2003 mazda protege front wheel hub assembly

#2003 mazda protege front wheel hub assembly install#

If one of the front wheel bearings begins to fail, the handling in your car will likely change. The handling will feel loose, as though the wheel isn’t fully attached, because that’s essentially what’s happening as the bearing wears out and can no longer support the wheel. This can also result in the car pulling to the left or to the right when you’re on a straight stretch. If one of your front wheel bearings starts to fade and die, then you’ll end up with one wheel that isn’t being used quite properly. That will lead to uneven wear on your front tires, with one looking more worn out than the other. It’s always a smart idea to pay attention to your tires.

Give them a visual inspection every now and again, so that you can spot excess wearing, bubbles, low tire pressure, or uneven wear and tear. It can help you spot a big issue, like a front wheel bearing failure. This is something that hopefully you already know: Your car shouldn’t make noises, beyond the engine noise and your stereo.Īny other noise should get your attention. Dying front wheel bearings can result in a whole range of noises, including groaning, grinding, scraping, and growling. What happens during a wheel bearing replacement Our certified mechanics will: Jack the car safely and inspect the wheel with the faulty bearing. Those noises will be coming directly from the front wheels. Replace the faulty bearing, if necessary. Torque the wheel to the correct pressure. So, if your front wheels are talking to you, listen to them.

Here’s something your steering wheel shouldn’t do: Shake. That issue could be a busted front wheel bearing. If the bearings aren’t supporting the wheels, the steering system might vibrate, leading to a steering wheel that’s as jittery as you after a third cup of coffee. If you ignore everything in this article, then here’s what you’ll end up with: Three wheels. Losing a wheel is well past the point of being a warning sign. And then the wheel will head off on a new journey.My daughter's 2003 Protege has had 3 LF wheel bearing replacements by 2 different mechanics since summer of 2019 and it appears to have failed again.įirst failure was June 2019, second was December 2019 and the last one was October 2020 (no posts here on that one).īut if you don’t pay attention to the warning signs, it’s exactly what will happen.Īs the front wheel bearings wear and tear, they’ll eventually disintegrate, leaving you with something that can’t support the wheel anymore. The first failure ( Video), the third and this one had a rumble sound that goes away on RH turns and gets a bit louder on LH turns. The second ( video) was a little different than the other three with a low pitched constant groan that didn't change when turning.

The first two were by the same mechanic, but he refused my calls when it failed again, so I chose another shop. Hearing the history, they changed the bearing and also the hub, but it's still failing again now, about 14 months later. Mechanic error seems unlikely given it's been two completely different shops.Īny insight as to why these are repeatedly failing? I do remember something about a debate about if there should be a seal or not, but I'm not finding it now. No seal listed on any of my paper work, but I can't say for certain it wasn't installed.

#2003 mazda protege front wheel hub assembly install#

I'm tempted to buy a complete steering knuckle from a scrap yard and install that, but I would really like to understand the root of the failure to prevent it.