How Much To Repair Wheel Hub In A Malibu

Premature bicycle bearing failure is ane of the most common problems Chevy Malibu owners feel. This ordinarily happens on newer Malibus with at least 44,000 miles.

If you ignore the problem too long, the wheel could fall off and cause some serious damage to your machine. Who would've thought a small part could lead to such big problems?

A shop will charge yous about $400 to diagnose and repair a faulty wheel bearing, only you can easily do it at home for a fraction of the toll. Malibu hubs and bearings (Role No. 13589507) normally go for about $200 (or $115 on our site).

Wheel bearing

Here, you can encounter where the wheel bearings go on a wheel. Photograph credit: Hannan Ahmed

Mutual Causes of Cycle Bearing Failure

Hard affect on a pothole, big debris on the road, or a curb
Misaligned tires and wheels
Worn or cleaved suspension components
Wet or droppings coming in through broken seals
Normal long-term wearable and tear

Symptoms to Wait Out For

It's hard to catch a declining wheel begetting early on as the symptoms don't start cropping up until the wheel bearing damage becomes moderate to severe. We suggest testing your wheels as shortly as you experience 1 or more of the following symptoms:

Noise coming from ane of the wheels
- Metal-on-metallic grinding
- Knocking while turning
- Snapping, crackling, or popping while making abrupt turns
- Humming, rumbling, or growling while making slight turns at a moderate speed
Wobbling and/or vibrating sensation on the steering bicycle
Uneven vesture on your tires

Diagnosing Wheel Bearing Failure in 3 Steps

Shops ordinarily use fancy equipment to locate faulty cycle bearings. The adept news is that there's a much simpler method you can enlist right in your garage. The method can exist summed up in 3 easy steps:

Have your Malibu out for a spin. Take hold of a friend and have him bulldoze the Malibu with you sitting in the passenger seat. Ask him to bulldoze at a low speed, preferably 10-xx mph, and heed to the grinding noise carefully to pinpoint which bike it's coming from. You can also have him brake and see if the automobile pulls to the side. If information technology does, that side is where the failed wheel bearing is.
Remove the tire and wheel. Bring your Malibu back habitation, lift it, and so remove the tire and wheel where the broken begetting is. If you couldn't locate the problem surface area while driving, you'll accept to test each wheel until y'all find it.
Rock the hub. With i hand on the top part and some other hand on the bottom part, gently rock the hub. If the hub moves, then it'southward non stable and a faulty bearing is likely the culprit.

Bonus step: Keep in mind that some of the causes of bicycle bearing failure may also damage other parts. So information technology tin't hurt to perform a quick check on the following parts to see if they need to be replaced too:

Begetting hub
Tie rods (Part No. 13286686)
Brawl joints (Office No. 13333929)
Struts
Chassis components
Suspension components

Replacing the Wheel Bearing

We have good news for you: wheel bearings are pretty like shooting fish in a barrel to supervene upon with the right tools. In that location are two different types of bearings yous can use: bolt-in or pressed-in. The latter is more common, but information technology's a little more complicated to install.

Here's a groovy video tutorial on replacing a front wheel bearing. If you're looking for step-by-step instructions, GMB.net offers a step-by-step guide here.