Hyundai Repair: Elantra right front wheel bearing/hub assembly, wheel bearing hub assembly, wheel alignment


Question
I had a wheel alignment but wasn't told about a bad bearing/hub assembly until 2,000 miles later. Girlfriends car that I didn't drive. Loud noise driving in straight line and sounded like it was about to come unglued in right turn. 2003, 66K under warranty. Replaced one 51720-2D000 bearing-fr wheel. Is there only one wheel bearing for the right front and shouldn't the hub assembly have been replaced?

Answer
Each front wheel has only one bearing.  It has two rows of ball bearings in the single bearing assembly.  The bearing assembly is sealed from the factory, so no seals are needed during repair.

There's no reason to replace the hub unless there was a problem that damaged it in some way.  The hub presses into the inner bearing race, and the bearing assembly presses into the steering knuckle so that the outer race is in contact with the knuckle.  Even if a bearing is badly worn, it won't damage the hub unless the inner race somehow manages to start spinning on the hub.