What Can Happen If You Have A Bad Wheel Bearing

Last updated on August 1st, 2023 at 08:00 am

I am sure you know that a vehicle cannot perform at its optimal capacity without a good wheel bearing. For some individuals when they have a bad will bearing they ignore for so long that it causes a bigger problem. The thing is wheel bearing is important for your vehicle’s functionality; it enables the tire, hubs and all other assemblies of the car to work smoothly. This is why in the post I will talk about what

What can happen if you have a bad wheel bearing, if it is okay for you to keep driving with a bad wheel bearing, can a bad CV Joint sound Like a bad Bearing and finally how to tell which cv joint is bad?

What Can Happen If You Have A Bad Wheel Bearing

When your car wheel bearing is bad, it results in friction on the wheel of the vehicle which makes you lose control as the car wobbles. Your tire will be uneven and even your vehicles brakes performance will be reduced.

Though for some persons, it is normal to drive with a bad wheel bearing, doing so can be dangerous. However, when it is left unattended to, a bad wheel bearing can create hazardous conditions such as the following:

#1. A Lose Control of Your Vehicle

Indeed, a bad wheel bearing can cause the wheel/tire assembly to loosen, this means driving with a bad bearing can be extremely dangerous, especially when driving at high speeds. Sometimes you could even end up losing control of your vehicle.

#2. Issue with Your Vehicle Brakes

Note that a bad wheel bearing can cause the brake rotor of your vehicle to wobble, and this can reduce braking performance. As we already know, anything that causes problems with a vehicle’s brake system can be extremely risky.

#3. Removal of Vehicle’s Wheels

Just as said before, a wheel bearing allows the wheel/tire assembly to rotate. It is the hub portion of the bearing assembly that serves as a mounting point for the wheel and tire.

However, in some extreme cases, a failed wheel bearing can cause the wheel and tire to pull off completely.

If this happens, it may also cause you to lose control of your vehicle immediately.

Is it ok, driving with bad wheel bearing

Our answer is No. Note that this can be very dangerous to drive if one of your bearings is worn out, especially when it might cause the wheel to stop while driving.

Also, a damaged wheel bearing can put a lot of stress on the hub, that is the CV joint, and the transmission itself.

Remember that the wheel bearings in your vehicle works with the tire, the hub, and wheel to ensure a smooth ride while you are driving down the road.

This means that if a wheel bearing goes bad, more friction will be placed on the wheel, which will make the wheel to wobble.

Can A Bad CV Joint Sound Like A Bad Bearing?

Note that a CV joint noise is normally heard on sharp turns. The wheel bearing usually starts being heard when cornering in a direction or the other. Sometimes it can be constant and will sound like snow tire noise, but you don’t have any snow tires.

But in other hand, a bad wheel bearing will normally cause a humming noise, something like having a snow tire on the front of your vehicle. So if you jack up the front end, you might also feel play in one of the wheels but this is not always. But a bad CV joint will normally cause a clicking sound while turning sharp.

How to tell which cv joint is bad

Indeed, all front-drive and all-wheel-drive cars uses half-shaft axles to connect the transmission to the front and sometimes the rear wheel hubs.

These joints at either end of the axle which allows it to articulate with suspension movement are all called CV joints due to they allow the axle to bend while continuing to spin.

The CV joints typically last about 100,000 to 150,000 miles. But bad CV joints tells these symptoms, sometimes diagnosing inner versus outer CV joint failure can sometimes be a bit tricky.

Step 1

You should shift the vehicle into drive while your foot is on the brake and listen. Note that a bad CV joint will exhibit immediately a clunking sound as the transmission engages.

When this clunking sound happens, during this phase of testing, it indicates either an inner or outer CV joint is failing; however, if you listen closely, sometimes you may be able to tell which side it’s coming from.

Step 2

Now accelerate your car to about 10 MPH and keep the speed. You can now depress the accelerator very fast so your car shoots above 20 MPH and then listen for another clunking noise.

You should accelerate from 20 to 30 MPH and listen for noises, and then 30 to 40 MPH. sometimes you may also hear a light thump under sudden braking.

Step 3

Now shift the car into reverse and jab the throttle quickly for a few times.

In case you hear a similar sound but far softer clunk than you did when accelerating, then you certainly have a bad inner CV joint.

But you can listen carefully for a grumbling vibration, sometimes this could indicate damage or severe wear on the inner CV joint.

Step 4

Try eliminating any possibility of it being an outside CV joint failure by just doing acceleration testing while you are driving around in a fairly close circle.

Once the CV joint becomes louder or quieter or even have an observable change in pitch while you are still turning your car in either direction, then you have a bad outer joint.

But if the wheel angle doesn’t affect the CV joint sound noticeably, then it’s the inner joint.

Is it safe to drive with a bad wheel bearing