the bearing off the car, spinning it felt a bit rough while spinning the good used bearing felt nice and smooth.

Thus, a final test before removing a bearing would be to free the knuckle from the control arm, pull the axle out, and turn the bearing by hand to feel how smooth or rough it is. Considering how hard it was to remove the rusty wheel bearing bolts, this is a good final test before making that commitment. Thanks again for all of your help.

[abscate]

I think your new to you car deserves the name..

The T70