Is it safe to drive a car (2001 Acura TL) with bad wheel bearings? I'm not sure if that the problem, but I'm getting a lot of road noise and the wheels are only 1 year old.

 

it won't hurt you unless you abuse what's already been abused. i had a rear right wheel bearing that was going bad, sounded like my rear suspension was falling out of place everytime i turned to the right...just replace your rear bearings and you should be okay. if you really wanna be safe get a rear alignment.

 

alignments make a difference on new wheel bearings?

 

no its not safe to drive with a bad wheel bearing. if it goes your asking for more problems.

and no alignments will not make a difference on a new wheel bearing unless this was what caused the issue in the first place. Which is highly unlikely the issue if its in the rear. its always suggested to get an alignment done after most suspension related work.

 

well ive been driving my 01 accord with a bad bearing for a while, no problem. sure the wheel isnt loose yet..

but, i did drive my old 94 accord with a bad front bearing until it blown. It was making somekind of grrrrrpiuupiuugreeeepiuu anyways it was really bad. i had to come back home driving 30km/h on little streets..When i checked it out, i could move my wheel like if my lugnuts were almost off lol

yes you can, but dont abuse

 

Replace your wheel bearing(s) asap! You all are retarded if you dont.. My best friends mom totaled her jetta because of her wheel falling off due to a bad wheel bearing. Its Highly reccomended you replace the bearing ASAP!

-Eric

 

Anyone know how much I should be spending. I thought I saw $90 somewhere...but I'm not sure if thats for one side or not.

 

yeah thats if you do the work yourself.....i think we charge 3 hours labor at the dealership for just the bearing, +part / without alignment.

 

is it the front or rear bearing? Rear bearing is bolt in, and is a piece of cake to change yourself at home. The front bearings need to be pressed out of the knuckel. To answer your questions, No you dont need an alignment after the wheel bearing is replaced. On the same note, the alignment wont blow a wheel bearing. It is also very dangerous to drive with a bad wheel bearing, and it should be changed asap

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JDM_DC4_Fanatic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">On the same note, the alignment wont blow a wheel bearing. </TD></TR></TABLE>

you cant tell me that if you drove with your camber or tow off spec for long enough that your wheel bearing wouldnt go......thats BS if i ever heard it.

 

moved to the Acura TL / RL forum

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LocOBanAnA &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

you cant tell me that if you drove with your camber or tow off spec for long enough that your wheel bearing wouldnt go......thats BS if i ever heard it. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes I can. The wheel bearing is pressed into the knuckel, the angel of the knuckel doesnt matter. Think about it, during normal driving, the wheel will toe in and out and the wheel will camber in and out during normal turns. So, how would negative camber burn the wheel bearing out any faster?

Dont tell me that what I say is bull **** unless you have facts to back up your ****.

 

you definetly shouldnt drive with a bad wheel bearing. its basically stupid if you do and when it does finally go its going to take you and your car with it.

I would never mess with a wheel bearing and i think the $90 your going to spend fixing it will be better then fixing your wheel, fender, suspension, and everything else thats gunna get torn apart when your driving 55 down the road and it breaks.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JDM_DC4_Fanatic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Yes I can. The wheel bearing is pressed into the knuckel, the angel of the knuckel doesnt matter. Think about it, during normal driving, the wheel will toe in and out and the wheel will camber in and out during normal turns. So, how would negative camber burn the wheel bearing out any faster?

Dont tell me that what I say is bull **** unless you have facts to back up your ****.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I work at a dealer and I have not seen too many bearings go bad on hondas/acuras due to an out of alignment condition (its honda what do you expect , however it is not always the case with other car makes. Too much camber/toe will affect the lateral load that can exceed the limit the ball, tapered roller, roller etc bearings were designed for. When you have excessive camber/toe +/- the wheel bearings are at an angle which can force a much greater shock on the bearings. I have worked on a few vw's (some with as low as 20k miles) where the wheel bearings would go bad in a month or two after lowering the car, i have no doubt that the main cause was due to too much camber.

 

I would like more info on bad wheel bearings cause by alignment because i just replaced both of my rear wheel bearings. They both were really bad, but my driver side was worst than passenger side for some reason. My car is extremely low. 1 finger between quarter panel and tire. It was a pain in the *** to remove the inner race bearings so i dont want to do this again. What can cause a wheel bearing to go bad? More info on this please.

Thx B,

 

bump

 

replace the bearing........

 

Guys What bearing did you use to replace the rear with? I have the TIMKEN Part # 512179 for an 02 TL and I can't get the new assembly onto the spindle properly?? It stops after only going past the first section of the spindle. Any help would be appreciated.

The old bearing assembly slides on with no problem though??