Wheel bearings....

[wedgeindy]

My P5 was making a lot of road noise over the spring months....change to summer tires...no diff...got it aligned (Toe it was off)...but no diff...went to do the wheel bearings this weekend. OMG.

I followed (the wicked) thread here, on the how to section....when I pulled the spindles off the car I found the wheel bearing was totally sized and *OUTER RACE WAS TURNING IN THE SPINDLE*...*BOTH FREAKING SIDES*....and don't get me wrong, I'm a little bit anal, and if the car starts to make a noise I want to know WTF it is. This took me by total surprise. It was noisy but it wasn't like a jet plan was overhead or anything.

I took the new bearings that I bought + the old spindles to the machine shop and they told me they couldn't do anything with them and to get new ones....no used parts guys had them here (Ottawa, Canada), so I bought new ones @ 130 each side plus all the goodies to go with.

Just wanted to pop in and tell folks that if you're car starts to make roaring noises in the front end *GET INTO IT FASTER THAN I DID*....don't dog it.

Hopefully this lame post helps someone, someday.

Tony

 

[canadian357]

That scares me.... Mine's been making noise for a while lol. Where did you get your new ones?

 

[RABID_MP5]

The incredible thing is how most guys say that these MP5 bearings are really hard to press in and out. Some even broke their presses trying. Just goes to show that anything can happen.

 

[wedgeindy]

Canadian357: I ended up getting new spindles from the dealer...which I thought was resonable...esp considering it was $150 for the EGR valve and there is a boatload more material in the spindles.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

This is interesting, my P5 makes a weird low frequency noise and I've never managed to pin it down. Can you think of a way to test for this problem without taking apart steering knuckle?

 

[goodfornothing]

I had both my bearings replaced a couple years ago and it was $341 parts and labor, I can imagine it being a lot more today.

Not to thread jack but I'm getting 12 & 6 and 9 & 3 play on my left front wheel when it is jacked. I don't have that whirring noise of a bad bearing, can it be something else? When I got my tires changed, they said it was a bad bearing but it's not making that same sound as before.

 

[wedgeindy]

Cheese: I can't think of a way to test for it....the hub covers the front of the bearing and the axle covers the back of it.....once the axle is out you could check it by getting your head inside the wheel well and spinning the font hub.

FWIW, I got new bearing rings from the dealer today...the parts guy has worked there for 10 years..he told me he's *never* seen one of those steering nuckles sold, let alone a pair of them.

I'd be surprised if this is is something that can go on for a long time...that outer race would get *FREAKING HOT* spinning inside the steering nuckle.
T.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

Well I've had that sound for as long as I can remember (more than 10000KM and definitely more than a year) which is why I haven't done anything about it. I'm guessing I won't do anything until a wheel falls off

It's good to know the knuckles can be had for only $130 a piece, enjoy your soon to be quiet P5!

 

[memo79]

@cheese: does the sound change when you turn the steering wheel while moving (in other words put more weight on the wheel in question)? also, if it gets louder with increased speed, or is loudest at a distinct speed, it could be the answer (bearing going out). I had this problem with mine - it was loudest at about 40-45 mph, and although it was @ the rear wheels, I knew it was the bearing when I did the weight-shift sound test. The sound goes away/gets significantly quiter when you take weight off of the wheel while the car is moving.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

@cheese: does the sound change when you turn the steering wheel while moving (in other words put more weight on the wheel in question)? also, if it gets louder with increased speed, or is loudest at a distinct speed, it could be the answer (bearing going out). I had this problem with mine - it was loudest at about 40-45 mph, and although it was @ the rear wheels, I knew it was the bearing when I did the weight-shift sound test. The sound goes away/gets significantly quiter when you take weight off of the wheel while the car is moving.

I don't believe so, I'll check today. It isn't louder at a specific speed, I hear it more at low speeds but that's only because it isn't being drowned-out by road noise. It isn't very loud at at but I swear I can feel it :S

I've waited a very long time hoping it would get worse but it doesn't. Last night I was thinking that I should drive around a bit then quickly get under the car and feel the steering knuckles (and the rear spindles), if a bearing is acting up the knuckle it's pressed into should be hotter, right?

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

Cheese: what worked for me was to jack up the car and spin the wheels by hand. If you have a bad bearing, you can definitely hear it.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

Cheese: what worked for me was to jack up the car and spin the wheels by hand. If you have a bad bearing, you can definitely hear it.

Good to know, I spun the hubs a couple months ago when I changed my brakes and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. One of the rear ones seemed to be a bit harder to spin but not by much.

I'm just paranoid, from now on just ignore me

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

For me, it wasn't the difficulty of spinning...there's a distinct noise, almost a scraping (but make sure that's not just the brake pad touching the rotor). You'll most likely know it when you hear it...it will sound markedly different than the other wheels.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

@cheese: does the sound change when you turn the steering wheel while moving (in other words put more weight on the wheel in question)? also, if it gets louder with increased speed, or is loudest at a distinct speed, it could be the answer (bearing going out). I had this problem with mine - it was loudest at about 40-45 mph, and although it was @ the rear wheels, I knew it was the bearing when I did the weight-shift sound test. The sound goes away/gets significantly quiter when you take weight off of the wheel while the car is moving.

I tried your test but couldn't get a definitive result. The noise isn't always present and isn't very loud so it's hard to determine if anything changes. From what I could discern, the noise remained the same.

For me, it wasn't the difficulty of spinning...there's a distinct noise, almost a scraping (but make sure that's not just the brake pad touching the rotor). You'll most likely know it when you hear it...it will sound markedly different than the other wheels.

Yup, they all didn't make a peep while spinning (and they all spun smoothly). I'm telling you, I'm crazy

 

[RABID_MP5]

I had the sound slowly increasing over a few thousand miles. Was convinced it was the drivers side front bearing. But I couldn't feel slack or resistance in either front wheel by hand.

Before I tore into it, I put it on SOLID jackstands and ran the car at idle in gear with the wheels still on. Then it was obvious it was the passenger side front. Made a kind of whirring sound, even though basically unloaded.

 

[ucyib2papi]

im having a similar problem in the wifes cx7. im guessing its a wheel bearing but not much play in it and didnt really hear much when the car was jacked up and running. any thoughts on what else could be wrong? im replacing the bearing next week but feel it wont be the cure. any way to know if its the diff?

 

[RABID_MP5]

you might hold a pole between your ear and the diff and see if you can hear anything suspicious. It could also be brakes rubbing somewhere? The bearings generally fail fairly slowly, so on those you could wait for it to get a little worse.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

you might hold a pole between your ear and the diff and see if you can hear anything suspicious. It could also be brakes rubbing somewhere? The bearings generally fail fairly slowly, so on those you could wait for it to get a little worse.

Interesting that you mention the differential. If that is what's causing the noise, should I be worried?