Rear wheel bearing noise - caused by bent rim?

[jtbeemer]

I had my 98 in for service for a blown clutch a little over a month ago. $1500 and a bunch of stuff later (also fixed front main seal and driveshaft bearing, oil change, new horn) I have a noise coming from the right rear. The mechanic that fixed it rotated my tires, as I needed a state inspection, and put a wheel he says is bent in that right rear position.

The noise I'm hearing (I'm assuming it the bearing) happens when I slow to sub 70mph and goes away when I slow to a crawl and then speed up again. Could putting that bent wheel have caused the bearing to fail? I ask because I sort of want this guy to cut me a deal on fixing the bearing. I didn't ask him to rotate the tires but took his advice because the ones on the front have better winter weather tires (Kumho's on the rear now, Continentals in front). After the rotation the snow handling was a lot better. So I'm not totally pissed.

If the bent wheel did cause the problem, how hard is it to find a replacement wheel? Obviously on an 11 year old car I don't care if I get a used wheel.

Thanks in advance.

[L84THSKY]

I have had both situations you are having, bend rim and bad bearing. Where ever you put the bent rim, you will notice it. I moved the rim to the rear for less noise. The rim won't cause the bearing to fail, but if the bearing is already bad, it could make the overall noise sound worse.

Replacing the rear bearings isn't cheap
Let me know what the quote is, and I can see what I paid.

Originally Posted by jtbeemer

I had my 98 in for service for a blown clutch a little over a month ago. $1500 and a bunch of stuff later (also fixed front main seal and driveshaft bearing, oil change, new horn) I have a noise coming from the right rear. The mechanic that fixed it rotated my tires, as I needed a state inspection, and put a wheel he says is bent in that right rear position.

The noise I'm hearing (I'm assuming it the bearing) happens when I slow to sub 70mph and goes away when I slow to a crawl and then speed up again. Could putting that bent wheel have caused the bearing to fail? I ask because I sort of want this guy to cut me a deal on fixing the bearing. I didn't ask him to rotate the tires but took his advice because the ones on the front have better winter weather tires (Kumho's on the rear now, Continentals in front). After the rotation the snow handling was a lot better. So I'm not totally pissed.

If the bent wheel did cause the problem, how hard is it to find a replacement wheel? Obviously on an 11 year old car I don't care if I get a used wheel.

Thanks in advance.

[jtbeemer]

If I'm hearing an intermittent noise now, is this something I need to get fixed ASAP? I'm guessing if it were to seize that would cause many problems.

I see another sleepless week ahead.