bad wheel bearing?

[QuickShift]

I have a 95 SL, and sometimes when I'm driving there is a slight vibration in the steering wheel. it feels like it's coming from the front driver's side. it's most noticable at ~60+ mph. could this be a worn wheel bearing? or am I misdiagnosing the issue completely?

[STiedVR4Guy]

Could be a lot of things, to test the wheel bearing, jack the car up, lock the steering and then try to wiggle the wheel. If it moves quite a bit then yea its probably really shot. From what I have heard front wheel bearings can be a pita...

another thing could be simply unbalanced tires. I am still chasing down a shake in my steering wheel lol. I think mine might be due to worn out steering rack and unbalanced tires at the moment. Perhaps a bad rear motor mount.

[green-lantern]

Could be a lot of things, to test the wheel bearing, jack the car up, lock the steering and then try to wiggle the wheel. If it moves quite a bit then yea its probably really shot. From what I have heard front wheel bearings can be a pita...

another thing could be simply unbalanced tires. I am still chasing down a shake in my steering wheel lol. I think mine might be due to worn out steering rack and unbalanced tires at the moment. Perhaps a bad rear motor mount.

This

and does it do it when you hit the brakes?

A lot of times you can hear a wheel bearing so I would lean toward unbalanced tire.

[IPD]

to clarify:

if the jacked-up wheel moves from top to bottom, it's probably a bad wheel bearing. if it moves side to side, it's probably tie-rod ends.

you can check for wheel balance fairly easy. rotate the tires and see if the problem shifts location.

[green-lantern]

to clarify:

if the jacked-up wheel moves from top to bottom, it's probably a bad wheel bearing. if it moves side to side, it's probably tie-rod ends.

you can check for wheel balance fairly easy. rotate the tires and see if the problem shifts location.

qft

You definitely don't want to check side to side for bearing play. There is enough play in the steering and lock to get side to side play.

[b_rad]

im having a similar problem. I only get a vibrating/humming noise when i am driving and it usually starts at about 3500rpm. more often in 1st gear and was never making noise in any other driving condition. just the other day i hit a bump and it made that same noise for a split second and it also was happening very randomly on for a second. the car doesnt vibrate at all, i just had tires put on and balanced/aligned and still drives straight and let my hands off the wheel to check it and it doesnt veer off. i dont lose any performance and the only "feel" i get is from the car through the pedals but its really almost non existent. almost sounds like its coming from the front left.

ill go ahead and jack it up to check the wheel. the shop that put the wheels on never said anything about the wheel bearings being bad and they usually ALWAYS found something they said you need to fix. i just know ive had bad wheel bearings on other cars in the past and they werent similar to this as there is no problem with the cars performance or driveability at all. car has 108k miles and is all stock suspension parts.

[IPD]

im having a similar problem. I only get a vibrating/humming noise when i am driving and it usually starts at about 3500rpm. more often in 1st gear and was never making noise in any other driving condition. just the other day i hit a bump and it made that same noise for a split second and it also was happening very randomly on for a second. the car doesnt vibrate at all, i just had tires put on and balanced/aligned and still drives straight and let my hands off the wheel to check it and it doesnt veer off. i dont lose any performance and the only "feel" i get is from the car through the pedals but its really almost non existent. almost sounds like its coming from the front left.

ill go ahead and jack it up to check the wheel. the shop that put the wheels on never said anything about the wheel bearings being bad and they usually ALWAYS found something they said you need to fix. i just know ive had bad wheel bearings on other cars in the past and they werent similar to this as there is no problem with the cars performance or driveability at all. car has 108k miles and is all stock suspension parts.

aftermarket or stock wheels? if aftermarket, do you have the hub-centric spacer rings installed? if not, then you're running your wheel lug-centric, and that can easily fry bearings. ask me how i know this....

[b_rad]

aftermarket 18" Drag brand wheels. cant say if its always done it since ive owned it, which is about a year and a half now. of course, i dont have previous owner info so i cant call to confirm.

auto shop didnt say anything about spacer rings. guess ill just have to check myself. what would they look like? i attached a picture of the wheel.

[IPD]

The rings are what keeps the wheel a hub-centric fit (the hub supports the weight of the wheel), rather than lug-centric, where the lugs support the weight of the wheel. Those rings fit inside the aftermarket wheel center to give a snug fit to the hub on your car.

[b_rad]

if i do end up finding there are no rings how do i know what size i would need to buy?