96 Golf GTI Wheel Bearing Problem

You are kidding.

Did you use grease?

Did you follow the recommended torquing sequence ?

could it be a very bad tire/wheel that is bent and unbalanced?

later, dave Reminder........ Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them, and you have their shoes. Frieda Norris

I was thinking that it could be realted to the stub axel, but there is no unusual tyre wear, so I wouldn't have thought it was bent.

It was greased up nicely and the correct torque settings were used.

What did the failed bearing look like?

You did loosen the big nut after the big torquing, right?

That just might be the problem, it nut should not be torqued (for A2 cars, anyway). The Bentley says to torque it to 10 Nm, and then back off until the washer is easy to push from side to side with a screwdriver.

I replaced the rear wheel bearing on my '87 about a month ago. I followed the procedure in Bentley and everything looked fine. About 100 miles after replacing the bearing I took off the grease cap to inspect and found that the assembly was now a little on the loose side. I tightened up the nut a little, but again making sure I could move the washer from side to side. Reinspected after another few hundred miles, and everything is fine.