you have some idea which bearing is going bad by jacking up each wheel and spining it and try to shake the tire, a worn out wheel bearing the tire will shake ! as for replacing all the bearing, no you just have to replace the ones that,s bad ! there,s no use of replacing the other bearing as long as they are tight and don,t shake ! it is a safety issue because if the bearing would happen to go out then it can lock up the front or back in and throw you off the road !

#1. Jack the wheel off the ground.

#2. Squeeze the brake pads together to press the caliper piston back inside the caliper using a C-clamp or Jorgenson slide bar from Sears.

#3. Grab the wheel at the 12 and six position and wiggle to see if there is *any movement. If there is any movement a trusted private mechanic should replace the wheel bearing. If they are loose the wheel could fly off the car.

It will get a bit worse over time, so the corner will become more obvious. a little screeching is not too terrible, but vibrations mean it is getting serious. A vibrating tire can wear in crazy ways, causing you to need a tire or two as well.

You need to replace only the one that is bad. These things do not have a definite drop-dead lifetime, and the other side could go to 200k, you never know. This is a pretty cheap repair. Shop around and get it done before you have more to worry about.

Have someone film you drive down the highway. Will be exciting when the wheel flies off. Might fly across the road and take some other car out. Could kill them, then you have that to think about instead of the cost of a wheel bearing.

1. If you asking this question then no, you can not do it yourself.

2. no

3. consequence is your wheel will fall off then rip your brake line then smash your lower A-arm into the ground.

I have a 2000 Subaru Outback. Two different shops have told me I have a bad wheel bearing.

A tire shop told me its the right rear bearing and wanted to replace both rear bearings (said they had to be done in pairs).

The dealership told me it was the right front bearing but that I could just get the one bad one replaced (no need to replace the other front bearing).

I can hear the howling sound from the right side of the car on the freeway so I know something is wrong, but not sure if its the front or back wheel

So, I have 3 questions:

1. Is there a simple way to diagnose which bearing is bad? I plan to have my regular mechanic check it at my next oil change but if there's something simple I can do myself I'll try it.

2. Do the bearings have to be replaced in pairs (both front or both rear)?

3. What would be the consequences if I just ignore it and keep driving? Its an old car with many other issues so I don't want to pour tons of money into it. Is it a safety issue?