Hi all

A co-worker's 2002 (maybe 03?) mini manual trans (50k miles, obviously not driven often) is growling pretty loudly at ~25mph and higher. Hard to describe. Low frequency, fairly loud, i might poorly describe it as the sound you hear when someone drags heavy furniture around in an apartment building.

It was brought to a non mini mechanic who said it was likely a wheel bearing.
I've been asked for a second opinion. This isn't a sound I've heard in my 05 cabrio yet, so I don't have any idea.

Is this an obvious diagnosis, and if so, what's the problem and cost likely to be?
Otherwise, what additional information can i gather to help diagnose?

thanks!

 

My immediate thought is the wheel bearing as well. You can usually tell by jacking the car up and seeing if there's a lot of play on the wheels by shifting it towards and away from the car.

Wheel bearing costs around $150 and labor is another $150 or so.

 

Should both (or all 4) be done at once, or only when necessary?

Are the front more likely to go than the rear?

thanks

 

I'm fairly new in the MINI world so I'm not certain historically which, if either, of MINI's front and rear bearing are prone to going bad. No need to replace all four...just replace the one that's bad.

 

Also, I just looked it up on my Bentley Service Manual and it looks like the bearings and wheel hub are not sold separately. The good news is, if you're handy with the wrench, it should be a pretty simple replacement since you won't need to have a press to secure the bearings. You just remove your old hub and slide in your new one.

 

Rear don't change sound as often as front do in turns. That may help front/rear diagnosis. Also, some tires are just plain loud, so if they are new, it is possible it sounds wrong.