Possible wheel bearing

[Jan Olsson]

If you put the front wheels up in the air and let the wheels spin at 55-60 mph you will

probably hear which wheel bearing it is. But I do not know if the Cad's ABS or

Traction computer will react. The best would be to only have one wheel in the air.

I did that once on a 90 Pontiac Grand Prix and it worked absolutely ok

despite the ABS (that car did not have traction though). A wheel with good bearings

will be real quiet. And the faulty bearing's humming will be easily heard.

/Jan L

I'm thinking that spinning one wheel in the air would upset the traction control. I could always push the button to disable it I guess but since I couldn't hear anything except from final drive noices when spinning the wheels by hand I suppose that the bearing must have some load on it to make the sound.

[Cadillac Jim]

A very good mechanic's trick is to get a cheap RF baby monitor at Radio Shack, Circuit City, Best Buy, etc. and to attach the baby microphone to the part you want to listen to. Then, drive the car, using headphones on the receiver of the baby monitor.

This is so good, and so obvious, that I would have expected to see them in the auto parts stores by now.

[Jan Olsson]

A very good mechanic's trick is to get a cheap RF baby monitor at Radio Shack, Circuit City, Best Buy, etc. and to attach the baby microphone to the part you want to listen to. Then, drive the car, using headphones on the receiver of the baby monitor.

This is so good, and so obvious, that I would have expected to see them in the auto parts stores by now.

That's an excellent idea! This week I'll have to take the bus to the work. Was planning on working with wifes cursed Jeep this weekend. Should have started earlier I guess but something always seems to take my attention before I get started. For everything I fix on that one there is always two more things that needs attention a couple of weeks later... I must have been a bad person in a previous life..

[Cadillac Jim]

Apparently GM is in talks to merge with Chrysler. GM has always had really excellent power train reliability. Chrysler's power trains are great too, and with a little help from some well-chosen GM people, I would expect to see a quick shift to better reliability and economy with Chrysler, beginning the second year after the merger is implemented.

However, don't hold your breath. A watched pot never boils.

Of course, I would like to see Chrysler remain independent. Ford, Chrysler and GM bring different viewpoints to the marketplace and I would like to see that diversity continue. Then, we have Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mercedes, BMW, VW-Audi, and others, although there has been a lot of consolidation overseas over the years, as well as lately.

Of course, we will have to see a major success by the SmartCar before they will bring home the same concept that they are selling overseas.