How can you tell when a wheel bearing on a Geo Prizm goes out?

Wiki User

2008-11-27 04:49:20

Jack the car up so that wheel with the bearing in question is up off the ground. Grab the tire on the top and bottom and rock it back and forth. There should be little or no play back and forth with the tire. If there is then that bearing should be replaced. Usually a bad wheel bearing will make a noise while the car is in motion. The noise may get louder during turns. Also, withe the car jacked up spin the wheel. The beraing may cause clicking noise or rotate in a jerky way. I have seen situations where the symptoms of a bad wheel bearing were not pronounced but the bearing was in very bad shape (split rollers split race. Investigate any symptom promptly. The bearing may cause you to loose a wheel or cause the wheel to not turn! Bad wheel bearings usually make noise while driving, try to listen to your car closely.

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