I think my pass. side rear wheel bearing is bad. I know how to replace it just fine since I did the other side not too long ago. My question is how do I know it is bad? The other side madea roarish noise and that's how I knew it was bad. But the other side seems to be making a rubbing noise like a tire is rubbing something but I have checked EVERYTHING and I know it is not in contact with anything other than the road. I did hit a curb not long ago sliding around in the snow and I had the noise immediately after that. I didn't WHAM into the curb butI didn'ttap it either. The tire looks to be perfectly aligned with the road and after driving fast it is not hot on either side. When I spin that wheel up in the air, I do hear bearing noise.

Basically i'm wondering if a $50 dollar hub bearing assy. will fix this.

 

Have you ruled out the possibility that the noise may be coming from the brakes?

 

If the bearing is noisy with the wheel up in the air, replace it. It only gets worse with the weight of the car on it. Take the brake drum off first and spin just the hub to be sure it is the bearing and not the brakes. You may be hearing a different sound in the driver's seat because it is on the other side of the car.

 

If it's making noise, and you try spinning the wheel without the drum brake on it - you might even 'feel' the bad bearings. That's how bad the right-rear bearing was on mine a few months back.

Good luck.

 

dito... pull the drum and slap the wheel; back on and spin it...