Wheel bearing diagnosis

[John Larson]

In MOST cases, loading the bad bearing makes any noise therefrom more
noticeable. Swerve left, a bad right bearing generally becomes noisier.
Not always, as the front bearings are double row and can most definitely
deceive you. Swerving from side to side on a straight smooth road can be
of great help pinpointing the problem, but raising the wheels off the
ground and carefully following up on the diagnosis before tearing into
the car remains the most important test. If the noise is pretty bad,
it'll be pretty obvious when you spin the wheel w/o a load on it. HTH,
John