Hey everyone. This is a complex problem with the wheel bearings and the shop that replaced them. Please read the whole thing before commenting. I had both front wheel bearings replaced March 2010. About 2 weeks ago, I was told that the left front wheel bearing is bad and the ABS light went on (C0225) after a 4x4 shop replaced the left front differential seal. They said that the axle nuts were near-impossible to remove (over torqued). I called the shop that installed them originally and they told me that the parts shop that sold them the bearing will warranty it (even if it was a couple weeks beyond the warranty period), but I would still have to pay for the labor. I made an appointment and went to it today. I told them the left front wheel bearing needs replacement and the ABS light is on because of it. About an hour and a half later, I get the truck back. The ABS light is still on. I go back into the shop and ask them what happened. They said it should go off in a couple days and they could not clear the code with the computer. I knew they were pulling my leg since it would go off if the bearing was replaced since the ABS module runs it's self check on it when the key is turned on (power on self test (POST)- I am an IT student). I drove to Advance and borrowed their ABS scanner. I got the C0225 (Left front wheel speed sensor-OPEN) and also could not clear it several times. I then checked the wiring and discovered that it wasn't touched and the connections were fine (clean, no broken pins, etc). I looked behind the wheel to find a bit of rust on the wheel bearing where the CV Axle was attached to it. I then thought "Oh s***". I went over to the passenger side...... AND THE WIRING, CONNECTOR AND WHEEL BEARING WERE ALL NEW. They replaced the PASSENGER SIDE wheel bearing and I said specifically to replace the driver side bearing. The paperwork specifically said "LF" and the shop said LEFT FRONT when I called them and told them that they put it on the wrong side. They talked to the mechanic and said that the mechanic said that the PASSENGER SIDE bearing had an inch of play in it. I don't know how that is possible considering that I checked it myself and there was no play or noise and the driver side had noise AND a bit of play (not much). The shop said they will call me back tomorrow since the manager left for the day. But now I have a bigger problem. Wednesday is the only free day of the week since I am taking 21.5 credits at college. I have to drive it 250 miles tomorrow night and possibly another 100 for the week beyond that. If the bearing is making noise and has a hair of play in it, is it safe to drive? Is there any chance of the wheel coming off?

Also I already know to go to a different shop, but should I have the DRIVER side bearing replaced elsewhere? I just do not know what to say. I said "LEFT FRONT" or "DRIVER SIDE FRONT" and they put it on the wrong side. I cannot believe this.

 

your wheel will not come off due to the outer cv joint is connected to the bearing rotor via spline and monster nut but you may fry the bearing to catastrophic ends and causing more damage. can you rent a car for several days with unlimited mileage?

 

The CV shaft will not prevent the wheel bearing from separating if it were to fail under stress. It could keep the wheel attached to the truck, but the wheel still would not be effective at controlling the vehicle. And more damage will most certainly occur if the wheel bearing were to be pushed to separation. Brakes, CV shaft, steering knuckle, etc can all be damaged if it were to be allowed to go too far.

If it is just making some noise now, then you can probably drive it, albeit gingerly, until next week.

 

It is just making noise with a tiny bit of play (like a hair. I have to concentrate in order to feel it if I jack the wheel up). I called the shop today and the mechanic lied to the manager and said the right one was worse than the left one and the mechanic didn't even read the work order. The manager wanted to put the passenger side bearing that came off the car and put it on the left. Now, why would they do that if they claim the right one was worse? Makes no sense. I said no thanks. When the shop that originally discovered it about two weeks ago after the axle seal replacement, it was on the lift in 4WD (they suspected a wheel bearing problem and did a test driving all 4 wheels off the ground on the lift in 4WD and heard it). That is how they found it. The ABS light was the other clue since it was the left bearing code after they only torqued it to factory specs. They said the tone ring was damaged from overtorquing.

Also, it won't have to wait until next week. I found another, more honest shop that I have had good experience with (in town here so I don't have to travel) and they fit me in this Saturday 8am. I will also ask them to retorque the axle nuts to the appropriate torque at that time to prevent this from happening next year. If the passenger side bearing was overtorqued yesterday, would it be too late to back it off on Saturday before damage is done? I bought a wheel bearing from the same store that the other shop was dealing with the warranty issue with to ensure they match. I will not say the whole brand name publicly, but it begins with a "C".

 

The customer is always right. You will need to go the manager and explain (In a very mature and polite manner) what has happened and what you want done. Explain the conflict in the story (Mechanic says right is bad but it can be re-installed?) They are only going to loose the cost of a bearing and probably one hour of labor. OR you can talk to people and they run the risk of their reputation being tarnished from an unhappy customer. Tell them what you want. GOOD LUCK!

 

This is prime reason I try to do all repairs myself. If you can do a brake job then you can surely do a wheel bearing. Thats why I bought the shop manual from in the owners manaul from North American Publishing (the authentic GM shop manual). It has all the info on any repair you will ever need. Plus it saves all the hassle of trying to get someone else to do the job right or in your case even do the right job at all.

 

I already tried dealing with the manager/owner. I could not be more polite or mature about this situation (I am always polite. I don't raise my voice to them and treat them with respect even if I expect none in return) and she gave me a big attitude and basically said there is nothing they will do but install what was the right bearing (what they claimed is bad) onto the left wheel and the other bearing cannot be warranted now because the parts guy already extended the warranty on the other one (although for a couple weeks). She used the "I wasn't there", "mechanic didn't read the work order and apologized", "mechanic said the right one was bad" excuses with an attitude. Now, if they say it is bad, then why would I do that anyway since it would jeopardize safety? Also they are responsible for both of them going bad anyway since they overtorqued the axle nuts last year (I did not say that since they agreed to talk to the parts guy to cover it and he covered the part), so I am not going to go back and have this happen again or even have them cause additional trouble or even damage the truck. They already lost me as a customer. That will not change, but I am not going to start with the BBB or the DMV or legal action since I don't want to cause more trouble since it is a small town and they at least get the cost of the part covered. This is the latest and most severe of problems with their work, starting with wheel weights on 2 or 3/4 wheels falling off within a couple weeks of new tires being installed, just 2 months after those wheel bearings were put in. The other problem was a misrouted rear brake hose that hit the spare tire when I put it back in (I took it out before the replacement to make their life easier) and I had to drive it back there. This college town and the ones around it have many good repair shops. In fact, there are also 3 auto parts stores within a few hundred yards of each other in this town, 2 of them nearly right across the street.

I cannot do most repairs myself. I go to college and I live off campus in an apartment. I do not have the tools or the experience to do more complicated repairs. Since there are hundreds of these S-10s and Blazers in this town (some of them lifted), repairs are easy to get and cheap in this town and most of the shops are very honest. I especially do not try to make repairs on anything that if I mess it up, it will disable the car or cause an accident (brakes, suspension, steering, etc). I do my own oil changes and electrical stuff (This is a nerd truck with LEDs, computer, other equipment, etc) and even most of a tune up, saving me alot of money since all the shop had to do was the wires and #3 plug. Next time the transmission needs the fluid changed, I can do that myself since it has a deep pan with a drain plug and only have the filter changed every few fluid changes, saving more money since the pan won't have to be dropped as often.

 

Bearing replaced. Worked out well. No more bearing noise and the ABS light is out. The brake is a bit quieter also. I saved the part and it had a hair of play, but it was grinding as I turned it. Hard to believe that is magnified as much as it was to cause the whole inside of the car to be noisy.