What is a wheel bearing and why is it important?
- A wheel bearing is a circle of ball bearings secured in a ring called a 'race'. This simple yet ingenious design helps your wheels turn with the minimum of friction. They are found in cars, trucks and planes. In cars, wheel bearings rotate on the end of the axles and fit snugly into the wheel hub. The hub is a kind of cup-shaped component found in the centre of each wheel. Located on the hub are lug bolts which are used to hold the wheel in place.
Essential Wheel Bearing Info:
- Wheel bearings are either ball (pictured above) or tapered roller type. Front wheel bearing applications usually use an angular-type ball bearing because an angular-type ball bearing will accept greater thrust loads than a Conrad-type bearing. A tapered roller bearing will accept both a radial and a thrust load. Some rear axles will have a cartridge-type wheel bearing set containing either ball or tapered roller set.
