What does a bad wheel bearing do?? Is it dangerous to drive with a bad bearing?

Re: What does a bad wheel bearing do?? Is it dangerous to drive with a bad bearing?
 

makes noise (some at first, then more, and more, and more, until you cook the bearing enough that it locks the wheel in question up). how much noise is it making?

Re: What does a bad wheel bearing do?? Is it dangerous to drive with a bad bearing?
 

If you are getting any squealing or grinding noise from the wheel in question, then park it until you know what it is for sure. Rock caught in the brakes? A wheel bearing going out only gets worse until it locks the wheel and gets very expensive. Put it on blocks and check it good.

Keep driving with a bad...
 

wheel bearing and soon you will wreck the hub. Then you will not only have to pay for a wheel bearing kit, but you will also have to buy a new/used hub...

Steve
Michigan

RE: how much noise is it making?
 

Well...when driving straight it moans, (you can hear it, my friends tell me it sounds like an airplane) but if I turn the wheel a little to the left while still driving a little straight the noise goes away. If I let the wheel be straight again it comes back...

Thanks

RE: how much noise is it making?
 

You're fortunate you can get your sound to go away. Mine thumps whenever the car is moving now, it got progressively worse in the past week. I'm going to check it for sure today to make sure it's the wheel bearing before I shell out money I don't have for a new one.

RE: how much noise is it making?
 

Are you sure it's a bearing and not a CV joint? Bearings usually howl at all times, whereas the noise from a worn CV is sometimes steering-input dependent.