Hi Scotty, I have a Toyota Corolla 1998 I purchase last year, since then I, have paid for new wheel bearings three times. The last time I was sure it was just a bumpy tire, but the mechanic said it was a bearing. He gave the "bad bearing" back all disassembled, it isn't dry, the little metal balls are all in their rings, and I see no metal particles as you mentioned in one of your Youtube videos. A fourth mechanic, who also tried to charge me $400.00 dollars for motor oil and filter change, told me bearings actually fall apart in place, is that even possible?
{black}:idontknow: ❓ :hmm: 😯
please complete all the details per the instructions please. What is your odometer reading?
Only reasons I've seen for bearing failure are lack of lubrication, poor quality part or the bearing was installed with the incorrect preload. By the way, $400 for an oil and filter change should be a felony. You really need to find and honest, independent mechanic who will work with you. Good Luck.
Are you using OEM wheel bearings (if still available for your vehicle)?
The aftermarket ones don’t tend to last more than 25,000 miles.
$400.00 for an oil and filter, that's only about $350.00 more than normal! I think you need some different mechanics.
Typical oil change -
Oil - 5 qts - $30.00
Filter - $10 (tops)
Labor - 1/2 hour @ $75/hr = $75 (one hour minimum)
Total should be about $120.00
Hi Scotty, I have a Toyota Corolla 1998 I purchase last year, since then I, have paid for new wheel bearings three times. The last time I was sure it was just a bumpy tire, but the mechanic said it was a bearing. He gave the "bad bearing" back all disassembled, it isn't dry, the little metal balls are all in their rings, and I see no metal particles as you mentioned in one of your Youtube videos.
all it takes is for the steel balls to be out round (you won't see it). Or the walls of bearing race get scored.
told me bearings actually fall apart in place, is that even possible?
what do you mean? where else would they fall apart?
If there are other parts of your vehicle which are worn out like suspension or steering, it will accelerate wear on your bearings. Just something to be aware of. Without seeing your car ,I cannot comment on your particular situation.
Just to be clear, have you had to replace the bearing on the same axle each time, or have you replaced 3 different bearings?
Much of the advice in the prior comments is excellent and worth adhering to. I'd like to frame this with a slightly different rhetorical tangent, extrapolating a bit:
Are these problems with the bearings either a cause or a symptom? If they are a symptom (and I suspect that they are), then treating the symptom will not resolve this issue.
Any mechanic/technician who is just fires "the parts cannon" isn't someone you should go to. You need a diagnosis, an ironclad, guaranteed diagnosis of why there are multiple failures.
Every element that affects the bearings needs to be critically inspected and evaluated, from the rim, to the tires (either element that is out-of-round will create pressure) to the suspension (struts and coils), axles, as well as the quality of the replacement parts (problems with internal lubrication, tolerances, misalignment). Even the quality of the road that you're driving through (potholes, curbs, etc.) can have a significant effect. There are a lot of variables, sometimes more than one, that can create this outcome.
Additionally, there are two ways of going about replacing bearings. One of them is to tear apart the hub, retainer rings, etc, clean out the area, install bearings and re-grease and reassemble. That is labor intensive and therefore expensive. The other way to replace bearings is to buy and install a hub-and-bearing assembly, which is what I chose to do when all of the bearings of my 08 Camry began to make noise at 100K, in 2017. I bought the Moog assemblies, and gave them to the mechanic to install. Nearly five years later, I've had no problems. Whether Moog's quality has fallen over the last half-decade, I do not know.
It bears repeating: Multiple failings of the same part are most likely a symptom of an underlying problem. Find someone who will begin with that assumption, and have them work up from there. A proper, accurate diagnosis will lead to a durable fix, and it will be less expensive, in the long run, than serial changes of the same part. (Parenthetically, the mechanic and/or shop should guarantee the fix).
