kingdunke

i've tried to search for similar issues but no luck - so i opened this tread

last month the car was lifted for a front brake job, the mechanic noticed my right rear wheel was a bit loose (with lugs tightend and everything). he said the wheel bearing needs to be replaced. i felt it and it was just a bit loose. quoted for $120 parts and labor

after 800 miles, last week during an oil change (different shop), while the car was lifted, i tried to feel the looseness again. it's about the same, just a little loose. a different mechanic said it's the bearing again. quoted for $200 parts and labor

i haven't noticed any noise, vibration, or tire eating at all. the rear wheels spin freely without problems.

questions to the group:
1) is it time to change it before it gets worse?
2) if fixing, should i just change one or i should do the left rear bearing too, at the same time?
3) does $120 seem like a reasonable pricing?

thanks guys.

SHOLEXMAN

1. YES definitely do it cause you could possibly have the wheel fall off and create more damage.

2. Change the one bearing unless the others feel loose also. If they are loose change them to prevent any issues in the future.

3.Yeah it seems like a great price cause some other shops charge more for parts and labor. It should take only around 2 hours if they have no cars to do.

Do it ASAP cause it could start making noise tomorrow. Play it safe.

LAVIsH

if one goes bad might aswell do both you might need a alignment afterwards depending on how they take your rear suspension apart and if thats the case why pay for another alignment when the other one goes bad and 120 is freaking cheap i paid 200 per side not including the alignment

Kaydee

when a mechanic says the word "loose", that is never a good thing. Change it ASAP

Faymester

if your wheel falls off I suspect you won't be a very happy person

StiCk3

iTrader: (5)

it's always safe to fix it now and not have to worry about it a few hundred miles from now. Parts and labor sound resonable so go for it.

kingdunke

going in for a fix tomorrow. thanks guys.

SHOLEXMAN

Good one more safe car on the road!

kingdunke

on saturday, quoted $300 for both rear bearings plus a 4-wheel computer alignment, after market bearing, very possibly beck/arnley. they said the cost of the bearing was $66.

a couple hours later, after taking everything apart, the shop found out their part delivery was the wrong bearings (front instead of rear). they said they will continue on monday when the right parts get delivered.

weird - because later on i looked up kragen and they have it for $72 each. they didn't offer me that option and i didn't think about it either.

i am going to see what happens tomorrow..

SHOLEXMAN

Hopefully you get a good price and the car doesn't have the wrong parts lol. Damn parts stores.

kingdunke

ok, ive got my car back. the shop replaced both rear bearings, 1 wheel seal, and did a 4-wheel computer alignment. $300 including tax. not bad..

i lifted the back up and felt the tires. they are very firm. then test drove 10 miles with different speeds, cornering, braking and all kinda things i can test. it seemed to be solid. it felt less bumpy than b4, which very possibly due to the loose bearing. which i thought was worn shocks. good to get them replaced. at the same time, i felt the cash value of car didn't worth too much. but safety first because i can't take any chance to my life and my passenger life for sure, even any future owner of the car in case i sell it.

however, a couple more potential problems

1) i noticed a small sha-sha-sh sound only when i accelerate (when windows are closed). no sound when let go of gas with speed, braking, or stand-still rev on neutral/park. when i open the windows, i don't notice the noise because it's noisy with wind and stuffs. the noise seems to come from the front. but since it is so small, i am not 100% sure. it could be a potential loose timing belt..

2) it seems to be a small plastic burn smell from front passenger of the engine bay. i smell the most at the intake area. the smell is not strong but noticible when i opened the hood. not noticiable in the cabin. i checked everything but not seeing anything. i had oil change about 10 days ago. but the smell doesn't seem to be burn oil, but rather like buring plastic, like if you have a lighter burning some plastics/rubber layer on the electric wires. i also did hid conversion 6 months ago. the ballasts and bulb holders are not cool but they don't seem to smell or have any burned look, from what i can see.

i don't know if the 2 new minor issues are related. any help would be appreciated. i am going to search around to see if anything comes up too.

thanks guys

kingdunke

oh, the $300 was parts and labor, they told me the brand of the bearings is nks

SHOLEXMAN

Check your exaust and make sure it wasn't a plastic bag lol. Check your oil drain plug and filter cause if they didn't tighten it up or didn't clean there mess it could be hitting the exhaust as well. If you can jack the car up and put it on some stands and start the car and run it. See if there is any smoke or dripping oil. All I can tell you for the smell.

kingdunke

no i didn't have a plastic bag on my exhaust..lolz.

the burning plastic smell seems to be gone now. possibly the oil change caused it.

one more question: how long are wheel seals supposed to last? the mechanic changed the one that he said it's "cracked/old". and the other seal seems ok. aren't they supposed to go bad at about the same age..

kingdunke

the old bearing during removal