Symptom | Possible cause | Remedy |
Vehicle pulls to one side | Scoring of driveshaft ball joint Wear, rattle or scoring of wheel bearing Defective front suspension and steering | Replace Replace Adjust or replace |
Vibration | Wear, damage or bending of driveshaft Driveshaft rattle and worn hub splines Wear, rattle or scratching of wheel bearing | Replace Replace Replace |
Shimmy | Improper wheel balance Bent wheel Defective front suspension and steering | Adjust or replace Replace Adjust or replace |
Excessive noise | Wear, damage or bending of driveshaft Driveshaft rattle and worn hub splines Driveshaft rattle and worn side gear splines Wear, rattle or galling of wheel bearing Loose hub nut Defective front suspension and steering | Replace Replace Replace Replace Adjust or replace Adjust or replace |
Bent cage | Cage damaged by improper handling or tool usage | Replace bearing |
Galling | Metal smears on roller end due to overheating, incorrect lubricant or overloading | Replace bearing Check seals, check for proper lubrication |
Cracked inner race | Race cracked due to improper fit, cocking or poor bearing seats | Replace bearing |
Etching | Bearing surfaces appear gray or grayish black in color accompanied by material etched away usually at roller spacing | Replace bearing Check seals, check for proper lubrication |
Brinelling | Surface indentations on race surface caused by rollers being under impact loading or vibration while the bearing is not rotating | Replace bearing |
Heat discoloration | Heat discoloration is dark blue resulting from overload or no lubricant (Yellow or brown color is normal) | Replace bearing Check seals and other parts |
Fatigue spalling | Flaking of surface metal resulting from fatigue | Replace bearing Clean all related parts |
