Tech Tip: SKF Offers Preventive Maintenance Recommendations and Tips for Avoiding Bearing Failure
A recent technical bulletin by SKF provides preventive maintenance recommendations for avoiding premature bearing failure, including tips on how to prevent repeat failures and assure customer safety.
Tech Feature: Servicing Worn Wheel Bearings
When a wheel bearing goes out on a vehicle, it may or may not give much warning. Typical clues include noise from the vicinity of the wheel, possibly some steering wander or looseness in the steering, and/or some abnormal tread wear on the front tires. Also, an ABS light could illuminate.
Tech Tip: Diagnosing a Noisy Wheel Bearing
The classic symptom of a bad wheel bearing is typically a cyclic chirping, squealing or growling noise that changes in proportion to vehicle speed. The sound may disappear at some speeds or only occur at certain speeds. The noise may get worse when turning, or it may disappear momentarily. So it’s difficult to make a diagnosis based on noise alone.
Brake & Wheel Bearing Service
Although wheel and drivetrain bearings generally last the life of the vehicle, they occasionally fail due to extreme loading, lack of lubrication, dirt and moisture contamination, and, of course, ordinary wear and tear. When discussing bearing wear, it’s important to understand that the function of the modern bearing is to maintain a perfect alignment and near-zero clearance between rotating parts.
Cleaning Bearings The Right Way
Proper bearing cleaning can mean the difference between good performance and bearing failure. If cleaning is done improperly, the bearing, shaft or housing may become damaged, creating a more costly repair job.
Tech Tip: FAQs on Wheel Bearing Installation
Here are the top frequently asked questions about bearing installation from SKF.
Tech Feature: Wheel Bearing Service on Hybrid Vehicles
Most hybrid vehicles on the market today share wheel bearing components with their non-hybrid counterparts. There is no need to turn away these vehicles for wheel bearing replacement. As these vehicles increase in age, failures of the wheel bearings are inevitable. The main trend for some makes of hybrids, such as Toyota, is a shift to wheel bearing hub units from cartridge-type bearings.
Tech Tip: Cartridge Wheel Bearing Replacement
While wheel bearing noise is one of the toughest problems for the customer to describe, it’s not unusual for it to come on so gradually that the customer may not even notice it until you mention it after an unrelated road test. Many times, the customer complaint will send you down the wrong path if you let it. We’ve heard complaints from exhaust leaks, to tire balance, to “it just doesn’t sound right,” that have ended up being bad wheel bearings.
Tech Tip: Drivetrain Noises and Wheel Bearing Replacement
One of the toughest challenges we face as import specialist techs is noise complaints. These aren’t necessarily difficult from the technical or nuts and bolts perspective as much as from the diagnostic process.
Rotor Runout Check List
The vehicle owner may say that under light braking the vehicle pulses to a stop, or under heavy braking the vehicle shudders. Technical service bulletins (TSBs) often describe these symptoms as a “judder.” There are only two causes for judder — lateral runout and disc thickness variation on the rotor’s friction surface. What could have
Hyundai: Drivetrain Noises & Wheel Bearing Replacement
One of the toughest challenges we face as import specialist techs is noise complaints. These aren’t necessarily difficult from the technical or nuts and bolts perspective as much as from the diagnostic process. The first challenge is to pin down the noise that has the customer concerned. We’ve all listened to our customers struggle with
Diagnosing Wheel Speed Sensors: WSS, ABS Systems
Some vehicles even compare the wheel speed sensor readings against the vehicle speed sensor (VSS) to make sure all of these sensors are accurate and working correctly.