Hey guys,

I'm having an issue that I'm looking for other's insight into. I asked this question on LXM but (per usual) wasn't satisfied with the few responses.

So I'm getting a slight humming in my 06 R53 when I make left turns above about 50 mph. Have 77,xxx miles on the car. No play or clicking in the wheel bearing upon brief inspection. No noise at all on full lock when turning at low speeds. CV boots are all in good shape with no tears or leaks. Tires are also new and balanced, and the issue was also present on my summer set of wheels & tires, so it is not a tire issue.

What are we thinking, wheel bearing slowly on its way out, Axle issues, etc? The humming is pretty subtle and what seems to be only when turning left (thus putting load on the outer passenger wheel). I have no problem changing the wheel bearing and then going from there if that doesn't fix it (based on cost of bearing vs axle, and job difficulty of each).

 

I am getting the same thing, and I am pretty well convinced its the wheel bearing, only mine is the right side.

 

Well mine seems to be coming from the right (passenger) side wheel because I believe its making noise when load is being put on it from left turns/movements.



Hope we both gain some insight.

 

That is exactly what mine is doing doing I am about to go to the MINI shop and ask I will report back

 

Yeah I'm at work all day so I can't call Helix but cool, let me know how ya make out.

 

Same problem after here Dragon run. Possibly take wheel off & turn bearing. Mine was not a smooth turn. Replaced both sides easily with basic tools under 4 hrs if remember correctly.

 

Thanks for the reply. I haven't pulled the wheel to check yet, just did the typical test with wheel on to check for play/noise.

 

Bump. I ordered 2 new front hubs. Will report back with results.

 

Which brand?

 

I ordered Moogs for $124 each from Rockauto. They're a good brand, and I had no issues with them during the time I was working in a shop, so I figured it couldn't hurt. They also had SKF's, which is probably a better brand, but the Moogs have a 3 year warranty (same as the SKF) and saved me $45 a side vs the SKF.

 

I think you're on the right track with wheel bearings. I had one fail in the first couple of years owning my MINI, and it didn't exhibit any play either - just noise at speed. I have seen this on other makes of newer vehicles too - seems as if modern Euro car wheel bearings don't get loose when failing, just noisy.

 

Props to RockAuto, hubs delivered to my door (outside Philly) in under 36 hours from order time, with basic shipping.


Hubs should be in by Sunday, I'll post after done.

 

Haha you posted just as I was. Yeah a few of my euro friends have said the same thing so we'll hope this fixes it.

 

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to give a final update.

It seems that the problem was the wheel bearing. Upon removal, it was making noise as I was rotating it by hand.

Job is pretty easy to be honest. The bolts that hold the hub to the carrier can be a pain, but are doable. I sprayed everything down with pb-blaster and was able to get it all off by hand, except the axle nut which I just quickly impacted off.

Along with replacing the axle nut (PN 31106773005), I decided to replace the hub to carrier bolts as well (PN 07119904141). Mine were pretty beaten up after 77,xxx miles.


All in all not too bad for a job.