Wheel bearing humming - need to do a 300 mile trip.

R D S ("R D S" ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Is there any play feelable in it?

If not, yes. If so, maybe/maybe not, depending on how bad it feels.

Reply to
Adrian
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Re a previous post our Multipla has a humming rear wheel bearing and I need to do a 300 mile round trip tomorrow.

It has been humming for approx 1500 miles

Would _you_ make the journey?

Reply to
R D S

There's no play.

It feels OK driving, but a little vibration at certain speeds. There are a couple of sweet spots, approx 68 and 85mph where it runs reasonably quiet, though obviously I avoid the latter.

Reply to
R D S

R D S ("R D S" ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Fine. No worries at all, then.

Reply to
Adrian

No

Reply to
Abo

Not unless I had a decent recovery service handy, just in case.

Reply to
PCPaul

Which may not help if the bearing seizes and shears the stub axle of course...

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

Chris Whelan (Chris Whelan ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

We're all doomed! DOOMED, I tell you!

It's a slightly noisy wheel bearing with no play. He's done 1500 miles with no problems. Why on _earth_ is it going to be hunting for kittens to kill in the next 300 miles?

It'll be fine for loads of miles yet. Hell, it wouldn't even be an MOT fail at the moment.

Reply to
Adrian

From my last wheel bearing experience, it probably will be totally OK for ages, but when it does decide to go downhill it goes *fast* - mine went from an annoying hum for 1500 miles or so to a nasty screeching drag on that side of the car within 10 miles...

Reply to
PCPaul

I tend to agree with you, but a failing bearing can always be tightened up in order to pass the MOT.

Reply to
Graz

Graz ( snipped-for-privacy@googlemail.com (Graz)) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Reply to
Adrian

Reply to
Graz

I was making the point that firstly the breakdown services require you to keep your vehicle properly maintained, secondly they won't recover you after an accident any more.

Care to underwrite that?

I agree with you that there is a possibility that it won't fail in the near future. At the same time, I've had a front wheel bearing get noisy during the course of a journey, develop enough play to knock the pads back to the degree that the brake pedal went to the floor, and finally destroy the stub axle. All in less than 100 miles.

The point no one else has picked up on is why the OP has been driving it like that for 1500 miles. I sure as hell wouldn't!

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

Chris Whelan (Chris Whelan ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

No...

Nor would I.

But _many_ people would. 15,000 miles, or more, right up until the MOT man says "No".

Reply to
Adrian

Exactly. My wife's old Mundano went through 2 MOTs with a moaning wheelbearing and covered over 20,000 miles. Regularly did 600 mile round trips. Many Mundanos have moaning wheelbearings that last for years.

Reply to
Conor

If you were talking about my Capri with it's tapered bearings, you'd have a point. But most cars don't and you can't.

Reply to
Conor

As a qualified mechanic I would. I can count the total of catastrophic failures I've seen in 20+ years of working on cars on the fingers of one hand. With the types of bearings typically used now, there's even less chance than in the old taper roller bearing days.

Reply to
Conor

You can't do it on front wheels on FWD cars generally nor on rear wheels on RWD cars. But there's lots of cars you can still do it on the other axle.

Reply to
Graz

Thus spake Adrian ( snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com) unto the assembled multitudes:

My year 2000 Astra (80,000+ miles) has had a slightly noisy rear wheel bearing for about the last 20,000 miles (to be honest I didn't even know it was wheel-bearing noise until I asked a motor mechanic friend last year). It still has no measurable play in it. My mechanic friend said it's good for thousands more miles yet, and the MOT people haven't even mentioned it.

Reply to
A.Clews

Graz ( snipped-for-privacy@googlemail.com (Graz)) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

You really haven't got much of a clue about anything, have you?

Reply to
Adrian

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