Checking Wheel Bearings.
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Jack up a front tire.
Grab the top of the tire with one hand and the bottom with the other hand.
Push and pull with both hands.
If you feel any kind of movement then you either need to tighten or replace your Wheel Bearings.

Checking Needle Bearing.
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Jack up a front tire.
Reach in behind the tire and grab the half shaft close to the tire and try to shake it about.
If it moves then chances are that the Needle Bearing is gone.
If there is a little movement and you look and find it is not the needle bearing, then I would have to venture a guess with the half shaft.


Also, while you have everything apart I would check the ball joints, upper and lower, tie rods, and see how easy they are to move by hand. If you can move them without a problem by hand then I would be getting new ones.
And when I say move easy I mean easy, like you push on it with one finger and it moves, that's easy.


Just want to say that this is from my own personal experience when I had my Front End Noise. Use it how you wish.

Hope this helps.

Here also it was the needle bearing. And its prolly changable in 20 min or so. Did ya change this or just the inner and outer bearing.

I wish 20 minutes, if everything would have come off easy it would have pretty fast, but nothing did. I just changed the needle bearing, the bottom ball joint should probably be replaced, and I'll check the half shaft.

Replaced the halfshaft and the lower ball joint on the right hand side yesterday and it's still making the noise, although not quite as bad. Looks like I'm off to the Kia dealer to get the needle bearing for the other side and see if that cures it.

thats what mine was it is pretty easy to do..good luck
i also just replaced the halfshaft on the same side friday night and went wheeling on sat put her on her on her side against a tree, just leaning the top where the roof rack is no damage ecept a couple scratches, thank god for the tree and the winch that pulled me out.

Finally got around to replacing the needle bearing on the left side. What was in there was a pile of dust. Works great now with no noise, so bring on the snow. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Snow.. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> Idaho got screwed out of snow.

How come this POST has Stars on the ratings???? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" />

1724 views and 57 reply's, not really sure <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

how does a sticky get stars anyways? no idea why a post would get one