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Front Wheel Bearing Failure @21000 Miles!

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kps

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Mar 7, 2002
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270
Location
McKinney, TX
I hate being right. I took Blue into the dealer's shop several weeks ago, complaining of a noise at the front wheels that I thought was a wheel bearing going out. The service advisor convinced me it was most likely tire noise, that since I had not rotated the tires when the manual recommended, that I most likely cupped one or more of the tires. To prove the point, or at least fuel that suspicion, we did the rotation. The noise changed somewhat, but did not go away. So, I spent the next several days swapping the spare in and out, hoping that if I did ruin a tire, that it was only one and I could rectify it by replacing only one, maybe two of the original tires. Finally found a mix that gave me the least amout of noise -- but still, the noise was there.

Tuesday night, I pulled into the driveway at the house, and the ABS light came on solid. Did not have the BRAKE light, and did not notice any difference in the brakes. Called OnStar (my first experience in remote diags), they could find no problem but recommended I take it in.

Called the service department of El Dorado Wednesday morning. They told me to bring it in first thing Friday -- the ABS light without the BRAKE light indicated that I still had brakes, but most likely no ABS. If I took it in that late on Wednesday, I probably would not get it back that day, and, well, Thursday was Thanksgiving.

Took the girls out for breakfast (no ABS light, by the way), heard a muffled "pop" under the front end, like I had run over something. Checked the rear-view mirror, didn't see anything in the road, so I kept on. As we left the restraunt, heard a grinding, metal-on-metal sound that troubled me, along with the intermittent ABS light. Limped home so I could drop the dogs off before I drove up to the dealer, decided to jack up the front end. Took hold of the right-front tire and noticed a distinct wobble.

Decided a phone call was in order. Spoke to the service advisor, told him what I had discovered. He dispatched a tow truck (that is a sad sight, seeing my baby hauled off like that!), and waited to hear the damage, fully expecting to be without wheels for the weekend.

Boiled down to this -- from 11 am the Wednesday before a holiday, El Dorado 1) provided a tow truck to the dealer, 2) diagnosed (ok, confirmed) the problem, 3) ordered the part out of Dallas, 30 miles away, 4) replaced the "R/F Hub Assembly", and had me back in Blue and on my way by 5:30 that afternoon. I was very pleased!

The ABS sensor indicated that there was a problem, when the bearing failed -- the wheel wasn't where it should be. My question, after all this, was why a two-wheel-drive, paved-street-only vehicle would have such a problem at 21,000 miles? Anybody? Anybody?

 
kps said:
I hate being right. ?I took Blue into the dealer's shop several weeks ago, complaining of a noise at the front wheels that I thought was a wheel bearing going out. ?The service advisor convinced me it was most likely tire noise, that since I had not rotated the tires when the manual recommended, that I most likely cupped one or more of the tires. ?To prove the point, or at least fuel that suspicion, we did the rotation. ?The noise changed somewhat, but did not go away. ?So, I spent the next several days swapping the spare in and out, hoping that if I did ruin a tire, that it was only one and I could rectify it by replacing only one, maybe two of the original tires. ?Finally found a mix that gave me the least amout of noise -- but still, the noise was there.

Tuesday night, I pulled into the driveway at the house, and the ABS light came on solid. ?Did not have the BRAKE light, and did not notice any difference in the brakes. ?Called OnStar (my first experience in remote diags), they could find no problem but recommended I take it in. ?

Called the service department of El Dorado Wednesday morning. ?They told me to bring it in first thing Friday -- the ABS ?light without the BRAKE light indicated that I still had brakes, but most likely no ABS. ?If I took it in that late on Wednesday, I probably would not get it back that day, and, well, Thursday was Thanksgiving. ?

Took the girls out for breakfast (no ABS light, by the way), heard a muffled "pop" under the front end, like I had run over something. ?Checked the rear-view mirror, didn't see anything in the road, so I kept on. ?As we left the restraunt, heard a grinding, metal-on-metal sound that troubled me, along with the intermittent ABS light. ?Limped home so I could drop the dogs off before I drove up to the dealer, decided to jack up the front end. ?Took hold of the right-front tire and noticed a distinct wobble. ?

Decided a phone call was in order. ?Spoke to the service advisor, told him what I had discovered. ?He dispatched a tow truck (that is a sad sight, seeing my baby hauled off like that!), and waited to hear the damage, fully expecting to be without wheels for the weekend.

Boiled down to this -- from 11 am the Wednesday before a holiday, El Dorado 1) provided a tow truck to the dealer, 2) diagnosed (ok, confirmed) the problem, 3) ordered the part out of Dallas, 30 miles away, 4) replaced the "R/F Hub Assembly", and had me back in Blue and on my way by 5:30 that afternoon. ?I was very pleased!

The ABS sensor indicated that there was a problem, when the bearing failed -- the wheel wasn't where it should be. ?My question, after all this, was why a two-wheel-drive, paved-street-only vehicle would have such a problem at 21,000 miles? ?Anybody? ?Anybody?
There is a post already started - Anyone have to replace thier wheel bearings yet.Please continue to post replies there.Thanks
 
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