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Sway bar removal=bad wheel bearing

Tacorona

2️⃣ Bronze
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I removed my sway bar and took my truck out on some trails, really loved the feel of it being gone. After several weeks of driving without it, however, I noticed my front tires were wearing unevenly, more on the outside. Turns out, I had a bad (really bad) wheel bearing on the passenger side. Could this be from the sway bar being gone? Or is it more likely from an impact out on the trails? Or is it possible my suspension is not strong enough for my bumper and winch? Should I be worried about this happening again? Sorry for all the questions, I'd like to hear that it's not from the sway bar delete, so I can remove it again 😅
 
I removed my sway bar and took my truck out on some trails, really loved the feel of it being gone. After several weeks of driving without it, however, I noticed my front tires were wearing unevenly, more on the outside. Turns out, I had a bad (really bad) wheel bearing on the passenger side. Could this be from the sway bar being gone? Or is it more likely from an impact out on the trails? Or is it possible my suspension is not strong enough for my bumper and winch? Should I be worried about this happening again? Sorry for all the questions, I'd like to hear that it's not from the sway bar delete, so I can remove it again 😅

From the sway bar, eh I would say no.

I’m gonna point towards something wheeling/ driving related caused the wheel bearing to fail.

Then you mentioned weight up front. How much?

Is your alignment up to spec?
 
The bumper+winch is around 200lb, I'm just running stock suspension so far. Had to be realigned after swapping out the wheel bearing...it's been a few weeks now and everything seems fine. I was hoping it was just something I did when wheeling
 
wheel bearings are like opinions and buttholes...everyone has one thats unique

I dont run a sway bar, I jump my truck 4ft off the ground with wheel spacers while weighing close to 6700lb's, have 74K miles on the truck...and not once have I had a wheel bearing issue

My guess...check your alignment, your sway bar isnt gonna affect your wheel bearings at all. Having additional weight on the front wouldn't make much of a difference as well. Sometimes you just get a bad wheel bearing that wears out quicker than others.
 
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