wheel bearing or ball joint, maybe???

i should have thought of looking for a forum like this a long time ago!!!!!

as most of you can relate, im trying not to have to take my car into the shop for every little thing, so im trying to tackle things on my own that are not out of reach!!!! i am not car inclined by any means, but know enough to not be ignorant!!! :)

I have a 2002 chevy s10 and have a strange noise that has recently popped up. im gonna try and explain this the best that i can. ok, lets say you have a clump of mud on your tire, and when you drive it makes a sound like there is something on the tire and you can hear it upon every rotation of the tire. now, there is nothing on my tire but it definetley sounds like something is wrong. my front end doesn't bounce around but it surley isn't a smooth riding sound. rather noisy.

i know im not explaining this correctly but maybe you can answer these two questions:

what are some symptoms that your ball joint is going or gone??
what are the symptoms that your wheel bearing is going or gone?

hopefully you can help me out, cause i dont wanna take my truck in if i dont have too!!!

Wheel bearing maybe or tire. Look for some kind of tread seperation or maybe a cracked rim. Switch tire to a different wheel and see if the noise moves.

thanks taillight,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i will try that. now heres another question. how difficult is it to change a wheel bearing???? i remember my dad doing it along time ago and it was messy (packing with grease) but the whole process is fuzzy to me.

any help on that?

another question.

i was browsing around on here at some other threads for wheel bearing replacement.

is it wise to replace both sides if this is the wheel bearing that is causing this noise? or do you only do one side as needed? do you replace the bearing or the whole hub??

if i decide to do it myself, what am i looking at cost wise? :2cents:

now when i do turn it does make a light grinding noise, nothing bad though. so i definetley know the bearing is bad, i was just hoping this also leads to the tire making that noise while driving straight (no turns). it is getting loud but nothing annoying as of yet.

@ wheel or 4 wheel drive ?

sorry bout that,,,,,,,,,,,,heres everything

2002 chevy s-10, 4.3-liter Vortec V6, 3-door, 2 WD, 5 speed manual transmission

On 2 wheel it is easy to replace the wheel bearing. 3 bolts.

taillight

is it wise to change out the one thats bad only or doing both sides?

thank you for your help

it would be rec. to do both bearings on the one side.

inafog,

thanks for the feedback, let me reword that. when i said both sides i meant drivers side as well as passenger side bearings. i believe the bearinga are also referred to as inner and outer, am i right? if thats the case, i intend to replace both but do i need to do the other side of the car????

Hello, IMO yes do both sides of the truck. Even if its just one side that is bad now. The other side will have the same amount of wear on it and you might end up doing the other side next month or so. And there is no question as to wether you did the correct side or not. Doesnt cost much and its just one less thing to worry about.

yes i agree if your keeping truck do both sides