It's an 02 base MC that I bought 2 1/2 years ago. It was lowered when I bought it so I don't know what equipment was used. I plan on taking a tire off this weekend to find out what I have in way of suspension.

It was lowered to the point where I can barely get the MINI jack under it with the tires properly inflated. (Guess I should be running run-flats huh?)
The rear tire camber is so obvious that I have been asked about it by many concerned motorists. My local tire shop has checked my alignment and everything is ok and there is no abnormal wear on the tires.

I've put about 40k miles on it and they are mostly highway. 70k total on the car now.

Here is my concern:
Lately I've noticed an increase in wheel noise. NOT ROAD NOISE or TIRE NOISE. It tracks with the speed of the car and does not change much over different types of pavement. It starts at about 50 MPH and it sounds as if the bearings are starting to whine.

If I have to replace wheel bearings should I re-think my lowered suspension as well or have the bearings just worn out due to normal wear and tear?

A little help please.
Thanks.

 

When MINIs are lowered, as with any car with a macphearson strut, there is no camber gain up front. Added camber is the only thing that would really cause the wheel bearings to wear out prematurely. That being said, is the sound comming from the front or rear?

 

from the rear mostly.

 

Also note that the MINI's wheel bearings crap out on a regular basis regardless of the suspension is stock or not. I would say that as long as your alignment isn't ridiculous and you're not running super-skateboard wheel offsets there's no reason your suspension would accelerate bearing wear beyond their inherently quick wear.

 

+1. zeus you have a sweet looking car . If your bearings need replaced, just do it, but your car looks sweet lowered. You got 70k out of them, another set and you have 140+k.

 

Lowered suspension will not cause excessive wear of the wheel bearings. They'll wear out under any circumstances.

 

Agreed....I've had my front and rear bearings all go bad on my 02 (all prior to my low offset wheels)...chances are the lowering had very little to do with it.

 

Whats does it cost for wheel bearing replacement?

 

I'm appreciating the helpful comments and information. Thanks.

 

Gonna be done as a hub bearing assembly, not just an individual bearing. So, prolly anywhere from $150-250 for parts (or more depending where you go) and probably 1.5-2.5 hours labor. In less words, not cheap. Here ya go:
http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductL...pe=186&PTSet=A

 

As hemi said...it can't be a bit expensive. Especially if you have someone else do the work.

If you shop around you can find the parts for $90 per hub (180 per axle). The shops I talked to were quoting a minimum of two hours of labor per axle () and with their hourly labor prices, that can be pretty pricey when all is said and done.

 

Damn I think mine are shot in the front and headed to the Dragon on Wednesday. Not much time to get them replaced.

 

What is the sound like when they start to go?

My 03 has 58,000 mi. It has, when it first is driven, the sound coming from up front, drivers side, of a very fast but slight rattle, like something is loose. this is especially true when driving on rough surface roads at lower speeds (under 50). I know suspension should be and probably is tight. Danny at Minicorsa just replaced my lower control arm bushings (Bavauto offset poly) and lower motor mount Polyflex). He adjusted my Cross coil overs and checked the sway bar bushings. This maintenance did not change the sound.

My tires are a little shredded from track (Falken Azeni RT 615) but there is no vibration of the steering wheel which might be symptomatic of wheel/tire imbalance.

Is it the wheel bearings I'm hearing? It seems to be the same whether on or off throttle but most obvious under light throttle or coasting.

 

2 can be done in a driveway in a day with basic tools and one or 2 readily available specialty tools. It will take some time andeffort if you've never done it or seen it done but it is possible.

 

Wheels bearings have a very tell tale sound. They make either a humming/whining sound or a growling sound. The sound will increase when the wheel is turned. IE-gets louder when turning left means the right is bad because the weight is being pushed out onto it.

 

The wheel bearing is more of a deep hummm or a "whuuur whuuur whuuur" and is directly related to speed. When it first starts it seems to become audible around 30mph for most people and as you speed up the frequency of the whuurs speeds up. I don't think it would be the cause of a "rattle" but I could be wrong.

 

Mine are real loud at higher speeds and it sounds like whuuur whuur :(

 

i get this noise too from my rears but i know for sure that my alignment is out of wack.. and tire is wearing a bit uneven.

 

Before going down the wheel bearing path, I would make sure it is not tire noise. As the tires wore on my lowered Mini the tires got louder and louder. I thought it was the wheel bearings but it was just the tires. Some tires especially get loud due to more wear on the inner edge from the neg. camber.

I suggest you jack up the rear and spin the tire/wheel and listen for a noisy bearing. Also, grab the tire at 3:00 and 9:00 and shake to see if there is any looseness.

My bet is on the tires not the bearings.

 

For whatever reasons...this test didn't work on any of my bad bearings. I have read this test many times and even tried it when I knew that the bearing was bad and still noticed no looseness....so don't negate the possibility just because it passes this test *Just fyi*

I agree though....make sure it's not the tires first. It could easily just be the tires. I went ahead and put a whole different set of wheels+tires on to make sure. The exact noise stayed around so I knew it couldn't be tires...and moved on to check my brakes and bearings.

 

If it was a "rattle" I would be looking for a loose part or parts touching. No, it's definitely a "whuuur whuuur whuuur" sound.
The "grab the tire at 3 and 9" does not work anymore for newer vehicles. It did work on my old chevys a long, long time ago.
This is definitely wheel bearing noise.
It comes on so gradually that it can be missed if you drive it daily with a radio on. This is the wife's car and I rarely drive it. Since she doesn't have H/K like my MCS I never turn on her radio. That's when I found it.
Once again, thank you and I hope this thread help someone else discover a problem before it becomes a roadside issue.

 

Lets see, I replaced the passenger side wheel bearing 3 times and the driver's side once - 125,000 miles. Very easy to change - about a 1/2 hour per side. You can use an impact wrench to remove the axle nut, but NEVER to reinstall - 132ft lbs exactly.

I wouldn't expect camber to greatly affect wheel bearing wear since the knuckle moves in sinc with camber. I would expect wheel offset to affect wheel bearing wear...but I've been running 33mm offset up front forever and 38mm in the back. Why the passenger side bearing wears more often is a curiosity.

In every case, the bearing hummed/groaned as speed increased. The bearing never became loose. I just replaced one two weeks ago - $180.00 plus tax. There are a few companies out there rebuilding new bearings, yes new, for the purpose of installing synthetic grease...not sure about the cost today. My first bearing cost $135.00 and the cost goes up and up and up...

 

Ouch.......

 

Does anyone have a link to a "how to" with pictures?

 

that link is presently @ $155

here's another just for giggles

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html...ID=33416756830

that link is presently @ $127

i've done one wheel bearing replacement (left front) in 97,000 miles, with -2.5 degrees camber on a chassis that is dropped 1.7".