What are indications of a bad front wheel bearing on a 2004 Chevy Silverado?

Answer 1

The front wheel bearings will usually sound like you have a rumbling sound when driving and not on the brakes. It may quiet the bearing when the brakes are applied. The sound also gets louder with the increase in speed. If you can see the wheel bearing it usually has rust dust (orange)coming from the bearing assy. it should be replaced . You could also jack the vehicle up and see if the wheel makes noise when turning it by hand, and grab the tire at the top and bottom try to rock it, there might slight movement but if it feels loose check the lugs, if they are tight, the wheel bearing is most likely worn. ANSWER i am just adding to the above because i recently had a bearing go bad on my 2003. it started out sounding like a thumping noise coming from the side of the bad wheel. it was very intermitent, sometimes there was no sound for days. eventually the sound go more and more frequent. it almost sounds like there is something stuck in the tire tread. i would check the tread and find nothing. to then i thought it was an alignment problem. while they were at it i had the shop rotate the tires. it didn't fix the problem. go figure, a bearing shouldn't go with only 40K on the truck, right? finally took it into the stealership and they confirmed it as a bad bearing...if i remember correctly the bill was almost $800 to have them change it. the bearing is a sealed unit so the entire hub will have to be purchsed. the part is dang expensive.