I have a front wheel bearing that is going bad... Is there a way to tell if it is the right or left without just hoping I replace the correct one?

Thanks!

Lift up the car and grab the wheel at 12 and 6 o' clock. Give it a wiggle. If there is any play, there's your indicator.

If you are having an electrical issue with the bearing, the only way to tell which bearing it is with a TechII scanner.

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

Thanks... Ill give that a try. No electrical problems, just allot of road noise at certain speeds, which disappears when making a turn.

When going at speed and making a turn.... if the noise goes away making a left turn it is the left bearing bad, goes away making a right turn the right bearing is bad. Also the opposite if the noise gets louder, louder noise on a left turn means the right bearing is bad, louder noise on a right turn is a bad left bearing.

When turning the sway of the body lifts weight off the inside tire which takes the stress off the inside bearing and applies more to the outside one.

_________________
Ryan

2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD!
2002 Bonneville SE - The Mutt Complete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD
2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH
1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one

Yup, what Ryan said. When my left front bearing went, the noise would come and go as described depending on the turning. Lifted the car up, checked for play, and bam.. Found the culprit. Got myself a Moog replacement and haven't had any problems since.

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

Thanks guys! The thing that has me a bit miffed, is that I just replaced both of them last Jan, and I put Moog ones in. Hope I can get it replaced under warranty...

Timken is another good brand if they don't warranty you.

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

You can also spin it too. aside from brake drag, if anything else inhibits free spinning, that is also an indicator.

A Tech2 won't tell you if a Hub is bad BTW. It will tell you if you're having a WSS or ABS sensor issue, but not that the bearings themselves are bad.

_________________


Retired Bonneville Owner and former GM Tech:
2004 Pontiac Bonneville GXP: Black/Ebony *SOLD*

Summer Toys: Combined 827 RWHP / 877lb/ft RWTQ
2004 Pontiac GTO: Impulse Blue Metallic/Black/M6: lots 'o mods, 415 RWHP / 405lb/ft RWTQ!
2006 Cadillac STS-V: Light Platinum Metallic/Light Gray/A6 - Spectre CAI, Magnaflow exhaust, Speed Inc. tune, 412 RWHP / 472lb/ft RWTQ

Daily Drivers:
2019 Chrysler Pacifica Limited: Mommy's new RGC
2015 Chrysler Town & Country Limited Platinum: Kids new RGC
2007 Chrysler Town & Country Limited: Sold to neighbor
2009 Pontiac G8 GT: L76, Sport Red Metallic
2003 Chevrolet Suburban 2500: Doeskin Tan - 8.1L Big Block... new plow truck
1999 Chevrolet Suburban: Sunset Gold Metallic - Daddy's winter beater and plow truck

Jacked the car up, and spun both wheels. It ended up being the left front. Called the shop where I bought them, and they are going to honor the warranty. The new one is in, and I hope it lasts this time.

Now the right front is making noise again... Not even a year old, and less than 10000 km.... Moog = CHEAP CHINESE CRAP!

It's pretty much all cheap chinese crap. You want it for the cheapest price, this is what you get.

_________________


Retired Bonneville Owner and former GM Tech:
2004 Pontiac Bonneville GXP: Black/Ebony *SOLD*

Summer Toys: Combined 827 RWHP / 877lb/ft RWTQ
2004 Pontiac GTO: Impulse Blue Metallic/Black/M6: lots 'o mods, 415 RWHP / 405lb/ft RWTQ!
2006 Cadillac STS-V: Light Platinum Metallic/Light Gray/A6 - Spectre CAI, Magnaflow exhaust, Speed Inc. tune, 412 RWHP / 472lb/ft RWTQ

Daily Drivers:
2019 Chrysler Pacifica Limited: Mommy's new RGC
2015 Chrysler Town & Country Limited Platinum: Kids new RGC
2007 Chrysler Town & Country Limited: Sold to neighbor
2009 Pontiac G8 GT: L76, Sport Red Metallic
2003 Chevrolet Suburban 2500: Doeskin Tan - 8.1L Big Block... new plow truck
1999 Chevrolet Suburban: Sunset Gold Metallic - Daddy's winter beater and plow truck

My Moog is doing great, but in your case I'd try to get a Timken. They seem to be the favorite.

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

Who said I wanted the cheapest price? I bought them at my local Carquest. Their house brand bearings were half the price. I bought their best ones [Moog] at almost $200 a piece. When I saw on the box "made in China" I had this sinking feeling.... Now I know why!

We as consumers. Not you personally.

_________________


Retired Bonneville Owner and former GM Tech:
2004 Pontiac Bonneville GXP: Black/Ebony *SOLD*

Summer Toys: Combined 827 RWHP / 877lb/ft RWTQ
2004 Pontiac GTO: Impulse Blue Metallic/Black/M6: lots 'o mods, 415 RWHP / 405lb/ft RWTQ!
2006 Cadillac STS-V: Light Platinum Metallic/Light Gray/A6 - Spectre CAI, Magnaflow exhaust, Speed Inc. tune, 412 RWHP / 472lb/ft RWTQ

Daily Drivers:
2019 Chrysler Pacifica Limited: Mommy's new RGC
2015 Chrysler Town & Country Limited Platinum: Kids new RGC
2007 Chrysler Town & Country Limited: Sold to neighbor
2009 Pontiac G8 GT: L76, Sport Red Metallic
2003 Chevrolet Suburban 2500: Doeskin Tan - 8.1L Big Block... new plow truck
1999 Chevrolet Suburban: Sunset Gold Metallic - Daddy's winter beater and plow truck

Took the defective Moog back to Carquest, and they exchanged it for a "Made In The USA" Timken. Much quieter now! Now if I could just get them to pay my labor... LOL!

I've had good luck with Moog in the past.
That is depressing to hear about a quality issue with them.

_________________
Black 95 SSEi (original owner) 238K miles
Black 05 GXP (some idiot put the first 12K on it)186K miles
Black 04 Tahoe (original owner)310K miles
Black 16 Traverse (original owner)90K miles
Black 15 Lacrosse (some nice lady put first 15K on it)43K miles


"You can have one in any color as long as it's black" - H. Ford

you can try to whine at the parts store. Worst case is they may give you discount on next purchase

you live near the olde hide house....lol?

_________________
poverty forces one to do unorthodox things

2000 SSEi
past rides:
1996 SSEi
1992 GTP
1987 Grand Am

I always get Timken. I put 4 front wheel bearings on the front left of my SSEi. The first 3 were NAPA cheapies (2 replacements under warranty). The 4th was a Timken. Funny that the issue always was that the WSS crapped out, not that the bearing itself was bad.

_________________
Bye Bye:

RIP sandrock

None of the wheel bearings I replaced were a sensor issue. They were a bearing noise issue, and I had always used a torque wrench when installing them. No more Moog bearings for me!