Wheel bearings

[mustangman1974]

Alright all I went cruising this weekend at riversides show and go and by george another noise to make me hunt down the problem. It seems there is a low howl hum coming from the front of my car. It usually raises its head below 35 mph. Turning or braking did nothing unless I slammed on the brakes. Then it run and hides for an hour. and eventually says hello here I am.

I checked my brakes, by the way squeaked the entire weekend, and wheel bearings. the rotors turned with little effort and I could move them. To be safe I re torqued the wheel bearings on both sides and re torque the caliper, dust shield, and caliper brakes to make sure nothing came loose. The howl was strange it wasn't connected to engine, rpm and I didn't notice a change in pitch with speed. It just seemed to get louder the slower I went.

Any suggestions?

What to bearings look like before they go bad?

Could my 4 piston calipers be dragging causing the harmonics?

I never noticed this before, but most likely because I drive 15 miles to work with the air or radio on.

 

[Rusty67]

Doesn't sound like its a draging caliper or wheel bearing to me. Just to be safe you can yank the caliper and retract the pistons and while you are at it yank the wheel bearing and repack them with fresh grease just to be sure.

 

[mustangman1974]

I didn't retract the pistons but I did repack the bearings. How much extra grease do you all put in the hub? I use bearing cups topack bearings and the extra grease goes into the hub. sound right?

 

[Rusty67]

Sounds like you greased them correctly to me. I would yank the caliper and check for a stuck piston. You are supposed to rebuild the K/H 4 pistons every 2nd or 3rd time you change pads in order to keep them completely reliable.