[IndigoXLGrandDi]

I myself did the following just now and here it is--

I lifted the right front wheel using the jack and rotated the wheel, but the wheel was not rotating freely as if the brakes are binding. Also there were no vibrations from the bottom of Coil Spring when the wheel was rotated.

Then I lifted the left front wheel using the jack and rotated the wheel, but the wheel was rotating freely unlike right wheel. Also there were mild vibrations from the bottom of Coil Spring when the left wheel was rotated.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by IndigoXLGrandDi

I myself did the following just now and here it is--

I lifted the right front wheel using the jack and rotated the wheel, but the wheel was not rotating freely as if the brakes are binding. Also there were no vibrations from the bottom of Coil Spring when the wheel was rotated.

Then I lifted the left front wheel using the jack and rotated the wheel, but the wheel was rotating freely unlike right wheel. Also there were mild vibrations from the bottom of Coil Spring when the left wheel was rotated.

I understand that this post is very old and either the issue regarding the bearing would have been sorted or the actual problem was diagnosed, but just jacking up & rotating the front wheel on a FWD car will not tell if the bearing is bust or not. This is because the drive shaft will rotate with the wheel and hence it will not tell the story of the bearings at all. However, this trick will work for non- driving wheels like the rear wheels on a FWD car.

Just 2 days ago, I replaced all 4 bearings of the rear wheel on my car. The work was done at MASS. There was a sound coming from rear wheel whenever the car crossed 50 KMPH. When the bearing was opened, we saw a crack in the inner race of one of the bearings. However, the new bearings were not expensive at all. The inner bearing cost was about 125/- while the outer bearing was about 170/-. Hence the total cost for all 4 bearings were less than 600/-. Labour was about 500/-
The sound is now gone and the drive is very silent now.

[mpksuhas]

^^ A noob question. What is inner bearing and outer bearing ? And is it common design across all types of vehicles ?

[saket77]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

^^ A noob question. What is inner bearing and outer bearing ? And is it common design across all types of vehicles ?

The rear wheel drum (on which the rim is tightened) rotates on the axle. To remove the wheel drum, you have to take off the hub cap, the split pin and the axle nut.

Now, to rotate on the axle, each side wheel drum has a pair of bearings on the outside & inside at the central contact area (with the axle). These bearings are generally non-interchangeable as the one in the inner side of the drum is slightly bigger in size than the one in the outer side. Between the bearings, there is a metallic bush too. I know I am not making too much sense but you might understand a bit better if you look at some pictures:https://www.google.co.in/search?q=re...w=1366&bih=653

There are at least 2 types of bearings used across cars. Conical bearings & ball bearing. I think most cars use the second type. Conical bearings are probably used only as outer bearings. If the bearings are worn, the drive can turn little noisy. It is not tough to diagnose a worn out bearing.

Regards,
Saket