If the front wheel bearings are bad……thunk, thunk, thunk just at low speeds, is there a chance of catastrophic failure; i.e. the wheel coming off?  Or is it a matter of increasing the damage to the front end parts as they wear further?

I have the same thing as John on the front right  of my van.

Thanks, Anthony
'89 Syncro GL (Hidalgo)

________________________________
 From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM 
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2014 12:55 PM
Subject: Re: Tell me about rear bearings
 

Rear wheel bearing life can be all over the place. Typically 150K+ if they
get a little care. Fronts (2dw), on the other hand, the outers especially
are higher maintenance. They are much smaller for the load, get a lot of
heat from the breaks, and tend to get contaminated.

Dennis