Originally Posted by
offthahook
It was the hub/bearing unit, specifically the bearings. Question I have is what would have happened if I had let it go? Is there any periodic maintenance on the unit?
If you would have let it go it would of heat up inside the bearing and sieze the wheel to the point the wheel would stop spinning.
The fact that you had a loud noise tell me that it was Really bad. What happens is you could of bump a curve or got hit on the wheel and the seals broke. Not typical but it happens. Once the seals brake you need to replace the bearing.
On the rear it is easy to replace but in front you need special tools.