Wheel Bearings in Omaha, NE
Your wheel bearings may be something to which you’ve never given a thought while driving around Omaha NE. Wheel bearings are what enable your wheels to spin freely. Since they bear the entire weight of the vehicle, they have to be tough.Wheel bearings can last well over 100,000 miles. They do wear out though and must eventually be replaced.

You might hear a groaning sound from your wheels. The sound might disappear at some speeds and reappear at others. Your Omaha NE service technician at Westgate High-Tech Auto Care can quickly tell if your bearings are bad by raising the vehicle and wiggling the wheel. When you grasp the top and bottom of the tire, it shouldn’t move along the vertical axis.

Omaha NE Wheel BearingsMany vehicles these days have wheel bearing assemblies that cannot be serviced at Westgate High-Tech Auto Care. When the bearings go bad, we simply replace the entire wheel bearing assembly.

For those vehicles with wheel bearings that can be accessed, we can do some preventive maintenance. You may have heard the phrase ‘pack the bearings‘. With this procedure we remove the bearings, carefully clean them and inspect for any imperfection or wear. If the bearings can be reused, we reinstall them and pack them with grease. If not, we put in new bearings. Check your owner’s manual or ask your Omaha NE service advisor at Westgate High-Tech Auto Care if your bearings can be serviced, and if so, when should it be done.

Now, taking care of bad bearings is extremely important. When bearings go bad, they generate tremendous amounts of heat – enough to lock up the wheel. That’s not a good thing at any speed. In some cases the wheel can even fall off. Either of these could cause a serious accident. So have your wheel bearings inspected if you suspect a problem and replace them right away if there is one.

Omaha Wheel Bearings FAQs

wheel bearings Omaha

Question:
I remember my dad having the shop “pack the bearings” on the family car. Is this something I need to have done?

Westgate High-Tech Auto Care Answer:
That’s a really good question. At one time, all wheel bearings were “serviceable” and needed to be taken care of from time to time. It’s a little trickier these days.

First off, the wheel bearings in your vehicle make sure your wheels rotate smoothly. As you can imagine, with all those revolutions per minute your wheels can generate a lot of heat. The bearings keep that heat down as much as possible. They’re packed in grease for lubrication. The term “packing the bearings” refers to putting fresh grease around the bearings.

On many modern vehicles, the wheel bearing assembly is sealed. These wheel bearings are not serviceable so there is no maintenance that can be performed on them. When the bearings wear, the entire assembly is replaced. Your understanding Westgate High-Tech Auto Care tech can perform a check of your bearings to make sure they are still functioning safely and he can also tell you if your bearings need service. If you hear strange noises from your wheels – which may come and go at different speeds – it’s vital to have your understanding tech review them.

Now wheel bearings on trailers are almost always serviceable. This means anything from a monster sized fifth-wheel camper to a little utility trailer. Boat trailers are especially susceptible because the hot wheel bearings are plunged into cold water when launching a boat into the lake. This temperature difference can draw water into the bearings. Have the bearings repacked at the end of the season to prevent corrosion.

It would be a good idea for Omaha trailer owners to have an automotive analysis on their trailer wheels every year or so – it’s kind of hard to hear when they are groaning.

Now, when wheel bearings fail, the wheel can seize up and even break off. Of course no Omaha auto owners want that to happen, so follow a regular inspection schedule – your understanding Westgate High-Tech Auto Care service professional can help.

Give us a call

Westgate High-Tech Auto Care
12300 West Center Road
Omaha, NE 68144
402.397.8144

At Westgate High-Tech Auto Care in Omaha NE we install quality NAPA replacement parts. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit Website