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[cheapshots]

Hello good people! 

One or more of my wheel bearing are dying, I know this because of a loud whining noise which gets louder as I drive faster. About 5 months ago I replaced a front bearing so I'm familiar with the noise.

I want to buy a replacement bearing from eBay but I don't know if I need a front or rear (or both) bearing.

Any idea how I can identify which wheel bearing(s) needs replacing? I jacked the car up, and spun each wheel one at a time but they all sound the same to me.

I would have ordered both front and rear bearing but these eBay sellers will charge a fee for returned items etc.

Thanks

[CrazyG]

Identifying which wheel bearing needs replacing is not a simple task,
as many others will testify. But...putting the car up on axle stands
or on a hoist and spinning each wheel in turn and listening for any
telltale signs/sounds is just about the only way...as well as checking
for any noticeable 'play' in the wheel (as in wobble).

I replaced both rear bearings on my Brabus as it 'appeared' the sound
was from the rear...but as you can guess, the noise did not go away
and to this day is still there !  So at some time I'll have to replace
both fronts; not just 1; just to be 100% sure.

Be very aware that there are cheap 'chinese' repro bearings on the
market, and that cheap unknown/unbranded wheel bearings can be
rubbish and fail sooner than the more expensive good quality ones.
But having said that there can be issues even with those !
1 of the rear (SKF) bearings that I opened and inspected out of a
brand new sealed box was found to be 'sloppy' ! That got returned
to the supplier and was replaced with one that I checked out before
leaving the premises...just to be sure I got a good one.

So...how should one check to see if you can find the noisy cuplrit ?
What better than the old fashioned way of spinning up each wheel
in turn and placing a long handled screwdriver (or similar 'tool')
against the area close to the bearing and the other end placed
close to your ear (or on your jawbone) to listen for any signs.
Also, while the wheel is stopped, test for any noticeable wobble
across the face of it horizontally and then vertically by grabbing
the outer edges of the tyres at the 12 and 6 o'clock position, and
then the 3 and 9 o'clock position.
 
Other than that I'm not sure what else to suggest.
Has anyone else got any idea's or suggestions to make on this ?

[cheapshots]

Thank you Crazy G,

I think I may just have to buy 1 x front and 1 x rear wheel bearing and take the car to my local garage who I'm hoping would be able to identify the culprit. 

Meyle brand on eBay (rear) £55
SKF brand Eurocar parts (front) £100

All front bearings on eBay seem to be unbranded so would have to go Eurocar parts.

[CrazyG]

Hope your local garage has the proper tool to remove/refit the front bearing.
Laser make a specific kit for it... kit 5823
The bearing has an integral cage that the bearing sits in....it has 'claws' or
tangs on it that lock it in place, and it has to be precisely inserted/fitted
otherwise the cage snags and breaks !  (The old one breaks when removed)

I have one of those 'tools'...used only once...(not by me though)

[El Tel]

My mechanic managed to change just the bearing with a press, though he told me he swore a lot doing it.

I let him choose the part and the whole job was just over 200 euro for one corner, if I remember rightly.

I do also remember thinking it was well worth it as I picked up the car and it smoothly slid away in 1st....

[Problemchild]

I’d leave it until it was worse

JJ

[CharlieTango]

Identifying which wheel bearing needs replacing is not a simple task,
as many others will testify. But...putting the car up on axle stands
or on a hoist and spinning each wheel in turn and listening for any
telltale signs/sounds is just about the only way...as well as checking
for any noticeable 'play' in the wheel (as in wobble).

I replaced both rear bearings on my Brabus as it 'appeared' the sound
was from the rear...but as you can guess, the noise did not go away
and to this day is still there !  So at some time I'll have to replace
both fronts; not just 1; just to be 100% sure.

Be very aware that there are cheap 'chinese' repro bearings on the
market, and that cheap unknown/unbranded wheel bearings can be
rubbish and fail sooner than the more expensive good quality ones.
But having said that there can be issues even with those !
1 of the rear (SKF) bearings that I opened and inspected out of a
brand new sealed box was found to be 'sloppy' ! That got returned
to the supplier and was replaced with one that I checked out before
leaving the premises...just to be sure I got a good one.

So...how should one check to see if you can find the noisy cuplrit ?
What better than the old fashioned way of spinning up each wheel
in turn and placing a long handled screwdriver (or similar 'tool')
against the area close to the bearing and the other end placed
close to your ear (or on your jawbone) to listen for any signs.
Also, while the wheel is stopped, test for any noticeable wobble
across the face of it horizontally and then vertically by grabbing
the outer edges of the tyres at the 12 and 6 o'clock position, and
then the 3 and 9 o'clock position.
 
Other than that I'm not sure what else to suggest.
Has anyone else got any idea's or suggestions to make on this ?

I think I may have a front wheel bearing gone bad, but I'm not sure if this is something I can tackle at home with normal tools.

Are the rear ones easier than the front ones? There's a video here where we can see a front one being extracted but we can't see how it was the process of the new one going in, I think I may leave this to the garage to do as there are many variables that can go wrong if I try to DIY this.

[CrazyG]

Front wheel bearing change is not something many; if any; can or could undertake.
It needs to be done using a specialised wheel bearing extractor (puller and press)
as well as a haevy duty vice to hold the hub, and a very large sized long ring spanner.
I have seen it done 'in situ' on the car by Rob at S2smarts....not a nice job.

SKF make the best replacement bearing....and it is a one time fit job...get it wrong and
the cage that surrounds the bearing is easily 'messed up' rendering it unusable to retry !
GET A GARAGE TO DO THE JOB.


The 'tool' in question is (possibly 'was') sold/marketed by Lazer....part number is 5823.
Cost new (back in Aug 2018) was £615.50 !
1 such was offered on here by Al Young (the Chairperson of the Smart Club) back then
and I aquired it...but nowhere near that price thankfully.  I don't know where i've 'hidden'
it, I've used it once myself, so it's possibly at the very back corner in my lock-up garage
behind/beneath everything 454 that's crammed into the place...it's choca !
(A case of open the doors...yep it's full alright..no space..for more or to get into it ! Close the doors)

[mr singh]

I replaced both rear bearings on my Brabus as it 'appeared' the sound
was from the rear...but as you can guess, the noise did not go away
and to this day is still there !

castled tyres can cause a bearing type noise.

[CharlieTango]

Front wheel bearing change is not something many; if any; can or could undertake.
It needs to be done using a specialised wheel bearing extractor (puller and press)
as well as a haevy duty vice to hold the hub, and a very large sized long ring spanner.
I have seen it done 'in situ' on the car by Rob at S2smarts....not a nice job.

SKF make the best replacement bearing....and it is a one time fit job...get it wrong and
the cage that surrounds the bearing is easily 'messed up' rendering it unusable to retry !
GET A GARAGE TO DO THE JOB.


The 'tool' in question is (possibly 'was') sold/marketed by Lazer....part number is 5823.
Cost new (back in Aug 2018) was £615.50 !
1 such was offered on here by Al Young (the Chairperson of the Smart Club) back then
and I aquired it...but nowhere near that price thankfully.  I don't know where i've 'hidden'
it, I've used it once myself, so it's possibly at the very back corner in my lock-up garage
behind/beneath everything 454 that's crammed into the place...it's choca !
(A case of open the doors...yep it's full alright..no space..for more or to get into it ! Close the doors)

I've come to that conclusion. I'll leave this one to the garage IF it's really a bad wheel bearing, and for the prices they ask to do it, which aren't ridiculous BTW I will leave it to them.

I just need to check if it's still making the noise, since I replaced the rears calipers I haven't been over 50mph nor have I driven the car on the highway, so can't say if it was the stuck caliper or if it's the bearing.

I'll "entertain" myself doing shocks, aux belt, water pump myself. 

[CrazyG]

On a hoist (lift) in a garage it will be childsplay to spin each wheel and see
if ANY of the wheel bearings are worn/need replacing.
The noise/sound and/or 'play' (give) will be noticeable.

On my Brabus I thought the sound when driving was from a rear bearing
so I changed both....however, the sound was still there after doing that !
That led me to believe it may be one of the front bearings, yet there was
no excessive noise or movement in either of the front wheels when they
were spun up on a hoist !
(In my case I finally managed to isolate the noise down to that fact that I
have an LSD fitted...and I have been advised they tend to be a bit noisy...
so I no longer worry about it as it has not got any noisier.)

[CharlieTango]

I think it's the one on the driver's side, didn't occur to me to check when I was bleeding the brakes, but until the end of the year I will be doing more bits so I can check. Also, it's last on my last, not even noticeable in the city, literally makes no noise.