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All About Wheel Bearings and Hub Kits!

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 Wheel bearing and hub on white background

Hey and thanks for stopping by! :)

This is probably one of the most common car parts to replace as it's a wear-and-tear product - At some point a car will always need patching up with a brand spanking new hub assembly or wheel hub unit.

If you’re not sure if you need a wheel bearing or it’s killing-your-ears obvious, we’re here to help you buy correctly, how to remove a wheel bearing and to show you the differences between different wheel hubs.

Before we start, we’d like to share with you two YouTube videos to feast your eyes on! 

 
**Disclaimer - The second guy is what you call….eccentric to put it politely!**

The first YouTube video is very handy in diagnosing when your wheel bearing has failed, take a look! -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2nMCRaCspo

The second YouTube video covers how to remove the brake discs, brake pads and how you install it :) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbsUT

Please note that not all wheel bearings are ball bearings - the most common bearings are solid wheel bearings that are housed in a hub :) His example shows a set of steel balls that show signs of damage.

Have you turned your steering wheel and heard the unmistakable "whirring" noise howl at you that sounds like your partner whining?

Bearings wear over time, and as they start to wear out, play in the wheel develops in the bearing. This play, as well as dust, dirt, and debris sneaks its way inside which ends up damaging the internal bearing surfaces such as the outer ring.

Once the wheel bearing shows damage, this is when you really need to take action and buy a replacement wheel bearing before it self destructs on you!

While we wish it did, turning up the radio to blur out the sound doesn’t work any miracles I’m afraid.

When you have worked out whether it's the front wheel or rear wheel that's causing you problems, it's time to look online and buy the correct spare parts! - https://www.energizedcustoms.co.uk/wheel-bearings/complete-wheel-bearing-kits.html

The first thing you need to do is get your log book ready to check your vehicle details such as the make, model and year of your car. If you haven’t got a log book, you can use this helpful registration plate checker here! - https://www.caranalytics.co.uk/

Our product titles give you information about what years it will fit, for example - https://www.energizedcustoms.co.uk/toyota-yaris-1999-2006-rear-hub-wheel-bearing-kit-inc-abs-sensor.html

This is a listing for a rear wheel hub bearing, that includes the hub. A hub is what the bearing sits in to.

Many of our wheel bearings include the hub which is already attached.

The listing above tells you that the wheel bearing will fit vehicles from 1999-2006, however, be careful if you have a vehicle that is either of the years listed! You could have what’s called a pre-facelift or face-lift model, where you could have a pre 1999 model or face-lift 2006 onward model. 

For example, we list the ‘face-lift’ wheel bearing for the Toyota Yaris - https://www.energizedcustoms.co.uk/toyota-yaris-2005-2015-rear-hub-wheel-bearing-kit-inc-abs-sensor.html

All of our car spares show you in the picture what you will receive :) A lot of our hub bearings include nuts, cir-clips and fitting bolts. 

What is ABS?

ABS warning light on car dash

ABS stands for anti-lock braking system. The anti-lock feature prevents wheels from locking up when you brake. If your ABS light comes on and stays on, it means there’s an issue causing this function to not work correctly. 

This can happen for a few reasons, such as a blown fuse, the speed sensor is damaged or covered in dirt, you’ve got a broken ABS wire or the ABS ring has got damaged due to wear and tear.

If you’re not sure if you’ve got ABS, an easy way to check is to turn the ignition on and check your dash - It will either flash up ABS for a few seconds or not :) This will help you choose whether you need an ABS wheel bearing or not.

Will the bearing fit either side of the car?

If our listing says ‘front’ or ‘rear’ and doesn’t specify whether it’s for left or right, then it will fit either side of the drive axle :) Only a very select few wheel bearings are “handed”, meaning they’ll only fit a specific side. We will specify in our listing if it only fits the right or left of the car.

Please note - When we say right, we refer to the drivers side and vice versa!

Does it matter if I have rear discs or rear drum brakes?

Only in some cases. Please make sure you read our listing title because we will tell you whether it’s for drum or disc brakes, as well as how many studs your wheels must have in order for it to fit. Here’s an example - https://www.energizedcustoms.co.uk/vauxhall-corsa-d-2006-2015-rear-hub-wheel-bearing-kit-4-stud-drum-brakes.html

To break it down, this vehicle must be a Corsa D, to fit years 2006-2015, for the rear of the vehicle and you must have 4 studs on your wheels and drum brakes. Studs are how many bolts hold your wheel and wheel bearing on the axle - You’ll usually only have an option of 4 or 5 :)

If our listing doesn’t specify drum or disc brakes, then you’re good to go regardless!

Here at Energized Customs we want you to be confident in buying, so please make sure that you read our product information on the listing carefully. We provide you with details to check before you add to basket, for example -

Product specifications on the wesbite

We will let you know in this section whether there is extra information you need to know, such as if a bearing has a certain inner diameter size that you need to check or what models are excluded.

The original part number we provide is one of the best ways to check that a wheel bearing will fit - You can check this either by calling a main dealer for access to the part number or by checking the wheel bearing itself :)

If you are ever unsure, please don't hesitate in getting in touch with us! We are always here to help you every step of the way. You can contact us on our contact form page or via our email address - helpme@energizedcustoms.co.uk.

 

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