Posted by Dave Spencer on July 29, 2002 at 10:53:34 from 65.115.221.98
I made the drive to my father's house this weekend. Most of it is rural two-lane. About 200 miles round-trip. I started to feel a very slight wobble in the front end as I got closer to the pizza place we had agreed to meet at. I QUICKLY inspected all four tires and didn't see anything obvious. It felt better when we left a little over an hour later. By the time we made it to his house (about 20 miles), it was getting worse.
I did a little more investigating and discovered the right front wheel bearing was a little sloppy. I quickly packed it and tightened everything back up. I was very pleased with my quick repair and pointed out how handy the factory tool kit is.
Two hours later, I set off for home. Again, not too bad. Just a slight wobble. I made it about 40 miles and it started to get too bad to drive. I pulled over and inspected the right front. Everything looked fine so I started back around the car clockwise. Right rear? OK. Left rear? OK. Left front? Too hot to touch. The tread had separated and the tire had a knot about the size of a football on it. Changed the tire and completed the trip without any more trouble. I'm sure it would have blown out if I had gone another mile.
What have I learned? I completely overlooked the symptoms. I had noted a slight burning rubber smell before I got to the pizza place. Once I found the loose bearing, I stopped looking for anything else. The slight burning rubber smell, the wobble, and the reduction of the wobble after it cooled down should have had me looking closer at tires from the start.