Wheel Bearing In Car........how Can I Tell If Its Nakered?

[Ingram]

hello, i hear a whirling kinda noise from my car, the only thing i can think of it being is a wankered wheel bearing. how can i check if it is? also if its not what else could it be, thanks alot

Edited August 9, 2006 by Ingram

[MadManMike]

Does it always happen or is it just when you turn?

[Ingram]

Does it always happen or is it just when you turn?

always does, well sometimes it goes away then itll come back, i think maybe i just dont reconise it sometimes?

Edited August 9, 2006 by Ingram

[Lawnmowerman]

Jack your car up, lock you steering to one side and wobble the wheel with your hands. If it's knocking you need new bearings.

[trials_pimp]

Dont lock it to 1 side, as this will remove any play from the bearing and you wont hear any noise.

The best method would be to raise all 4 wheels off the floor, and remove wheel trims if you have them.

Making sure the car is secure, in turn grab each wheel top and bottom and try and move it up and down, then do the same side to side, hands at 9 and 3.

That will tell you if you have any play in the bearings.

Next thing to do is spin the wheels as fast as you can with your hands, and listen. If you hear any rumbling or wurring, then the bearing is at fault.

What car is it? and under what circumstances does the noise occur??

[Ingram]

its a 97 clio 1.4, (mk1 phase 3) im sure ive had that bearing done before though?! hmmmm, it randomly comes on, notice it more in a straight line, like i said before i dunno if i havnt noticed it before so i think it just happens sometimes, could cornering too hard with quite alot of weight bollox it? thanks for the replies.

[Fish-Finger-er]

pretty much as trials_pimp stated.

if youve had that side again tis quite likely it will of gone again, especially if you let it get bad before you change it.

had a couple of transit connects(between an escort an a trannie size wise, focus floor pan etc) come in with knackered wheel bearings, change them, then 2 months down the line they come back in with the same fault.

if you let it get too bad, wear will either happen in the hub where the wheel bearings pressed into, or in the driveshaft, making the bearing more succeptable to forces from certain angles, increasing wear.

[rugbyman]

always does, well sometimes it goes away then itll come back, i think maybe i just dont reconise it sometimes?

a worn wheel bearing doesn't come a go, unless you mean it's speed related. once a wheel bearing's shagged the noise will increase in volume the faster you go or increase in volume as you corner FACT. if it turns out to be the bearing and you've had it changed before, as someone else said you'll need to change the bearing and the carrier. if you can be more specific i might be able to shed more light on the problem.

[Ingram]

i don think its a wheel bearing then, thats what i thought it wouldnt come and go. could it be a joint then? like a dry cv joint or somthing? lol thanks loads for all the help greatly apreciate it.

[Fish-Finger-er]

a worn wheel bearing doesn't come a go, unless you mean it's speed related. once a wheel bearing's shagged the noise will increase in volume the faster you go or increase in volume as you corner FACT. if it turns out to be the bearing and you've had it changed before, as someone else said you'll need to change the bearing and the carrier. if you can be more specific i might be able to shed more light on the problem.

good point, but bear the following in mind. because after thinking about im sure jacking it up an checking the wheel bearing would be a good idea.

you understand how the grinding may become more aparent during cornering to one direction, and less apparent during cornering to the other direction, exactly the same effect happens when road camber changes.

if it comes and goes, then its most likely something else, but if heards a fair chunk of time, with the odd few seconds or so of no noise, then it may well be the bearing still.

but think you would be best of jacking the car up, using a high quality trolley jack, spinning the wheel, checking for play, an if you can hear the noise while its jacked up, try to locate it if it aint the wheel bearing.

could be something totally irrelevant and easy to fix, but highly unlikely, had a bloke come in with an iveco once complaining of a gone nearside rear wheel bearing, noise became apparent going round right hand bends at speed. turns out his handbrake cable was sittin about 3mm off the tyre, and the cornering force made it contact the tyre and make a scraping sound. obiviously wouldnt be this(unless mk1 clios have a very alternative handbrake routing scheme ) but may be worth bearing in mind that its not always the sensible suggestions that are right.

[rugbyman]

just a quick thought, have you checked your tyres? they can make a similar sound to a worn wheel bearing. look at the tread pattern, see if there is any irregularity on the surface (a common problem on freelanders manier wheel bearing has been changed by mistake)

[Ingram]

irregularity on the surface

what on the surface lol

[rugbyman]

what on the surface lol

it's hard to explain but i'll try. when a tyre has this fault if you look at the face of the tread (the part that runs on the tarmac) it will be uneven. where the grooves in the tread pattern are, the actual rubber either side of them should be the same depth. if you run your hand over the tread you'll feel that it differs.

if this don't make sense pm me and i'll call you.

Edited August 10, 2006 by rugbyman