Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site amdahl.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!oliveb!3comvax!bnrmtv!amdahl!ems From: ems@amdahl.UUCP (ems) Newsgroups: net.auto.tech Subject: Re: Toyota problems (wheel bearings) Message-ID: <2180@amdahl.UUCP> Date: Fri, 1-Nov-85 12:40:40 EST Article-I.D.: amdahl.2180 Posted: Fri Nov 1 12:40:40 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 3-Nov-85 06:32:52 EST References: <2427@sunybcs.UUCP> <204@ucdavis.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: Circle C Shellfish Ranch, Shores-of-the-Pacific, Ca Lines: 36 > > 2) The bearings in the rear end have started to hum. How much damage > > can I expect if I wait a few months to replace them? > ... > Wheel bearings usually just keep getting noisier until they get so loud > that you have to replace them just to keep your sanity. I favor milking all > the mileage out of the original equipment bearings as possible, since they > frequently last longer *after* they start to make noise than the replacements > will after you install them. Wheel bearings get *real* noisy before they > will freeze up, and the replacement bearings I've gotten have often been of > rather poor quality. One thing to watch out for is *front* bearings. (I know the original was about rear bearings, but this is important). My sister had a small Ford that had the front bearings go dry (grease 'evaporated'). The result was a noisy front bearing. This first manifested itself in Los Angeles. As home was north of San Francisco, she decided to just drive it home before getting the bearing fixed. After several hours on the freeway noise was worse and the performance was off. She stopped at the request of a friendly Highway Patrolman ... The wheel then fell off. A *VERY* overheated bearing had softened the spindle it rides on enough for it to break. It was a dull red at the time... One wonders what would have happened if she had not been pulled over for a smoking wheel. Even if you do decide to push the bearings; grease 'em. Often and well. -- E. Michael Smith ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems 'If you can dream it, you can do it' Walt Disney This is the obligatory disclaimer of everything. (Including but not limited to: typos, spelling, diction, logic, and nuclear war)