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wheel bearings - how to diagnose

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    wheel bearings - how to diagnose

    Car is an '88 325i sedan with 77K. I've got a low-pitched vibration/howling that starts at about 30-40 mph. I can feel it strongly in the steering wheel. I jacked up all 4 corners and gave the tires a hard shake. The rears are solid as can be. While the rear was jacked up, I also ran the rear wheels up to 80MPH or so in 5th gear and did not hear or feel any vibration at all.

    The front wheels seems to have very, very slight looseness when I shake it top-to-bottom. Could be worn suspension - I'm not sure what a blown wheel bearing feels like. Is there any other way to see if one of the front wheel bearings is the problem? Could someone link to the best DIY thread for replacing those? Any other things to look at?

    Thanks!
    "If the sky were to fall tomorrow, the tall would die first."

    -Dr. Paul Forrester



    Do I LOOK like I need a psychological evaluation???

    #2
    Spin the wheel. If you hear grinding, the bearing is bad. If you're still unsure, you can remove the wheel and brakes and spin the bearing itself. It should sound and feel obvious when it's bad.

    Remove the wheel anyway. See if the metal caps on the wheels bearing have any holes in them. If so, that is likely the reason the bearing has failed - dirt/water in the bearing.

    I just helped a friend do the front bearings on his car. Pretty easy. I forget where he got the DIY. I assume you have a torque wrench and such?
    Last edited by bmwpower; 04-15-2009, 08:53 PM.
    89 325is track project / 05 x5 / 99 M3
    E30 stuff for sale | Parts I'm looking for

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      #3
      worn suspension will normally be felt more left to right. If you have more play at 12 and 6 than 3 and 9 wheel bearing FO SHO. Also if turning left makes the hum go away its the left side, cuz weight is shifting to the right and taking some load off the left wheel. That diagnostic trick works for the other side too somehow, don't ask me why.

      Comment


        #4
        Probably front bearings, but tires can make similar noises and vibrations if they are scallopped. You may want to try swapping the tires front to rear just to eliminate that possibility.

        Definitely just go ahead and replace the front wheel bearings as a pair if you decide to do the job. When one goes the other is usually not very far behind.
        '91 318is
        sigpic

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          #5
          Originally posted by Brew View Post
          Probably front bearings, but tires can make similar noises and vibrations if they are scallopped. You may want to try swapping the tires front to rear just to eliminate that possibility.
          ^^^ Good solid advice. If the noise is still there after you swap front/rear tires, try to see if the noise changes when you swerve. Wheel bearing noise typically changes when you shift the car's weight from side to side.


          Turbo M20, MSnS, 38lb, 3" no cat, RPI 12.2", ATS DTC, 240whp/240wtq, Lmnop. www.DonsGarage.net

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Rolla1990 View Post
            ^^^ Good solid advice. If the noise is still there after you swap front/rear tires, try to see if the noise changes when you swerve. Wheel bearing noise typically changes when you shift the car's weight from side to side.
            Ding ding ding! The weight shift cinched it. Will get the fronts on order.

            Thanks to all for your input.
            "If the sky were to fall tomorrow, the tall would die first."

            -Dr. Paul Forrester



            Do I LOOK like I need a psychological evaluation???

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by bmwpower View Post
              Spin the wheel. If you hear grinding, the bearing is bad. If you're still unsure, you can remove the wheel and brakes and spin the bearing itself. It should sound and feel obvious when it's bad.

              Remove the wheel anyway. See if the metal caps on the wheels bearing have any holes in them. If so, that is likely the reason the bearing has failed - dirt/water in the bearing.

              I just helped a friend do the front bearings on his car. Pretty easy. I forget where he got the DIY. I assume you have a torque wrench and such?

              I'm that "friend".... :pimp:


              As bmwpower has said - the best way to tell if the bearings are bad, especially the front ones - jack the car up - spin the tire... If you are getting a noise that sounds like metal on metal or a metal crunching noise, it's the wheel bearing. If you cannot tell if it's the brakes making the noises you may be hearing - remove the caliper from the rotor and remove the rotor - spin the hub assembly.... By spinning the hub assembly alone, you will definitely know if the bearings are shot.

              When driving and when going into a L or R curve/turn, if the car exhibits more growling noise from one side, that is the side that has the bad bearing. If you are going to replace the front bearings, IMO, it's good to do BOTH sides, as the job is easy enough. This assures that you will now know how many miles are on the new bearings rather than waiting for the 2nd one to fail at a later date. When we did my front bearings (both original to the car and at 120k), the passenger side was SHOT. I opted to buy both R & L front bearings and luckily I did, because when we diassembled the driver side, that one was going bad as well, but was not as bad or as loud as the passenger side.

              Here is an excellent tech thread as to how to replace the front bearings (this applies to both 325 and 318 E30's, excluding XI's as I'm not sure about their front suspension assembly). There is also VALUABLE additional info I posted within the LAST POST of the below thread that WILL save you money, time & headaches!!! Be sure to check that last post of the below linked thread BEFORE buying your parts/tools and starting the job! The info in the below thread contains some great advice for those needing to replace their front bearings....



              Best of luck - it's a pretty simple task and having great friends like bmwpower to help really makes the job easier and quicker too!
              Last edited by Cobra Jet; 04-16-2009, 08:37 AM.

              Comment


                #8
                Thanks to all who replied. I went by the Bentley and the DIY posted by Cobra Jet. I bought the FAG/Timken hubs from Autozone for $140 per including tax and only a 1 year warranty. The driver side bearing was toast, the passenger side seemed OK, but I replaced both. I used a AutoZone loaner slide hammer on one side, and the mounted wheel/tire gimmick on the other - both worked fine and the inner races came off with the hubs.

                Questions:
                1. What is the weapon of choice for bending the axle nut collar into the slot on the axle stub?
                2. Bentley calls for Loctite 638 on the dust cap. Would high-temp blue RTV be adequate?
                3. Is it possible for wheel bearings to fail in 77K miles, or was my odometer likely non-op for a while?
                "If the sky were to fall tomorrow, the tall would die first."

                -Dr. Paul Forrester



                Do I LOOK like I need a psychological evaluation???

                Comment


                  #9
                  Help!!!

                  im currently doing this wheel bearing replacement.

                  the diagnosis was immediately apparent that it was correct once i took the wheel off and spun the rotor.

                  HOWEVER, i am having a very difficult time locating a socket that will fit in the hub. i noticed that the recommended locations were advance auto parts stores. Unfortunately there are none here in California.

                  To anyone else who has done this, any ideas as to where i may acquire said 36mm axle nut socket that will fit in the hub?

                  much appreciated.

                  -Zach

                  Comment


                    #10
                    dude any regular 34mm chrome vanadium socket will fit it's just impact sockets with a thicker wall that won't, I just did the job this evening IT AIN"T HARD but I wouldn't gamble on the inner race coming off the spindle easily chances are if you haven't been driving around with the bearing blown it won't be too hard but a 3" two jaw puller is pretty cheap and if the inner race is stuck on there it will help out alot.

                    '89 Alpine S52 with goodies

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Adrian_Visser View Post
                      dude any regular 34mm chrome vanadium socket will fit it's just impact sockets with a thicker wall that won't, I just did the job this evening IT AIN"T HARD but I wouldn't gamble on the inner race coming off the spindle easily chances are if you haven't been driving around with the bearing blown it won't be too hard but a 3" two jaw puller is pretty cheap and if the inner race is stuck on there it will help out alot.
                      You mean 36mm chrome vanadium socket.

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