about a month ago a low frequency humming started at above 25mph, I chalked it up to a bad wheel bearing and jacked up the front end to check for play at the hub or grittyness in the rotation of the wheels. Neither was found on either front wheels nor the rear wheels,

I figured it could possibly be a cupped tire so I inspected all 4 wheels and no cupping was found so I went ahead and rotated the tires. Front right to rear left and front left to rear right.

About a week later the Boise slowly but surely became louder and I was now able to hear a difference when turning the car. Left turn and the noise became louder and righty turn and it became slightly quieter and I figured now there should be enough play to diagnose the bearing, so again I jacked up the front end and tried to find play or feel the bad bearing while spinning the tire and again both front hubs feel the same with no play or grit.

Here I am almost a month later and I still can’t feel any play in these hubs. I have a new bearing on order and I think I’ll just replace the passenger front to see if that solves it but I have never had a vehicle with a bad bearing not have play or be able to feel it when rotating the tire. Are these hubs that well made that they stay true even when they get noisy? Could it be anything else.

 

I never heard any noises in our MINI, but when I had the front end torn apart to replace the clutch (125K miles), I gave the wheel bearings a spin since the axles were removed. The left front was good, but the right front was very hard to turn and felt very rough. I replaced both.

That got me thinking, so I checked the rears; the left was hard to turn and it too felt rough, so again, I replaced both.

In both cases I didn't detect any play in the bearings, but they were hard to turn, and felt rough like all the grease was dried up.

How many miles are on the car?

 

The noise is a definite tell. My front hubs were moaning when I bought the car and there was no play. Replaced both from Detroit Axle and presto - noise gone. I also suggest you replace both simultaneously.

 

Just because there is no discernible play does not mean it’s not the bearings.

 

Same here, on my R53 I had the noise but no play. Jacked the one side up, turned of ASC and slowly accelerated the car. That helped me diagnose which side. Was passenger front left. Replaced, and the noise was gone. Week later, one of the others went. I then ordered the whole set from Detroit axle and replace them all.

 

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I just found out the the front driver side bearing is going on my wife's R60. There is absolutely no play in the wheel. But, with the car jacked up, you can definitely feel that the bearing is going bad while placing your hand on the coil spring and spinning the wheel. You can feel an inconsistent rumbling / grating vibration through the spring. You can also barely hear a slight ticking sound. Repeating the procedure on the passenger side is smooth as butter and quiet. Front driver side bearing is being replaced next week.

 

As of right now all four wheels have no noticeable vibration or noise when rotating the wheel by hand. Usually one will feel stiff or have a gritty feel when rotating them by hand but I feel no difference in the wheels. I think I’ll be changing the passenger front bearing and if that solves the noise I’ll order the driver side and do that one as well. I just find it odd that I can’t pick up the bad bearing by hand.

 

You can try rotating he tires to see if anything changes. If the noises change or move around, then it’s just the tires. If the noises don’t change, it’s a bearing somewhere.

 

Tires have been rotated already.

 

Well attempted to install the new bearing today, everything went smooth until it came time to remove the lower control arm bolts 24” breaker bar wouldn’t budge it, started to rain so I put everything back together but I discovered on putting everything back together that the hub on the car feels perfect still when I spun it without the wheel or rotor.

this is making me question if this is indeed a wheel bearing issue or if I should be looking elsewhere.