Suspension Is my lowered MINI ruining my wheel bearings?
My RR bearing went after a long ADSS/autox, that was easy to change but expensive at $179! I'm used to my E30 rear bearings at $60 a pair.
I need a front left bearing - this one hasn't worn out but the wheel walked and sheared a lug bolt in it, which now won't come out.
What's the cheapest place you can pick one up?
(PS - Turner's is for the rear - their front is $197!)
I need a front left bearing - this one hasn't worn out but the wheel walked and sheared a lug bolt in it, which now won't come out.
What's the cheapest place you can pick one up?
(PS - Turner's is for the rear - their front is $197!)
Former Vendor
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 8,337
Likes: 8
From: oh10
The cheapest place I found in my search for the lowest price on replacement parts was http://www.germanautoparts.com/ . Ended up being cheaper than getting it from the dealer.....even with the NAM discount.
has anybody had a steering box go bad, I brought my car in to a local shop to have some control arm bushings put in and when I picked it up the guy said that my problem wasnt the bushings but my steering box was leaking oil and causing a thud sound over bumps?
Neutral
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Wheel bearing/hub
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...
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...
I was wondering if you could tell me what brand(s) you have purchased for your replacements. I hit a rather large pot hole (gotta love Ohio in the winter) and started hearing a slight hum. The hum now over powers the radio and by what I've read it sounds like I need a new rear bearing/hub. I've found several different brands during my internet search and wondered how you decided which ones to buy. The dealership wants almost twice what others are asking (duh!) and I'm out of warranty by 1 year (under 40k miles) I can honestly say that I've never owned a car that fell apart as fast as this one seems to be falling apart.....
Neutral
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Does any one know if any of the Hubs on the internet (SKF) are OEM parts? Or, who the OEM part is made by? Not that they're all that great (under 40k miles and I'm replacing one already) I'm just trying to find a better one to replace my oem with.
4th Gear
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 488
Likes: 0
How do you see if a wheel bearing is shot? I've been hearing a whurr whurr kind of sound for some days now, but not always, it seems to do it only at times. I'll be checking my bearings (I think the sound comes from the left though) but I've no idea on how to tell if they are shot ot not. 
Neutral
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
My car started making a very loud humming sound (kind of like really bad road noise) It's so bad now that it literally hurts your ears. Tires needed replaced anyway so I hoped that would take care of it. It didn't. We jacked the car up and turned the rear left (passenger) wheel and there was a slight grinding noise. From what I've read it seems to be a pretty wide spread problem with these cars. I ordered a new HUB assembly from AutoHausAz.com:
http://www.autohausaz.com/search/pro...Hub%20Assembly
Their part is about half what my local dealer charges ($262) From what I gather the oem parts don't last long anyway so I'm taking my chance with a non-oem part. If they need replaced as often as what I read, might as well go cheap! GOOD LUCK!
http://www.autohausaz.com/search/pro...Hub%20Assembly
Their part is about half what my local dealer charges ($262) From what I gather the oem parts don't last long anyway so I'm taking my chance with a non-oem part. If they need replaced as often as what I read, might as well go cheap! GOOD LUCK!
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.
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.
I'm not sure the above test will tell the tale, but do try it. If you can feel bearing looseness it is a very bad bearing.
What I'd recommend is swapping the tires front to rear & see if the noise moves with the tires in their new position on the car.
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