wheel bearing noise?

[twig]

Sorry to bring up an old subject but I've searched long and hard on this one and am still not sure.

I've got a low rumbling noise when going less than 40. It sounds a bit like road noise but louder and seems to come from the front left side.

At higher speeds, that noise stops and instead I have a whistling noise, a bit like wind whistling through a bad door seal, except that it changes pitch as the car gets faster, and at motorway speeds is pretty loud and quite scary!

Also, it doesn't seem to change under load, coasting or around bends.

Any ideas much appreciated as I'm trying to get everything ship-shape for a 2000 mile road trip this summer!

Cheers

 

[AlpineWhite]

It could be a wheel bearing.

Jack the front of the car up and support it with axle stands. Hold the road wheel with one hand at 12 o'clock and another at 6 o'clock. Try to rock the wheel back and forth by pushing with one arm and pulling with the other. You can repeat it with hands at 3 and 9 o'clock. Movement indicates a dying wheel bearing.

Worth noting that it can be difficult to tell which corner a noise is coming from, so it's worth checking all four wheels.

 

[RickC]

looks like its a wheel bearing mate, cv joint would click round corners,

you might as wll do them both aswell as the other one usually isnt that far behind

 

[AlpineWhite]

^ True.

Where's this 2000mile trip to then? Love the long roadtrips!

 

[twig]

ah, forgot to say, I did the shaking test and all 4 were solid. Reason I still suspect it is that a mate of mine had a wheel bearing go on his Nissan, and none of his wheels moved when he shook them either.

 

[twig]

^ True.

Where's this 2000mile trip to then? Love the long roadtrips!

Yeah, it's going to be grrrrrand. Basically, the end of it is this: http://www.sziget.hu/festival_english, but we'll be stopping on the way.

 

[RickC]

only when its really bad will it start to shake, noise is the first symptom then it gets worse from there

 

[AlpineWhite]

Nice

Perhaps worth taking it to a garage, see what they think re the wheel bearings? It seems the most likely cause.

 

[red chilli]

if its any help to you i know of a place on handcroft road,,in croydon surrey will get the name of the shop for you tommorow ,,

if you take a bearing into them they will match it up ,

and there 4 times cheaper than any spares shop as they only sell bearings ,,

i bought a bearing kit for front end for my old evo 1, mitsi price 79 each plus vat ,,, in there both bearings exact same , 24 plus vat for both ,,

 

[twig]

do they have a bearing press by any chance? It looks easy enough to get the hub off etc, but I'm not too sure I can get the bearing out of it very easily.
... there's got to be some way of persuading some help out of a G-clamp though...

 

[red chilli]

will check for you ,, forgot it was bank holiday monday no one there grr ,,

 

[AlpineWhite]

You'll need a press.

Could always buy the bearings, take the uprights off and then take them to a garage just to have the bearings swapped out.

 

[red chilli]

i had them done on my evo cost 35 pounds for garge to do both sets , so shouldnt be much more than that tbh ....hth,,plus the place i did mine there less than half a mile from the wheel bearing shop !!

 

[twig]

thanks for the advice, guys. Much appreciated. I think ECP has bearings for £13 per front wheel so might nip up there at lunch if they're in stock. Seems cheap though as they have some other ones for over £20.

 

[twig]

Stupid bolt!

So, i've finally got around to taking a look at the wheel bearings. My plan was (and still is, if I can) get the hubs off and take them to my local garage to get the bearings pressed.

However, I just can not loosen the bolt that holds the brake disc in place. Stupid countersunk piece of junk, lol! The driver's side one just came straight off but on the passenger side, no movement at all. WD40d it, wire brushed it, everything; the screwdriver just slips and eventually I stopped in case I round the head off.

Is this a common problem? If it wasn't countersunk, I'd probably drill it out but that seems a bit dodgy to me. Any ideas??? Otherwise, it's off to the garage next week and they can worry about it.

 

[dmc4087]

Lots of heat should budge it - gas torch