Hi,

first of all thank you all for your help. I am having what sounds like a front wheel bearing issue on my 03 Cooper. The droning noise starts at around 30mph and sounds slightly louder as i turn the wheel to the right. I Just put new tires on the car and was hoping the sound was from the old tires, but no luck. I am not having any kind of sensor warning light with this issue; is that common??

Also, is there any difference in symptoms of a bad axle bearing?

Thanks for your help!

 

Sounds like you nailed the diagnosis.

 

You will get the dreaded growling noise. When the wheel bearing is just going bad you turn the wheel depending on what side the wheel bearing is on; you will hear its growl when you turn the wheel. So on the right ( passenger side ) turn left and you It will get loader , you turn right , it get quieter ( unless its totally shot ). Vice versa for the other side. There will be no sensor or warning lights for those.
Watch installing the new wheel bearing not to damage the ABS sensor when installing, I wipe the ABS sensor head with a clean towel to get the dirt/ gunk) off when installing a new wheel bearing since you are there.

So if it gets worse when turning to the right , sounds like the left wheel bearing, I recommend doing them in pairs , so you don't fixed one, then shortly down the road the other one goes.



#7 is the wheel bearing in the picture. Same part number for the left and right hand side.

Here is a link to the 2003 MINI Cooper S wheel bearings.


http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2003-Cooper-R53-S-Coupe-L4_1.6L_W11B16A/Drivetrain/Wheel_Bearings/





Thanks