What are the symptoms of a bad front wheel bearing on a 1998 Honda Accord?

Answer 1

If you suspect a bearing is going bad, remove the bearing an have a look.

Answer:

The front wheel bearing is a sealed unit on this vehicle, and in most cases will last the life of the car. A more common cause of noise from the front end would be the CV joint starting to fail. Look at both CV boots to determine if the boots are bad, which means the joint will soon go bad.

Drive on to a wide-open parking lot and listen carefully to the sound it makes. If it's a clicking sound, suspect a CV joint. Does it get louder while the vehicle is turning right or left? A hub bearing is usually more of a howling sound, not a clicking sound, and as it gets really bad will turn into a growl or grinding sound. Back on the street, cruise along along at 35 mph or so, and notice if the sound seems to change as the vehicle makes a gentle right or left curve. Normally a CV joint isn't noisy at cruising speed, even if it's failing. If the howling or grinding sound gets louder as the vehicle is turned left, suspect the right bearing, as more of the vehicle's weight is transferred to that side as the car leans a little bit.

Changing this hub bearing is somewhat involved for the driveway mechanic. It can be done, but a special tool is required to separate the lower ball joint and tie rod, and sometimes the knuckle has to be heated with a torch to drive the bearing housing out.

Your local shop will probably recommend having both front bearings changed at the same time.