Have you ever noticed that your wheel bearing noise stops when turning right? To know why this happens, take a look at the following sections.
If the weight of your car concentrates on any one side, then you will hear a sound. It is usually the wheel-bearing noise.
Often, you will notice that the wheel bearing noise stops when turning right. Why does this happen? As a new car owner, you might have this question. Continue reading to find out more about wheel bearing sounds and how you can prevent them.
Why Does My Car Make Noise When I Turn Left but Not Right?
A car that makes a noise while turning most probably has worn-out wheel bearings. You might hear a noise every time you turn your vehicle to the left. It usually happens when the right wheel’s bearings are damaged and need replacing.
What Are Wheel Bearings?
Your car’s wheels can spin freely and adequately because of the wheel bearings. These are ball bearings present within a wheel. Now, with time, like every other automobile part, the bearings suffer wear and tear. While they are suitable for long-term, rough use, constant exposure to excess water and heat can damage the wheel bearings.
Usually, wheel bearings last for about 100,000 miles. Apart from wear and tear, accidents can affect wheel bearings. If you take your car in for frequent inspection and greasing of wheel bearings, you are less likely to hear a noise while turning.
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Right Tire Wheel Bearings
While turning left, the car’s weight loads on the right wheel. The damaged wheel bearings cannot bear the weight, and so you hear the noises. However, when you turn the car right, the right wheel is no longer loaded, so the noises stop.
What does it mean when you hear the noise only when you turn the car left? It usually means that the right wheel ball bearings need to be checked and replaced.
How Can You Test Your Wheel Bearings?
You can test your car by changing directions and turning right. When you notice muffled noises, have a mechanic check the left wheel bearing. The left wheel may have broken seals that are causing this issue.
If you find out that there are broken seals, replace them immediately. Neglecting wheel bearing noises and broken seals can lead to damage to the drive axle. It will then become too expensive to fix and quite dangerous, as well. The wheel might come off ultimately while you are driving.
Do Wheel Bearing Noises Stop Turn?
Wheel bearing noises may not affect turning in some cases. However, they are warning signs that there is something wrong with your wheels. If the wheel bearings are damaged, you will hear low noises while swaying your car.
If the sounds become loud, then it is better to stop taking turns. Ask your mechanic to do a thorough inspection before you take your car out for a spin.
But is there any time when the wheel bearing noises can stop turning? Unfortunately, yes. If you feel that your steering wheel is vibrating in addition to the wheel-bearing noises, you should stop at once.
The steering might even wobble while you’re driving. Such situations are unsafe and can cause accidents. Immediately take your car to a service station and check if you need to replace the wheel bearings.
Which Wheel Bearing Is Bad Turning Right?
If you hear the wheel bearing noise when turning right, the left wheel bearing is bad. Too much rough use without maintenance services might also break it. However, you may find it difficult to distinguish the noise from the usual noises your car makes and the din of traffic.
So how do you know if the left wheel bearing is bad? Here are a couple of noises that you might hear while turning right and are signs of a bad wheel bearing.
Snapping Sounds
Snapping or clicking sounds may occur when your wheel bearings have suffered a lot of wear and tear. However, if the sounds are too loud, there might be a problem with the CV joint of your car.
To understand what the sounds indicate, you should consider how long it has been since the last routine check. Usually, a lack of proper maintenance can lead to worn-out ball bearings.
On the other hand, an accident or significant force can damage the CV joint. So check the degree of wear and tear of wheel bearings before inspecting the CV joint.
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Growling Sounds
If you hear growling sounds, it is usually due to a fault in the wheel bearings. But, these sounds can occur when there is damage to the drivetrain or wear and tear of tires. So how do you distinguish between the causes?
Drive straight for a certain period and check if you can hear the growling sounds. You might hear low humming sounds first. These sounds will increase to growling noises when you take a turn. When this happens, the cause is likely to be the wheel bearings.
Which Wheel Bearing Is Bad Turning Left?
When you are taking a left turn, you might hear a clicking or humming noise. The noise is possibly an indicator of some trouble with the wheel bearing. If the sound occurs when your car turns left, the issue is with the right wheel bearing.
Worn-out wheel bearings tend to affect the steering. When you turn left, almost the entire weight of the car shifts to the right wheel, and this loading of the right wheel will cause a clicking noise.
To understand which wheel bearing is damaged, slow down your car and gently sway towards one side. If you hear muffled sounds when you swing left, the right wheel will likely have a broken bearing.
The sound will increase when you accelerate. So, pick up the speed and turn left again. If you notice a humming or growling noise, then you should have the right bearing replaced immediately.
Wrap Up
If you maintain your car regularly, you don’t need to worry about faulty wheel bearings. But, if you do hear low sounds, have your vehicle checked. It will save you a lot of time and money! If you’ve dealt with wheel bearing sounds before, write in the comments below and share this article with others who might have the same problem.
