'Rosebud' begin pulling to the left intermittently. It felt like the left front brake was dragging. It got worse in a matter of days until I pulled over and had her towed back home. As it was being pulled onto the flatbed, the left front wheel would lock up and skid until we pushed the car backwards a few feet. The left front wheel would begin turning, then lock up again.
I'm not hearing any noise from the bearing and turning the wheel doesn't effect the dragging. I'm pretty sure it's not the brake calipers because the pulling isn't associated with stepping on the brake.
Before I disassemble the hub, I'm wondering if I need to think about the transmission or the limited slip differential being the culprit. Any thoughts?
I had a wheel bearing failure that started off with intermittent pulling and locking up.
Well, I hope it's that cause that's far easier than the alternative, but if it's not the wheel bearing, be careful trying to drive it as it could be a broken diff...
Problem solved. It was indeed the wheel bearing. It suffered a catastrophic failure that was 10 days in the making. Slight, momentary pulling to the left every 50 miles or so. I'd check the temp of the castle nut and would find it to be 5 - 10 degrees warmer than the right nut, but nothing dramatic. I jacked the front up a couple of times and found there was no movement when I wiggled the wheel at 12 and 6 and 9 and 3. Finally, the wheel pretty much locked up and I had the car towed home.
I was a PITA removing the hub as the bearings and spacers and such had welded themselves to the axle and hub. Upon inspection, the axle and hub survived without damage. I'm installing a new Timken bearing set, thrust washer and spacer today. Thanks all for your comments and suggestions.
Glad you got it sorted before it trashed the hub.
You will want to at least check the other side and consider redoing it as well.