Rear Wheel bearing
01-06-2011, 03:00 PM
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Rear Wheel bearing
Hey guys need your help.
I took my car ('01 2.8 Quattro) for a 1200km roadtrip to Montreal and back. Last couple of days, I'm getting this humming sound from the Drivers side rear wheel. I's not as loud when I'm going under 30km/h. Once I start picking up speed (40, 50, 60km/h) it gets louder.
The sound is similar to if you were to leave you window slightly open. That constant hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
I'm thinking it's the wheel bearing. If it is the wheel bearing, should I replace both or wait till the other one goes. Is there a DIY here for the B5 model. Is it hard to do.
If it is the wheel bearing, I was thinking to take the spindle OFF and take it to a shop to replace the bearing. Is that a good way of doing it.
I took my car ('01 2.8 Quattro) for a 1200km roadtrip to Montreal and back. Last couple of days, I'm getting this humming sound from the Drivers side rear wheel. I's not as loud when I'm going under 30km/h. Once I start picking up speed (40, 50, 60km/h) it gets louder.
The sound is similar to if you were to leave you window slightly open. That constant hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
I'm thinking it's the wheel bearing. If it is the wheel bearing, should I replace both or wait till the other one goes. Is there a DIY here for the B5 model. Is it hard to do.
If it is the wheel bearing, I was thinking to take the spindle OFF and take it to a shop to replace the bearing. Is that a good way of doing it.
01-06-2011, 03:18 PM
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Hey guys need your help.
I took my car ('01 2.8 Quattro) for a 1200km roadtrip to Montreal and back. Last couple of days, I'm getting this humming sound from the Drivers side rear wheel. I's not as loud when I'm going under 30km/h. Once I start picking up speed (40, 50, 60km/h) it gets louder.
The sound is similar to if you were to leave you window slightly open. That constant hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
I'm thinking it's the wheel bearing. If it is the wheel bearing, should I replace both or wait till the other one goes. Is there a DIY here for the B5 model. Is it hard to do.
If it is the wheel bearing, I was thinking to take the spindle OFF and take it to a shop to replace the bearing. Is that a good way of doing it.
I took my car ('01 2.8 Quattro) for a 1200km roadtrip to Montreal and back. Last couple of days, I'm getting this humming sound from the Drivers side rear wheel. I's not as loud when I'm going under 30km/h. Once I start picking up speed (40, 50, 60km/h) it gets louder.
The sound is similar to if you were to leave you window slightly open. That constant hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
I'm thinking it's the wheel bearing. If it is the wheel bearing, should I replace both or wait till the other one goes. Is there a DIY here for the B5 model. Is it hard to do.
If it is the wheel bearing, I was thinking to take the spindle OFF and take it to a shop to replace the bearing. Is that a good way of doing it.
From FK Auto Works:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pRfCH-XBtU
And a generic How-To from an annoyingly happy guy (Scott Kilmer):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeSyk...eature=related
Before you jump to the conclusion of a bad wheel bearing, have you inspected the tyres first? "Cupping" and/or uneven tyre wear can cause humming noises. Also, having the wrong tyre pressure in a high performance tyres can at times cause some humming noises as well. I'd look into that first.
Last edited by mksu19; 01-06-2011 at 03:21 PM.
01-06-2011, 05:04 PM
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When my rear bearings go bad (I've driven B5's for 10 years so I'm pretty tuned into my rear bearings) the sound gets worse/better when I saw the wheel back and forth. When you load up a rear bearing by swing the back of the car around, the noise changes and you load and/or unload the bearings.
And yea, if you don't have a bearing press it's pretty painless to take the spindle in to get it done.......that is as long as that bolt in the bottom bushing isn't rusted solid in there.
And yea, if you don't have a bearing press it's pretty painless to take the spindle in to get it done.......that is as long as that bolt in the bottom bushing isn't rusted solid in there.
01-07-2011, 07:41 PM
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I drive with a little kid around daily, city driving 60km/h to 65/hr.
What's the worst/likely thing that can happen if I drive the car for a week until I get a chance to replace it?? It's a weird question I know, I won't have time to change it for another week. I mean I'll park the car if I have to.
What's the worst/likely thing that can happen if I drive the car for a week until I get a chance to replace it?? It's a weird question I know, I won't have time to change it for another week. I mean I'll park the car if I have to.
01-07-2011, 08:26 PM
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I drive with a little kid around daily, city driving 60km/h to 65/hr.
What's the worst/likely thing that can happen if I drive the car for a week until I get a chance to replace it?? It's a weird question I know, I won't have time to change it for another week. I mean I'll park the car if I have to.
What's the worst/likely thing that can happen if I drive the car for a week until I get a chance to replace it?? It's a weird question I know, I won't have time to change it for another week. I mean I'll park the car if I have to.
Originally Posted by Buzzle.com
Wheel Bearing Failure: Consequences
Knowing the symptoms of wheel bearing failure is always helpful. This will help you get aware of the possible problems of wheel bearings and take the necessary steps towards repairing it. Mind well, that the wheel bearing failure consequences can be really serious. This can result into loss of control, especially in case of failure of front steering axle wheel bearings leading to major accidents. While a wheel bearing fails, it can cause a running vehicle to loose a wheel, hence leading to loss of steering control. Apart from this, a failed wheel bearing can also affect the car's ABS.
Knowing the symptoms of wheel bearing failure is always helpful. This will help you get aware of the possible problems of wheel bearings and take the necessary steps towards repairing it. Mind well, that the wheel bearing failure consequences can be really serious. This can result into loss of control, especially in case of failure of front steering axle wheel bearings leading to major accidents. While a wheel bearing fails, it can cause a running vehicle to loose a wheel, hence leading to loss of steering control. Apart from this, a failed wheel bearing can also affect the car's ABS.
Originally Posted by Hudson's Blog
If ignored long enough, a bad wheel bearing will eventually fail - sometimes with potentially deadly consequences if the vehicle loses a wheel! Maneuvering a three-wheeled vehicle is a feat best left to a trained stunt driver. So if a bearing is making noise, it should always be inspected.
For your kids' sake, please just park your car!
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01-10-2011, 06:36 AM
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Your wheel bearing is not the only thing to hold the wheel/hub to the car. The wheel won't magically fall off if the wheel bearing fails or seizes. The axle bolt is threaded through the wheel flange/hub assembly and will hold everything together in the event of a bearing failure. Could it happen? I suppose it could, but it's not likely at all.
This is irresponsible advice to be giving someone who is travelling with their kid in the car, so it's ultimately your choice and don't blame me if things don't turn out the way that they did for me. But I've driven on my bad wheel bearings for several months before I replaced them. Did I get lucky? Maybe. But a week is very unlikely to cause a major failure/seizing of the bearing. However, I will also say that on a long trip, the additional heat buildup from the smoked bearing probably warped my hub assembly, which caused me to have to replace the bearing twice until I figured out that the whole hub needed to be replaced as well.
There is a writeup on how to replace the rear bearing in the DIY section, but it's pretty simple. Remove axle bolt, jack car up, remove brakes, mark lower eccentric bolt (to help maintain alignment), remove control arm and sway bar bolts, remove spindle from the car. Reverse for assembly, and make sure you tighten the control arm bolts with the suspension at ride height.
Good luck.
This is irresponsible advice to be giving someone who is travelling with their kid in the car, so it's ultimately your choice and don't blame me if things don't turn out the way that they did for me. But I've driven on my bad wheel bearings for several months before I replaced them. Did I get lucky? Maybe. But a week is very unlikely to cause a major failure/seizing of the bearing. However, I will also say that on a long trip, the additional heat buildup from the smoked bearing probably warped my hub assembly, which caused me to have to replace the bearing twice until I figured out that the whole hub needed to be replaced as well.
There is a writeup on how to replace the rear bearing in the DIY section, but it's pretty simple. Remove axle bolt, jack car up, remove brakes, mark lower eccentric bolt (to help maintain alignment), remove control arm and sway bar bolts, remove spindle from the car. Reverse for assembly, and make sure you tighten the control arm bolts with the suspension at ride height.
Good luck.
01-10-2011, 09:50 AM
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yes as just stated. it is possible to seize but the odds are more likely it will cause more damage to the hub from heat. what I tell people is this. when a bearing fails you will hear a slight hum as you travel around a corner. A hum on a rt turn is telling you a left side bearing is starting to go bad etc.
when this happens it is time to think about repair. when the hum gets consistent you need to replace at your first opportunity. when the noise echo's inside the car you are likely at the point you now need a hub as well (the heat build up warps the hub)
now to get from step 1 to step 3 may take 1 week or 2 years, you never know with a bearing, and driving style comes into play as well. I just replaced a rear bearing on my neighbors A4 that made more noise then I have ever heard. it started 7000 miles ago, I told her to let me know when it got worst. Well she just kept turning up the radio I guess!!! the whole wheel wobbled when I got it, yet I was shocked the hub was fine. but she did mostly all short trips so never likely got it real hot.
but yes you do need to get it changed ASAP, I would not take the car on a 500 mile trip, but I would drive it on my normal short trips around town, until I got the time to replace. the bearing is only $40-60 depending where from, labor could be around $100-200 for someone to do it for you.
when this happens it is time to think about repair. when the hum gets consistent you need to replace at your first opportunity. when the noise echo's inside the car you are likely at the point you now need a hub as well (the heat build up warps the hub)
now to get from step 1 to step 3 may take 1 week or 2 years, you never know with a bearing, and driving style comes into play as well. I just replaced a rear bearing on my neighbors A4 that made more noise then I have ever heard. it started 7000 miles ago, I told her to let me know when it got worst. Well she just kept turning up the radio I guess!!! the whole wheel wobbled when I got it, yet I was shocked the hub was fine. but she did mostly all short trips so never likely got it real hot.
but yes you do need to get it changed ASAP, I would not take the car on a 500 mile trip, but I would drive it on my normal short trips around town, until I got the time to replace. the bearing is only $40-60 depending where from, labor could be around $100-200 for someone to do it for you.