On the road, about 600 miles from home (on a weekend of course), don't have my Chilton or Haynes manual with me...sitting at a hotel overnight contemplating how fast and how long I'm going to drive on the interstate tomorrow. At least it's only me this time. Left the wife/kids home for this trip.
'05 Vibe Base, 165K+, A/T.
Started noticing a growling noise a few hundred miles ago (when there weren't any radio stations around, kinda quiet in the car). A decent growl from the front end. Starts when the car starts moving, doesn't change with gear changes at a steady speed, only changes frequency with road speed, gets real quiet on a right hand curve, get a bit louder on a left hand curve. Figure it's the front/right wheel bearing. Doesn't pull either direction, very very slight shimmy @ 75MPH+ (enough to make the remote start antenna vibrate a little and that's it), but I'm also due for a wheel rotation.
Far as I know, the car has spent all it's life up north (great...probably rusted/welded itself together if it's set up like I think it probably is). Don't remember what it looks like in there when I was changing struts last year.
Is it a hub/bearing assembly that bolts up to the steering knuckle such that I have to remove the knuckle like I was going to change struts, and pop the lower ball joint, and axle. Then either press out the hub/bearing myself or get a shop to do it?
Or is it all one whole piece where a guy has to swap out the whole knuckle/hub/bearing as a single unit, and while you're in there may as well change out the lower ball joint and whatever else gets wear & tear? (which actually sounds a fair amount easier)...
'05 Base - Front wheel bearing replace
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vibrologist
- Posts: 1598
- Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 8:24 am
- Location: Iowa
Re: '05 Base - Front wheel bearing replace
I looked at a video showing an '05 base Vibe. This one had an assembled unit where you have to press out the bearing. This guy did it on the car without removing the knuckle or messing with the steering/suspension. He fashioned a press out tool using a big socket, all thread and a cross bar. I would ask the parts store if they have a proper press out tool.
It is not a particular good video but it shows the basic set up (I hope this time the video is on-topic, not like the last one I linked up
)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeKGxTjJXlQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It is not a particular good video but it shows the basic set up (I hope this time the video is on-topic, not like the last one I linked up
)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeKGxTjJXlQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Vibrologist
'05 Vibe
"It is important to know the difference between 'accurate' and 'precise' even if you are neither!"
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=43476
'05 Vibe
"It is important to know the difference between 'accurate' and 'precise' even if you are neither!"
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=43476
Re: '05 Base - Front wheel bearing replace
Checked out that video. Pretty much useless, although I'll give the guy points for trying.
Went balls-out on the interstate for the last ~600 miles, growling noise the whole way. Got home (roughly 2 miles off the highway). Let the car sit in the garage for about an hour while I changed clothes, etc. Went back out, put it up in the air, spun the wheels...no appreciable noise or wobble on the tires. (removed)...
Decided to rotate the tires first rather than immediately dig into a bearing swap. We'll see what happens.
Along those same-ish lines, got a front end clunk that's been happening for the past ~20K miles or so. Sounds a lot like a bad upper strut mount (which I've had before on my Nissan 200SX) but it's not the same thing, louder and deeper. Clunks really good if I hit an expansion joint on the highway just right, or even on the gravel in the bumps/ruts/etc. Did a complete suspension swap last year, struts/mounts/etc last August. Didn't help anything, been getting a tad bit worse over time. Had a good hard look under it. Ball joints don't move, sway bar bushings don't move, sway bar end links seem tight enough, CV joints aren't rotten, lower control arm bushings don't move and look good as far as I can tell.
The only thing that caught my eye was the rear engine/transmission mount was cracked along the upper half, and once I got the car back on the ground and in PARK, while rocking the car back-and-forth, I was able to get the engine / mount to move a fair amount.
Rear engine mount the source of the clunking? Really? I suppose... Maybe if the wheels get launched a little bit upon hitting those expansion joints/bumps and the engine/transmission is allowed to speed up and immediately slow back down... Hell I dunno. Talking out my (removed) here... Gonna get the wife to do a bit of light power braking for me and see how much the engine moves around...
Went balls-out on the interstate for the last ~600 miles, growling noise the whole way. Got home (roughly 2 miles off the highway). Let the car sit in the garage for about an hour while I changed clothes, etc. Went back out, put it up in the air, spun the wheels...no appreciable noise or wobble on the tires. (removed)...
Decided to rotate the tires first rather than immediately dig into a bearing swap. We'll see what happens.
Along those same-ish lines, got a front end clunk that's been happening for the past ~20K miles or so. Sounds a lot like a bad upper strut mount (which I've had before on my Nissan 200SX) but it's not the same thing, louder and deeper. Clunks really good if I hit an expansion joint on the highway just right, or even on the gravel in the bumps/ruts/etc. Did a complete suspension swap last year, struts/mounts/etc last August. Didn't help anything, been getting a tad bit worse over time. Had a good hard look under it. Ball joints don't move, sway bar bushings don't move, sway bar end links seem tight enough, CV joints aren't rotten, lower control arm bushings don't move and look good as far as I can tell.
The only thing that caught my eye was the rear engine/transmission mount was cracked along the upper half, and once I got the car back on the ground and in PARK, while rocking the car back-and-forth, I was able to get the engine / mount to move a fair amount.
Rear engine mount the source of the clunking? Really? I suppose... Maybe if the wheels get launched a little bit upon hitting those expansion joints/bumps and the engine/transmission is allowed to speed up and immediately slow back down... Hell I dunno. Talking out my (removed) here... Gonna get the wife to do a bit of light power braking for me and see how much the engine moves around...
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sideshowalan
- Posts: 425
- Joined: Thu Jun 11, 2009 10:27 am
Re: '05 Base - Front wheel bearing replace
Your growling symptoms are classic bad wheel bearing. Even the side is correct, quiet right turns mean a bad right bearing. It has to be 'really' bad in order to hear a bad bearing with the wheels up in the air. I would make sure you know it's the front or back just by hearing it out the window and change it out.
Rear bearings are an easy hub change.
Fronts are tougher as they have to be pressed and there are a lot of horror stories on here.
Save yourself some headaches by removing the hub assembly yourself and drop it off along w/ a new bearing at a shop you trust.
Rear bearings are an easy hub change.
Fronts are tougher as they have to be pressed and there are a lot of horror stories on here.
Save yourself some headaches by removing the hub assembly yourself and drop it off along w/ a new bearing at a shop you trust.
2008 Pontiac Vibe
2008 Toyota Sienna XLE
(Former 2003 5-speed Vibe owner)
2008 Toyota Sienna XLE
(Former 2003 5-speed Vibe owner)
Re: '05 Base - Front wheel bearing replace
A couple mechanic type friends also said that hub/wheel bearings had to be in really REALLY bad shape to hear or feel them with the wheels up in the air.
I'm taking an educated guess that it's the front/right, based on the changing noises in turns, as well as the noise not changing at all when I pull on the e-brake.
165K miles, debating whether or not to do both sides...just because...
I'm taking an educated guess that it's the front/right, based on the changing noises in turns, as well as the noise not changing at all when I pull on the e-brake.
165K miles, debating whether or not to do both sides...just because...
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sideshowalan
- Posts: 425
- Joined: Thu Jun 11, 2009 10:27 am
Re: '05 Base - Front wheel bearing replace
There's no compelling reason to replace them in pairs.
One does not affect the other and there's no overlap in labor.
One does not affect the other and there's no overlap in labor.
2008 Pontiac Vibe
2008 Toyota Sienna XLE
(Former 2003 5-speed Vibe owner)
2008 Toyota Sienna XLE
(Former 2003 5-speed Vibe owner)
Re: '05 Base - Front wheel bearing replace
Ahh...good point.
Not like swapping brakes while you're in there swapping an axle or something along those lines.
Not like swapping brakes while you're in there swapping an axle or something along those lines.
Re: '05 Base - Front wheel bearing replace
Case(s) closed.
Rotten wheel bearing.
Case 1 - Growling -
Even the mechanics at Tires Plus told me that when they got it up in the air, the bearing didn't make any noise while spinning the wheel, AND the wheel itself didn't have any play in it, therefore they were a bit hesitant to go further because they didn't think the hub/wheel bearing was bad. But basic troubleshooting told them different and sure enough...the bearing was toasted internally. They said half of the rollers were ground down to near nothing and the other half were pitted really badly.
Case 2 - Clunking -
In addition to that, quite unexpectedly, to me anyways, the clucking noise while hitting the expansion joints on the highway coming from the front end is gone.
Obviously, they didn't have to undo the lower ball joint on the right side since it unbolts from the control arm, so that rules out a bad lower ball joint. The only things they would've had to disconnect would be the sway bar end links, the strut, axle, etc.etc.etc.
So, my conclusion, and it doesn't really make a lot of sense to me, but this is the way things transpired in my case, is that the bad wheel bearing started off sounding like a bad left upper strut mount, got worse and proceeded to sound like a bad left side sway bar bushing, and eventually the growl plus all of the other clunking started.
$403 later...no growl...no clunk... This bongo be happy...
Ya, I could've probably done it in my garage for 1/4 of that amount, and it likely would've taken 4 times as long, with 4 times the pain. The guys at the shop had it done inside of an hour with the right tools for the job.
Sometimes it pays to pay.
Rotten wheel bearing.
Case 1 - Growling -
Even the mechanics at Tires Plus told me that when they got it up in the air, the bearing didn't make any noise while spinning the wheel, AND the wheel itself didn't have any play in it, therefore they were a bit hesitant to go further because they didn't think the hub/wheel bearing was bad. But basic troubleshooting told them different and sure enough...the bearing was toasted internally. They said half of the rollers were ground down to near nothing and the other half were pitted really badly.
Case 2 - Clunking -
In addition to that, quite unexpectedly, to me anyways, the clucking noise while hitting the expansion joints on the highway coming from the front end is gone.
Obviously, they didn't have to undo the lower ball joint on the right side since it unbolts from the control arm, so that rules out a bad lower ball joint. The only things they would've had to disconnect would be the sway bar end links, the strut, axle, etc.etc.etc.
So, my conclusion, and it doesn't really make a lot of sense to me, but this is the way things transpired in my case, is that the bad wheel bearing started off sounding like a bad left upper strut mount, got worse and proceeded to sound like a bad left side sway bar bushing, and eventually the growl plus all of the other clunking started.
$403 later...no growl...no clunk... This bongo be happy...
Ya, I could've probably done it in my garage for 1/4 of that amount, and it likely would've taken 4 times as long, with 4 times the pain. The guys at the shop had it done inside of an hour with the right tools for the job.
Sometimes it pays to pay.