So a good friend of mine has a 1995 Chevy Suburban 1500. Earlier today he was driving it and he lost traction on snow and then caught traction going onto pavement. After that, he began to notice it vibrating, though not too intensely. Next time we took it out (I was present for this part) it was vibrating harder, and after hitting a bump there was a loud thunk that sounded like it came from the front passenger side wheel, and it started to shimmy and rattle intensely. We pulled it over and checked the all the wheels, none of them were loose, and checked the underside of the car and nothing was dangling. It doesn't seem to be the engine because when you rev it up at a standstill/in park it sounds completely normal. Driveshaft seems to be fine. Putting it in 4 wheel drive didn't have any affect on the problem. On the way home the truck made a loud bang when put in second gear (it's an automatic, just shifting it down into 2). Further down the road on the way home, the truck dropped a weird little piece of metal in the road, which I have pictures of. It's covered it what seems to be axle grease. He also says it feels worse making a right turn, and it happens more when he's accelerating past 25.

If anyone has any idea what the problem could be, what this thing is, where it came from, and why it is not there anymore that would be greatly appreciated!

 

Wheel bearing. DO NOT DRIVE IT TILL IT IS REPLACED! That is the inner wheel bearing race.

 

Is it? It's a bit bigger around than a quarter. Also, how involved of a repair would that be?

 

There are two wheel bearings, inside (towards the engine), and outside. I think I see is the bearing race. Is the wheel loose, as in jack it up, and is it wobbly? If it is what I think it is, not too bad to fix, but do NOT drive it. If it is a wheel bearing, you will do further damage to the spindle, and risk of steering, braking. I don't know how that could have ended up outside the vehicle, tho

 

I already lifted it up, and none of the four wheels are wobbly. Steady as a rock. The other thought I had was that it could be something more steering related, seeing as it acts up more when I steer to the right. My first thought was that it could be a universal or a cv joint going on me, but then my friend saw this fall out from under my truck. I'm planning to see if I can't get a friend of mine to tow it to a shop nearby to have them give it a once over. I have no intention of further injuring my truck if I can avoid it.

 

Whats troubling to me is it looks like a bearing race, but its not in two pieces. I know you say it came from your truck, but are you sure it wasn't something found on the road?

 

We saw it fall off the truck and bounce off to the side of the road, not only that but it was still warm when I picked it up. It's also got axel grease all over it. I'm thinking it might be part of a universal.

 

Emily: Welcome to the forum.

It looks like a U-joint bearing cup to me.