Wheel bearing and/or warped rotor noise...

Hi folks.

New here.

I have an 07 double cab sport 4x4 with 95,000 mi. The last couple months I have been experiencing ever increasing road noise, particularly when turning right. I read some posts here on how to diagnose a bad wheel bearing and have tentatively diagnosed the front drivers side as having that issue. While jacked up there is play in the wheel when grabbing it from the 12/6 o'clock positions. The passenger side does not have play, but when spinning the wheel while jacked up there is still a rubbing noise that slows the wheel to a halt. This also happens on the drivers side.

A friend of mine who has previously worked in a tire shop looked at it with me and says I should replace the driver side bearing. He is also telling me that the rubbing noise and stopping of the tire while spinning it by hand is likely a warped rotor and he says I should have them turned. I just replaced the pads and rotors with brand new parts from Toyota last year, so I am not positive that is the issue.

Anyway I have quite a few questions:

Seeing that this is such a common issue, should I just go ahead and replace both wheel bearings? If so, what part will I need? Part number would be helpful. Is there a better brand or should I do original Toyota parts? Do I really have to take the bearing housing somewhere to have the bearing pressed in or can I buy the housing with the bearings already in it?

Is it really possible for the one year old rotors to need to be turned already? I am guessing it wouldn't be too expensive so should I just have them turned while the bearings are being replaced?

Lastly, I have put about 1,000 local slow miles on it since the noise started and am wondering what the consequences of continuing to drive it as is would be. I need to save the money for the parts. I heard the wheel could completely come off while driving it, is this true?

Sorry for such novice questions.

Cranberry

 

Just to rule something out, next time your driving somewhere in a straight line, click into 4wd and see if it goes away, then back to 2wd and see if it comes back.

 

Stick with OEM or Moog. That’s my opinion of course but it’s correct. Rotors typically don’t warp like everyone thinks they do. You may have some pad material on the rotor from heat transfer but I would worry about that.

 

Sorry for the delay in response. I finally had a chance to get it into 4 wheel drive and it seems to be making the same noise.

 

Definitely stick with OEM rotors and pads. I went with EBC slotted rotors and they only lasted 3 years. Just went back to OEM last week. Considering your mileage you may as well as swap the wheel bearings and rotors and pads as its a job that can be completed in your garage or driveway. Plenty of great info on this site. Step by step instructions. Many places online sell the complete hub assembly which makes it much easier to change out. Good luck.

 

Okay, then stay the course.

 

I doubt there is anything wrong with your brakes. A very slight contact between the pad and rotor is normal, but the tire should still turn freely with one hand. If you are unsure about the difference between normal and abnormal drag, have a qualified mechanic evaluate it. Abnormally dragging brakes can be caused by many things. If a problem exists, you may feel a pulsing, and there will be heat buildup in the hub / wheel. If your hubs run cool, I wouldn't worry. If you have an unusual drag on a brake, it could just be the bad bearing causing it. If a rotor is warped, you will feel a pulsing through the pedal when you brake. If you feel any play in the bearing with the 12/6 wiggle, the bearing is bad. I would definitely buy pre-assembled hubs. There are two vendors on TW that provide good assembled hubs: nj636 and BamaToy1997. I use BamaToy1997 because I like the way he greases the bearings, but both have a good history here.
A bad bearing on one side does not necessarily mean the other side is close to failure. My passenger side went bad at 166K and I'm at 169K now and the drivers side is still fine. Because of the high mileage, I do plan to replace the drivers side soon. I would buy both hubs.
As for how long you can drive on a bad bearing, Hard to say. Bearings can wobble along for a long time if you drive easy. I would certainly avoid high speeds and long trips. If you feel any significant change in noise or feel, I would park it.

 

at this point i would most likely suspect a sticking caliper. easy to diagnose, remove the caliper from the rotor... if the drag goes away, replace the caliper, if the drag remains i would suspect bearings.

 

There's two people on here that sell the Bearings @nj636 and @BamaToy1997. Yes replace them both.

 

This is what happens when you ignore a wheel bearing that is failing... He's damn lucky it failed when he pulled into his mom's neighborhood and not on the interstate..

 

There is like three vendors here that sell entire hubs with bearings, pressed and lubed . Great quality

 

I bought my wheel bearing hub on ebay, under 2 hours to replace it with hand tools

Bearing hub will make noise for a long time. Mine did for 5k miles before I could notice it being loose when jacked up

brakes will drag a little bit and may stop a tire but not enough to stop the vehichle

many times the pads are stuck/bound in caliper, caliper slide pin sticking or the pad holding pins is rusty not letting things slide back

 

I just wanted to say I really appreciate the support and kind words from everyone!