Since a wheel bearing has to accomplish all this for hundreds of thousands of miles, it’s not surprising that they wear out occasionally.
What Happens When a Wheel Bearing Goes Out? Bearings are used in all sorts of things we use every day so you might be interested to learn about more uses for bearings ! Unlike your engine bearings, your wheel bearings don’t have a constant supply of oil lubricating and cooling them, they have to be self-sufficient and also be sealed tight enough to keep road dust and water out of them. Not only does a wheel bearing have to support the entire weight of your vehicle while it is traveling over rough roads, potholes and maybe the occasional curb, they also have to take the lateral forces of corners you take and have to do all that while allowing your wheel to spin at thousands of revolutions per minute. The hub holds the lug bolts that you use to bolt the tire onto the wheel. Wheel bearings ride on a metal axle shaft and fits tightly inside the hub, a hollow piece of metal at the center of the wheel. But first thing’s first, what is a wheel bearing? A wheel bearing is a set of small steel balls which are held together in a metal ring called a race and help a wheel spin by reducing friction. The wheel bearings in your car take a lot of abuse and, not surprisingly, why we get a lot of questions about wheel bearing noise and signs of bad bearings.
