I took my 2004 Monte Carlo SS in for tire rotation and was told I needed my front hub bearings replaced. They said that my vehicle was notorious for the bearings going bad. Can anyone confirm this?
Maybe…Maybe NOT.
Where did you go to have the tires rotated?? Do you trust them???
I took my car once to NTB (National Tire and Battery) to have my tires rotated once. They tried to claim that I needed new ball joints. I told them “show me”…They couldn’t…When I sold the truck some 170k miles later…the ball-joints were still fine.
I’m NOT saying yours DON’T need replacing…but I’d get a second opinion.
Imagine that. I took my car to NTB also. Will get 2nd opinion. Thanks.
Check them yourself…
Jack the tire/wheel off the ground. Grasp the tire top and bottom and try to rock it in and out in the vertical plane…If you can FEEL the hub moving any measurable amount, the wheel (hub) bearings are shot. Changing these can be a chore on FWD cars…Usually, the entire hub gets changed. $300 instead of $12…
The front wheel bearings on my 2000 Blazer went bad right after I had the tires replaced at the local tire shop. Coincidence, who knows?
I thought the noise was due to the new tires until my regular mechanic diagnosed it. One way to test for bad bearings is to move the steering wheel off center (i.e. changing lanes) while driving. The pitch/volume of the sound will change if it’s a bad bearing.
The Blazer was a pricey repair (~$800 for both) because the entire hub assembly has to be replaced. Get a second opinion from a trusted mechanic.
Ed B.
caddyman is right as far as he goes. But, if the bearings are shot, it is often the case that the races are shot too, and many hubs have, or used to have, as I am not up on all these new cars, the races machined into the hubs. Also, usually, but not always, if a hub bearing is bad, you will hear it as a loud noise comming from the bearing, and when you stop and feel the hub it will be warm or even too hot to touch, depending on how bad the brearings are. How many miles are on this car, and how often do you drive it up to the hubs in water? Because bearings dont usually go out in less than 200k miles these days.
FWD GM cars are somewhat known for bearings going bad. On this car I suggest doint the whole hub assembly since the sensors for the ABS and traction control are bulit into it. I would suggest either a second opinion and/or checking yourself using the instructions from one of the other replies. Good Luck.