Thread: wheel hub trouble

I installed a set of wheel hubs I ordered from 1aauto about a month ago....I torqed them to spec, and drove the car. Just today, i started getting this clicking while braking, and it would click one last time when i released the brakes after coming to a stop. I also get a "low trac" light while making a sharp turn in reverse and a whirling noise at in-town speeds. Does this sound like a bad bearing? The only thing i can think of is the axel nut backed off and essentially fried the bearing (or over tightened)...but they were still fairly tight. I also havnt put many miles on the car since the new bearings. I re-torqued the axel nut and the noise is still there. Luckily 1aauto shipped out a pair of replacments at no charge...does this sound like a bad wheel bearing? brakes seem fine, rotors not warped, cv axels seem ok...

thanks for any input

also this is for a 98' intrigue which as far as i can tell by looking is the same hub as my grand prix...but the grand prix gave me no trouble with the cheap wheel hubs (almost 2 years now)...also the specs i found for the intrigue are 118 ft/lb on the axel nut...sounds low to me but thats the spec. Do i torque the axel with the wheels on the ground or in the air?

clicking only with brakes is usually a brake issue, could be a pad moving, or the friction material has come free of the backing (common with lower cost pads and they will seem to stop fine until that piece disintegrates and you have nothing) pull the brakes and look at everything, you should be able to feel any play in the bearing also

when I first did the wheel hubs, I had to move my car to get another car out, and the axel nuts were not torqued (just hand threaded)...upon breaking i got this very noticable click click click almost a crunching sound...i thaught ...better not drive this until the hubs are torqued. I torqued them and the noise went away...now one month later the same noise returned, but now the hubs are cranked to 120 ft/lb and i get a noticable whirling from the wheels. I personally think i toasted a cheap 'made in china' bearing...but I dont know

Have you checked the wires going to the hub? They're bad for getting up against the axle shaft. That could possibly be your ABS issue. The clicking would be something in the brakes....might want to take them off.

It's possible to put the front on jackstands, set the park brake and take the wheels off. Then put it in gear to see if it does it then. Have someone man the brakes while you look and listen for the source of the noise.

brakes are not suspect...they were changed in February, rotors are true...and even if they weren't the noise i am describing could not be made by brakes...its like a click click click that slows with the speed of the wheel almost sounds like crunching...this was the same noise I got when i moved my car with the axel nuts not torqued down a month ago. I also remember ford sending a letter a few years ago about my dads truck regarding "clicking while braking" and the tsb was essentially 'misaligned bearing, have dealer replace'...I also get a launch 'click' when i change directions (so if im moving foreward, stop and put it in reverse...when i hit the gas a little hard i hear a loud click from the wheel...and the same is true going from reverse to drive) CV axels seem ok, they dont make any noise when turning sharp in either direction foreword or reverse. Another dumb mistake I think I made was greasing the threads on the axle...mehanic told me thats a ..should have used loctite!

driving at all with the nut lose can cause some damage, cheap pads will make a clicking noise just like a bearing as they don't fit correctly (have fixed that many times) never dismiss a suggestion because it hasn't been long since something was replaced, you have to pull the brakes to get the hub off anyway, and if the bearing is bad it will have some play in it

thanks for the input....


so does 118 ft/lb on a 98' intrigue axel/hub nut sound right? the book im getting this torque number from also says 118 for the 97-98 grand prix...it just seems so low compared so most vehicles..most cars are 150+ and sometimes well over 200 ft/lb

these hubs came with no torque spec of their own, so I am just falling back on manufacturers specs.

most I have done are in the 120 ft lb range