Anyone know how to tell if you have a bad wheel bearing. I have a 94 Extended Cab 4x4 truck and lately it seems as if I have more "road noise" than I used to. I visually checked the tires for problems and they all look good. Struck me out of the blue the other day that maybe the "road noise" is actually a bearing. The truck has over 200K on it. About half of that I put on it and I haven't had them replaced so they're probably the originals?

Thanks!

 

Welcome to Yotatech.
Lift the wheel and check for play by grabbing the tire at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions and 3 and 9 o'clock positions. There shouldn't be any play.

 

While a really shot bearing (and race) can lead to play, play in a front wheel is usually a ball joint problem. http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...28balljoin.pdf

Generally, all you need to do is jack a wheel up and turn it. If you can hear (or feel) anything, it's probably due for a new bearing.