Hi, How do I tell if a wheel bearing is faulty, does it make a sort of whine noise at about 50mph+? How do I tell what wheel it is from without driving the car? Its garaged up at the moment with no MOT, so can`t drive it.
TIA Mark.
Yep. Sounds like gears meshing on my Escort when a bearing goes. If it's really shagged it'll make horrible reverberating and grinding noises at lower speeds
Easiest way (even easier than driving and listening) is to jack up the suspect wheel and spin it. If it doesn't spin freely, or you can feel graunching, or both, then that's your buggered bearing. Another way is to firmly grasp each wheel at 9 and 3 o'clock positions and try to rock from side to side. If there's any play at all the bearing has gone. Needs to be well knackered for this to happen though.
Be very careful if you're replacing it yourself. You will probably need to bash the old bearing shells out with a punch or similar. Make sure there are NO BURRS at all on the hub, or the new bearing will not seat properly and will fail within a few hundred miles. If it's a front wheel bearing it's a job for the professionals unless you've got a 20-ton press handy...
HTH,
Robert
sort of whine
Its garaged up
Not easily explained, as much is down to feel. Jack the suspect wheel up, and check the play in the bearing by holding the tyre at opposite sides, and gently rock the wheel. It should only freely move about 1mm at most at the rim. Then rotate the wheel, to feel and listen for any roughness as it turns. If it's a non driving wheel, you can spin it and just listen for any noise. You may have to free the brake adjustment off to do do this. Any roughness whilst turning would point to a bearing failure. The checks above should find a badly worn bearing, but they are not guaranteed to find all cases of bearings just on their way out, as the feel of the bearing can be compromised by the weight of the wheel and drive shafts on a driven wheel.
You could also try putting both driving wheels on axle stands. Making sure the car is very stable. Chock or use the handbrake on the other wheels. Then run the wheels up with the engine, and again listen. Again, no guarantee of sucess, as without the weight on the wheels, it might not show up, but the chances are that it will. Mike.
sort of whine
Its garaged up
Not easily explained, as much is down to feel. Jack the suspect wheel up, and check the play in the bearing by holding the tyre at opposite sides, and gently rock the wheel. It should only freely move about 1mm at most at the rim. Then rotate the wheel, to feel and listen for any roughness as it turns. If it's a non driving wheel, you can spin it and just listen for any noise. You may have to free the brake adjustment off to do do this. Any roughness whilst turning would point to a bearing failure. The checks above should find a badly worn bearing, but they are not guaranteed to find all cases of bearings just on their way out, as the feel of the bearing can be compromised by the weight of the wheel and drive shafts on a driven wheel.
You could also try putting both driving wheels on axle stands. Making sure the car is very stable. Chock or use the handbrake on the other wheels. Then run the wheels up with the engine, and again listen. Again, no guarantee of sucess, as without the weight on the wheels, it might not show up, but the chances are that it will. Mike.
Has it made more noise through a left or righthand bends ?
If it makes a rumbling/whining noise on right hand bends, it's the left hand wheel bearing, and vice versa.
Steve
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.