Top 5 Reasons Behind Your Wheel Bearing Woes

Your wheel bearings endure a lot of work. Not to mention, they are exposed to a lot of substances that can damage their composition. Heat, debris, moisture, corrosion, all of these serve to wear and possibly alter the wheel bearing structure. We shared with you the symptoms, now we reveal the causes.

Knowing what can potentially damage your car's wheel bearings goes a long way toward keeping problems at bay. Take a look at the five biggest reasons that cause those annoying--at times devastating--wheel bearing issues.

Suspension issues

While bad bearings can cause wheel alignment problems, the opposite can also be true--misaligned wheels can cause your wheel bearings to go bad. Likewise, unbalanced tires, bad shocks, and other related suspension problems can also affect the integrity of your wheel bearing.

Driving through flood

Driving through deep water allows moisture to infiltrate the bearing assembly. Water is the universal solvent, and when it finds its way into the lubricant, its integrity can be compromised, and wheel bearing failure is sure to follow.

Driving on rough roads

Unless you own an SUV or pickup truck--which are often built to handle all types of terrain--it's best for you to stay away from driving on rough roads. Likewise, make sure to avoid bumpy curbs or potholes. All the force that the tires and wheels receive is endured by the bearing. If the force is strong enough, it can push the bearing's internal balls out of line, which can lead to more friction between the metal pieces. This is what causes the whistling or whirring sound coming from your tires.

Improper installation

If you just replaced a wheel bearing within the span of months, it should not have any problems as long as you don't have any of the issues listed above. Otherwise, the logical conclusion would be that the bearings were defective in the first place, or they weren't installed according to the manufacturer’s recommendation.

Car accident

When a car gets hit on the wheels, the bearing could be severely damaged. Even if there's no visible damage, the bearing may still get noisier and noisier every time you use the car.

Most modern wheel bearings are not repairable, and any issues will require the replacement of the entire bearing assembly. Practice cautious driving always to protect not only your wheel bearings, but the rest of your car as well.