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I think I may have a bearing going bad. When my car travels at 60 mph I can hear a constant moaning and I'm pretty sure it's coming from the left rear wheel (rim is SLIGHTLY bent but not noticeable enough to cause shaking) the tire is also worn and will be replaced very soon
Above 60 I don't really hear it. 45 & 60 mph are when the moaning is at its loudest
Anybody know how much it costs to replace a bearing? Is this whats wrong?
Change the tire first, could be the worn tire. Bearings aren't big money to replace but no sense in spending the money only to then find it was the tire!
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I agree, in fact a good tire shop can check the bearings when installing the tire. It's actually pretty easy to check for worn bearings by raising it up and jiggling to feel how much movement there is. If the one side is shot you are better off replacing both sides at
the same time. At 123k I would expect the bearings to be due to go. The cost could be as little as $150 or as much as $600 depending on where you are, and the shop you take it to. I have done them myself many times over the years and the parts are about $30-60/side but markup and labor can vary.
An easy test for you to verify the source of the noise would be to rotate the left side wheels Front to Rear.
If the source of the noise changes to the Front, then it's likely that the tire/wheel assembly is causing the noise. If the noise still prevails from the Rear, then it's more likely the bearing.
But typically, a bearing noise will start a "moan" at a consistent speed and then get louder as the speed increases. You describe a noise that comes and goes at various speeds, which is more typical of a tire failure/internal separation.
It depends on the kind of bearing it is. Sealed bearings don't typically have play in the when the car is off the ground, but when the weight of the vehicle is on it, it will make noise. Like others said, rotate the wheel and see if anything changes. Also, on an open road somewhere, swerve left and right. The sound sould change (either get louder or softer depending on if it's the wheel being weighted or not).
Rotated the tires. The front tire is now the rear and vice versa. Took it on a few roads, one of which has a 55 mph speed limit. I'm pretty sure its the bearing now, though the tire was a factor because I can still hear the moaning noise, only now its not as loud.
Sound becomes visible at 30 mph
40 mph - a bit louder
45 mph - loud (but not as loud as before I rotated the tires)
55 mph - fairly quiet
60 mph - peak volume, the sound is still pretty audible but not as loud as before
65 mph - sound fades away
70 mph - sound is practically non-existent
So basically its the same as before but with the newer less worn tire, the sound is not as loud
Did the wheel strike something that resulted in it now being "slightly" bent? Wheel bearings for the most part are designed to take radial shock, not lateral.
I think I may have a bearing going bad. When my car travels at 60 mph I can hear a constant moaning and I'm pretty sure it's coming from the left rear wheel (rim is SLIGHTLY bent but not noticeable enough to cause shaking) the tire is also worn and will be replaced very soon
Above 60 I don't really hear it. 45 & 60 mph are when the moaning is at its loudest
Anybody know how much it costs to replace a bearing? Is this whats wrong?
2003 Nissan Altima 2.5 S with 123k miles
Rear wheel bearings on front-wheel-drive cars are easy to fix. Most come as an assembly that is a quick "bolt on" job.
Most bearings will go out around that mileage, especially if they haven't been otherwise maintained.
A bent rim will cause similar problems, plus mess up the bearings quicker too, and bad tires cause similar problems too.
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