I'm not sure how this would work on a heavier vehicle such as the van.
When I was at Skip Barber, we put our knee against the outer sidewall
of the tire, our hands against the inner sidewall and rocked back and
forth on our toes.
If the wheel bearing was good, there would be no abrupt movement, just
the normal flex of the tire sidewall.

Sudhir

On 11/30/06, John Graham <theklube@gmail.com> wrote:
> My experience with front wheel bearings is that if you jack up one side of
> the front end and then spin the tire, if your bearings are good, you'll hear
> no sound other than the shhhhhh of the brake pads.  If your wheel bearings
> are wearing, then you would hear a rumble noise that's caused by the fact
> that the bearings are worn and have some wiggle room as the attempt to
> smoothly rotate the tire about the axle shaft.
>
> It is possible to have just one side go bad, but generally if one side is
> wearing, the other isn't far behind.  If you have to change them, do both
> sides.
>
> Don't know what your experience with spinning the front wheels is, but it
> would be normal (or at least not necessarily related to the wheel bearings)
> if the drag on on the brake rotors was not the same all the way around.
>
> Good Luck
>
> John Graham
> 88 Westy Charlotte, NC
>
> On 11/30/06, Mark Brush <mbrush@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Hi - Does anyone know of a good test to determine if a wheel bearing needs
> > replacement?  I hear the rumbling when I drive, but I'm not sure if it's
> > tranny noise, or wheel bearings.  Also, what tool(s) do I need to do the
> > replacement myself?
> >
> > Thanks for you help as always!
> >
> > Mark B.
> > 1990 2.1 Westy
> >
>
>
>
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