I had a chipped bearing on a bike once,
Had to ride it at walking pace it was so bad,
Pedestrians gawping as I rode by with what sounded like a cat strapped to the front wheel,
on each rotation when it hit the bad point it screamed!!
And there was absolutely no bearing play to be detected.
Once I got the bearing out I discovered the seal had let go and water had got in to the races,
Water= rust so shot bearing.
As stated by previous respondent some time having it on the ramp just doesn't show anything up as no load on the bearing.
But I can usually hear it with my mechanic stethoscope and someone in the air keeping the car running and the wheels turning under drive.
Posted Jun 22, 2018 (6 years ago)