What are the symptoms of bad front wheel bearings? I can hear a tattle coming from the front of the car, I don't think is the brakes as I inspected and they are ok, I checked for any loose bolts or anything loose and nothing, its getting progressively worst. I don't have the time or money to take it to a shop right now, so I need some help to troubleshoot this problem. If it could be the wheel bearings, how difficult is it to replace?

Thank you all.

I think that if you jack up the front of the car, and try to shake the wheel back and forth, it should be tight. If loose then it is likely the bearings.

As a side note I changed the front bearing in my Ford van this summer. (I hadn't dont that type of repair before) I think it was a different design than the Fiero, but it was going "crunch, crunch, crunch..." LOL It took me about 2 hours, but I had to learn how to do it at the same time.

Good Luck.

Usually a bad front wheel bearing will result in more of a grinding noise (especially when turinig away from the bad bearing) than a rattle.

While driving at a moderate pace gently turn the wheel to go back and forth and listen for the noise to change. When you turn left you transfer weight to the right wheel and vice-versa.

Jack up the car and spin the wheel and listen for grinding noise. Grab the wheel and try to rock it up and down (be careful that you don't yank it off the jack). There should be very little play.

If a bad bearing is left on too long you could damage the spindle.

Hope this helps,

Carroll

I will go home for lunch and check this out. Thanks for the replies, will post update. Funny thing is that the rattle speed doesn't change with car speed. I will check to see what happens when I turn.

As the others have stated a wheel bearing will make a grinding noise. If the tattle/rattle noise were coming from the rear I would say it could be your brake pads rattling agaist the rotor (they may not be securly held unto the caliper with the retaining clip) but with how the front pads snap into the caliper i'm not sure it would be possible for the same situation to occur with the front (they snap into the caliper differently then the rear)!

Good luck at any rate!

If the wheel bearing is noticeably worn or loose, you won't even need to jack it up. Just grab the top of the front tires and vigorously pull and push. If you feel excessive movement and hear a clunk-clunk, the wheel bearings are bad. A rattling from the front end is usually either loose sway bar end links or the steering rack getting worn out (most noticeable when you hit a bump at low speed).

How do I troubleshoot to find out if the steering rack is getting worn out?

quote Originally posted by batboy: If the wheel bearing is noticeably worn or loose, you won't even need to jack it up. Just grab the top of the front tires and vigorously pull and push. If you feel excessive movement and hear a clunk-clunk, the wheel bearings are bad. A rattling from the front end is usually either loose sway bar end links or the steering rack getting worn out (most noticeable when you hit a bump at low speed).

Well, with my old 85 GT, it was when I was replacing the inner tie rod ends that I finally figured out the rack was the culprit. Hopefully, some expert will hop in here and tell us an easy way to check. Maybe try doing a search in the meantime? Maybe if you jack up the front end and got a good grip on the inner tie rod (it's covered with a rubber boot) and see if it moves? Any play in the front to back direction of the car would indicate wear.

I was having this problem once, and it turned out to be the front brake pads were loose because some idiot had bent the little tangs on the shoes to make them easier to install. Bent them backa little and that was that. Hope you are that lucky!

------------------

That is great to hear, I had my brakes inspected a week before it all started, I'll check that out myself tonight and post my findings. Boy I'm going to have a fun troubleshooting day today.

Thanks again all, keep them coming, I'll keep you posted.

quote Originally posted by DaveL: I was having this problem once, and it turned out to be the front brake pads were loose because some idiot had bent the little tangs on the shoes to make them easier to install. Bent them backa little and that was that. Hope you are that lucky!

Jack up the front of the car.

Grab the wheel at 3 and 9 o'clock and check for movement. Any looseness here is coming from the steering (i.e. tie rod ends, steering rack, etc.)

Grab the wheel at 12 and 6 o'clock and check for movement. Any looseness here is coming from the wheel bearings. (May only require adjustment.) Spin the wheel and listen for a muffled grinding noise with each revolution. This noise may indicate corrosion or other bearing damage, and bearing must be replaced.

Put a pry bar under the wheel at 6 o'clock and check for vertical movement. Excessive looseness here is coming from the ball joints.

The question that is hard for me to answer is how loose is too loose in each of the tests above. My general rule, is that if it is loose enough to notice by inspection and affect the driveability of the vehicle, it is too much and should be repaired.

Hope this helps.

Well I inspected the front tires, on the driver side wheel I found a little bit of play, turned the wheel and there it was, a grinding noise and intermittent click and clack. Well I took a drive to Pep boys and they priced me the inner bearing for 7.68 and the outer for 6.68 the seal was 2.95 I got the seals and a inner bearing there and they where out of stock of the rest but gave me the price quote so I could go to Kragen Auto and got the rest at a price match plus an extra 5%. Well I changed them on both wheels (even do the other wheel was fine) While I was there I changed the brakes too. (Not needed but what the heck) Used that Mobil 1 synt. grease for the bearings. Took a test drive and the sound is gone. Tomorrow I have to go on a long drive and that will be the real test. Thank you all.