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That older guy at the Ford dealership lot taught me something about wheel bearings
He just grabbed the wheel at 10 and 2 and gave it a hard shake, said if there's any play you'll feel it instantly, and sure enough I found a bad bearing on a 2015 F-150 in under 30 seconds. Has anyone else ever been shown a quick test like that that totally changed how you check something?
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harper91438m ago
Man I never thought about checking it that way, but that curb trick is actually smart. Makes me wonder how many bad driveshaft parts I've overlooked just because I was too focused on the usual stuff like bushings and mounts.
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felix41410h ago
Didn't an old timer show you how to check a u-joint by putting the truck in gear and listening for a clunk? That one blew my mind because I'd been crawling under trucks for years prying on driveshafts like a caveman. My uncle had this 1987 F-250 with a noisy rear end, and he just backed it up against the curb, put it in drive, and listened to the thump. Turns out the whole carrier bearing was shot, and I would've never thought to check it that way. Now I can't help but grab any truck wheel I see parked in a lot and give it a shake, people probably think I'm nuts.
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Little bit of a correction there, checking u-joints by putting it in gear and listening is actually more of a pinion bearing or carrier bearing test, not a u-joint thing. U-joints you can feel by grabbing the driveshaft and trying to twist it, or looking for play at the cross. The old trick with the truck in gear and a curb is solid for finding bad carrier bearings or pinion noise for sure, but it won't tell you much about a u-joint that's about to let go (if that makes sense). Grabbing wheels in parking lots is a whole different ballgame too, that's checking for wheel bearing play or tie rod ends, not really driveline stuff. Still, your uncle's method is gold for diagnosing that specific thump, and its way better than laying on your back in a puddle of oil like we all used to do.
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