Chevrolet Lumina Forum : “Wheel Bearings - how to check?”

They should be making noise if they're bad.  Sometimes, brake pads can sound the same at slow speeds.  I had this problem with my passenger brake pad.  A whole chunk of it was missing and it resonate like a reed on a saxophone whenever I would drive backwards.  If you're still thinking wheel bearing at this point, then jack the car up, and shake the wheel and see what play there is.  Usually side to side motion is tie rods, so check those, and top to bottom motion is ball joints.  But if those look tight then it could end up being the wheel bearings, which are a complete assembly and aren't cheap so make sure you are positive you need them before buying them!