does anyone know what would happen if you drive with a broken wheel bearing?
does it affect anything else or does it just make sounds?

 

Damage to the spindle, or worse yet, the wheel would fall off!

Do you have loud squealing or grinding noises?

Jack the suspect wheel up & rotate. You can also confirm a bad bearing by moving the wheel up/down/ side-to-side. Any play confirms the bearing needs replaced.

Bearing typically last well over 100,000 miles, so it is unlikely you have a bad wheel bearing.

 

The RX-8 has a unit bearing.....it is non-adjustable...and you replace the mount and the bearing as one piece. It will make a lot of noise before it fails...and it shouldn;t hurt anything but itself...as the spindle is not part of the bearing unit itself.

 

You're breaking suspension parts left and right (=0(

 

yes i have loud metal grinding to metal noise. this happened right after my friend used a hammer to bang the wheel lug out. anyways... how much do you think it will cost to repair it? thanks

 

DIY -- < $60

Shop -- a couple hundred

 

Front unit bearing = about $150.00.....
Rear bearing about $60

Labour about 1hr.....