I had three left front wheel bearings replaced on my 2005 S before I traded it at 27K. man was that car a problem child.

Most wheel bearings are designed to emit a low pitched whine that will turn into a high-pitched squeal when they are about to go.

 

As far as I know, wheel bearings are designed to be quiet. I've listened to 100s of them with electronic "ears" as well as automotive stethoscopes. If they make a noise louded than a whisper, they are bad and on there way out.

 

I started on the project. I spent about 15 minutes getting the wheel, caliper and rotor off and then went to eat dinner. I spent another 45 minutes trying to free the hub assembly. I had to tap each nut out evenly with a hammer and dowel. It finally freed up. I will probably just finish the job tomorrow early morning as I want to watch a movie.

When I was loosening the 4 wheel hub bolts I was scared each time because they would just let loose and make a loud screeching sound. I just invisioned turning a head on one or stripping one or something. That would have sucked.

So far so good.

k

 

Are you talking about the bolts that hold the wheels on (lug bolts)? I had that screeching happen to mine (over time) and eventually 2 broke off. Next time I have any type of bolt of any kind start "screeching", I will replace it.

Your bolts will probably be hard to put in by hand and will probably screech on the way in. That's another very bad sign.

 

No, the bolts that hold the wheel hub to the Steering Knuckle. Does anybody think there is a problem with those bolts? I bought 3 new ones when I bought the hub just incase I needed them (the dealer did not have more instock). I plan on using the 3 new ones but hopefully there is no problem with the old one.

 

It's a good idea to use a penitrating oil when removing suspension bolts, WD40 is the most common but, PB Blaster is the best I've used. Whenever you hear that screach there is always a chance of thread damage. I would clean the old bolts with a wire brush, if the threads look bad try hand threding them into the new hub. If they don't run in easily replace them. Breaking a bolt in the old hub isn't really a big deal, your not going to use it again. What would be worse is breaking a bolt in the new hub on the way in!

 

I will try them in. I used WD40 on all the bolts. Sprayed them a couple times and let soak for a good while while eating dinner.

 

The car is now quite.

 

Awsome! Nice job!

 

Thanks! Also thank you and the rest of the board for helping me diagnose and tackle the job. This board is great.

 

Oh, thought of another question after I was finished. Is the outer CV joint suppose to but up against the bearing? From what I can tell it does not and the wheel speed sensor has to be between the CV and the steering knuckle. It seems like dirt and such would have access to the back side of the bearing really easily.

 

The bearing is sealed so water and dirt can't get in. Also, the axle spins fast so anything that may collect in there get trown out as soon as you drive the car. The tone ring for the speed sensor does the same thing, I guess if you were try to enclose it, then debris would be more likely to collect in there.

 

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread but would a bad bearing cause car vibrations felt through the peddle? I get a nasty vibration + washermachine sound @ 5 mph all the way to 80+, sometimes it goes away after i stay a long time @ the same mph. If i turn the car off @ like 20mph and puts it to neutral, the vibration + sound is still there. Car has been aligned and wheels are balanced.

 

Oh I forgot to mention that i tried wobbling the wheel when it was off the ground, it didn't wobble

 

Does the sound/vibration get worse when you turn left or right?

 

Yes, a bad wheel bearing will make that type of noise, and Nabeshin is on the right track. Drive the car at a steady speed, you can switch off the engine and coast in a safe place, I use a local cemetary nobody complains, gently swerve from left to right, the noise should get louder one way and quieter the other. Now the tricky part, when you swerve left you put more weight on the right wheel, if it gets louder, then it is most likely that wheel, if it's louder the other way then it's probably the left. This is not fool proof, I have had the opposite true in rare cases. I run the car on the lift and listen with an automotive stethiscope. Also, there may not be play in the bearing yet but, if you drive it for a few thousand more miles there probably will be, not that I recommend waiting that long to fix it.

 

You can also jack up the front and spin the tire and listen for noise in the bearing, when they are bad they make noise.

 

Apologies for arriving 10 years late to thank for this post.
I had a slight accident a few weeks ago where I hit a curb while turning to left at a low speed.
After repairing the rim, I still feel the noise of the tire over the ground as if the wheel were still damaged. Less than before repairing the rim but the noise is there.
I have the same symptoms as those described by everyone here: noise increase when turning to the left and is almost gone when turning to the right.
The noise is perfectly synchronized with my speed and it feels in a perfect pattern.
I'm going to request a change for my right front hub wheel.

Thank you very much to all again!

 

41 ft lbs is for the rear wheel bearings; the fronts are torqued to 15 flt lbs (1st stage) and then an additional 90 degrees (2d stage) (Ref Bentley pg 310-20, front), (330-19, rear). Front bolts should be replaced; rears can be reused.

I changed all four last weekend @ 124K miles; no play at all, but very stiff; it was obvious the oil was gone from the grease. I'd recommend a time change for the fronts at 100K miles. Gas mileage as already increased.

 

After replacing the wheel hub, the "noise" finally gone.

I just need an alignment service, since there is a small vibration now on the steering wheel but it is an expected behavior after this replacement.
I will test again and will report the result after the alignment service on this thread

 

Alignment service done and all is OK.
Another MINI owner happy for fixing the issue by replacing the wheel hub bearing.

Thanks to all the writers on this thread