I just got new tyres fitted and balance. I have this noise that occurs when i drive at 80km coming from the drivers side. It makes this whirring noise constantly when travelling at 80 km or faster. I went to a suspension workshop to get their opinion and they came to the conclusion that it would possibly be CV joint and very likely to be the wheel bearing. I was advised to go to BMW mini to have them to look at it. Would you guys have any ideas at what i am looking at to have either the CV joint or wheel bearing replaced ? Does anyone happen to know any suspension workshop that have experience carry out the job on the mini. I have to wait till monday to have it looked at by bmw mini as the serviced department is closed on the weekend. At first i thought that it would be just the wheels required balancing. Feel free to comment/advice me on what to do. thanks all

PS: Is this common for the wheel bearing to fail on the mini, car only has 65xxxkms.

Ted

 

If it's a wheel bearing, it's part of the wheel hub assembly and very easy to replace. I just did both left side wheel hubs on my '02 MCS. Takes about 30 minutes each , each part is about $180.00. Not a big deal. No alignment required afterwards. My car has 40k miles on it.

...Les

 

thanks for the quick reply. cool will be heading down to my bmw dealer. glad to know its not big of a job. is it not good to keep driving it at the meantime or i shud be fine ?

 

well i had my car at the dealers yesterday and they fitted new bearings/hub and they cudnt get rid of the noise. they said it only improved by 30% and havent got a clue. they will be having another go at it today. any ideas what else it could be. they thought it was due to the tyre but they put their run flats on and they ruled out the tyre.

 

Were you able to get rid of it by now? Maybe it’s not in the bearings. When I had that kind of noise, the mechanic suggested that I should get new joint. So I took new BMW CV Joint for it and fortunately the problem was fixed. Maybe it doesn’t apply to all but it’s possible.

 

CV Joints make clicking sounds when the steering wheel is at full lock - like when in a parking lot. Go try turning the wheel full lock and accelerate lightly at 2-5 MPH like you are doing a U turn. You need to first try it with the wheel full left, then full right.

When was the last time you had a wheel alignment? Last time I heard what sounded like a wheel bearing go out, it wound up being that my alignment was out of whack and I had too much toe in on the front tires. Unfortunately, I didn't notice until after it wore the inside of the front tires pretty badly.

 

just an update i had my car taken to bmw and they reckon that its the front left wheel bearing and they didnt change it as they werent definate. so i took it to a reputable suspension specialist to have it looked at and they reckon its a wheel bearing problem. they did the test on the rear wheels to confirm its not the rear wheel bearings and its the front left wheel bearing gone. when i turn right or swerve right they could replicate the whirring noise. will be getting a quote from them how much the front wheel bearing plus installation will set me back. i will post an update when the problem will be fix. thanks for everyones help on NAM. Its been very informative and hopefully help me resolve my problem. great forum

 

Any losseness in the steering when hitting sharp impacts as a resault of the worn bearing?

 

meb - not noticeably loose in the steering. just the noise and the vibrations it sends to the chasis of the car with windows closed. its hard to tell the looseness in the steering as i have stiff suspension fitted onto my car.

 

...just asking because there is something horribly loose in the passenger side front end of my car. That bearing is 10 months old and all of the bushings, ball joints ans tie rods are brand new. That bearing does make a little noise, but I cannot duplicate the looseness with my hand strength while the car is off the ground...I did re-install the stock struts and strut bearings...maybe these sat around for too long??? Very nasty disconnected feel for the road!

 

wheelbearing failures sound like DC10's at expressway speeds.

it's an errie deep sound and does not really change pitch, just gets louder.

 

...yes, and it comes and goes with speed...the fast kind, not the swallowing kind...

 

meb - best to get your car checked by a suspension specialist. hope u get your car sorted. yeah i have checked on my drive home and there wasnt any looseness in the steering on sharp impacts.

kenchan - yeah my wheel bearing failure caused an eerie deep noise

 

just an update, got my problem sorted out its all good now. was the front left wheel bearing.

 

I just bought my '03 MC and I thought it had a tire problem. I took it to a tire shop and they said those were new. I changed the motor mounts and a part that goes on each side that's called control (something) which I don't remember.
The problem is that when I accelerate the car vibrates and when I'm not tuching the gas it runs as smooth as new. When I get to about 35-70mph it is horrible. although, once I get to 80/90mph it calms down, but still vibrates.
Anyone ever heard of this problem? PLEASE HELP ME!!!
OTHERWISE I'M SELLING MY MC!!!!! I LOVE IT BUT I CAN'T STAND IT!

 

I think you're referring to the control arms or control arm bushings.

 

i have already replaced those and also replaced the motor mounts...
anyone has an idea of what else could it be?
i'm trading in this car tomorrow otherwise...

 

vibrating problems are really hard to pin-point. If it is engine speed related, it will do the same thing in any gear at a given rpm - engine or transaxle.

If it is just speed related, bearings, tires( bad tire, bent rim, out of balance) CV joints and or bent axle and rotors are all possible wear points.

Is your car lowered?

 

thanks for the help. No the car is not lowered and the CV joints are fine. They do not do the crack sound when you turn or anything of that sort. what I'm thinking is a bent axle.
This vibration is on only when i accelerate on gear after 25mph but when I'm on P or N and accelerate the car it won't vibrate

 

You can buy the wheel hubs (front and rear) from O'Reilly's auto parts stores, $102.00 each for the front. You can get the upper strut mounts from Auto Zone, $48.00 apiece. I just replace all four struts with JCW units all four ball joints which I got form the dealer for $650.00. I also Installed new front A-arm bushings. All my clicking and thumping and groaning is gone. she rides and drives and is as quite as a new car. Unfortunelly I wrecked her yesterday.

 

CV joints can cause a vibration in the manner of your experience even though you may not hear the typical clicking associated with worn CV joints.

In any event, new axles come with inner and outer CV joints. The passenger side is very easy to change. The drivers' side is a bit more difficult since a spring clip needs to be removed in order to extract the axle from the transaxle. I've done the passenger side twice - about 45 minutes each time.

Remember to order new axle nuts if you change the axle.

GT4RACER - not good news!

 

Thank you all!
the problem is that I have not found a cv joint for less than $900 a piece. the dealer wants to charge me $1200 just for materials and then the labor I would do it myself.
Anyone's got any webpage where I could buy them for less? this may fix my problem since one mechanic told me they were discalibrated which I never heard before.