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| TexasRover Member Since: 24 Nov 2022 Location: Paris Posts: 1041   
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Typically you can hear an impeding failure (rumble), unless maybe your car is really noisy. For the cost difference get Timken bearings.
Good thing is parts are relatively cheap |
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17th Apr 2024 10:49am |
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| tom1979 Member Since: 22 Nov 2021 Location: Bedfordshire Posts: 16  
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How often do you normally check them? I don't think many people bother at all! I try to make a point of jacking mine up twice a year to check them unless i can hear anything obvious. I only use Timken or Koyo bearings. ------------- Defender 90 Td5 Discovery 2 Td5 Manual Discovery 2 Td5 Auto Range Rover Classic 300Tdi Bobtail Ranger Rover L322 M57 (and more- yes I have a problem!) |
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5th Jun 2024 7:59pm |
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| AMBxx Member Since: 24 Jul 2016 Location: York Posts: 1031 
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Mine were just replaced to get through the MOT. Just glad my wife isn't on this forum!
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6th Jun 2024 7:56am |
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| Zimblewinder Member Since: 12 Jan 2019 Location: Geelong Posts: 39  
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I touch my hubs on the outside after my regular drive home from work once a week. Also on a break on any extended trip. They are usually just warm to touch, whereas the one time I had a bearing I wasn't happy with it was touch hot and I changed it out the next day.
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6th Jun 2024 8:45am |
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| TexasRover Member Since: 24 Nov 2022 Location: Paris Posts: 1041
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No disrespect but how bad do bearings need to be for it to fair MOT. Normally its a gradual process of them getting nosier until maybe one day a complete failure and collapse. Any play can be adjusted out. Surely the MOT man is not going to condemn the front bearings for being just a bit noisy? |
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6th Jun 2024 9:23am |
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| tom1979 Member Since: 22 Nov 2021 Location: Bedfordshire Posts: 16
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Normally a few mm of movement would be an advisory but anything more would fail. Have seen some pretty bad bearings that people were driving around oblivious with! ------------- Defender 90 Td5 Discovery 2 Td5 Manual Discovery 2 Td5 Auto Range Rover Classic 300Tdi Bobtail Ranger Rover L322 M57 (and more- yes I have a problem!) |
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6th Jun 2024 10:13am |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17363 
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The MoT tester should check the wheel-bearings by rocking the wheel in the 12/6 and 3/9 o'clock positions, and by spinning the hub with the wheel raised. The vehicle will fail if there is (in the tester's judgement) excessive play, binding, roughness, looseness, end float, or anything else which concerns him.
A properly adjusted hub with bearings in good condition will rotate freely with complete smoothness, and will have negligible (or absolutely minimal) perceptible play when the wheel is rocked. Clearly there are other things (such as the brakes and the swivels) which can makes the test more confusing by creating similar symptoms to worn bearings. I tend periodically to rock the vehicle (when parked) hard from side to side using the top of wheel on each of the four wheels, since this will almost always reveal any play wheel-bearings in a matter of seconds without any tools or need for jacking. If there is any movement or clunking it should be investigated without delay. In addition after a journey of any distance I check the temperature of the hub/wheel centre with the back of my hand. As noted above, an excessively hot hub is indicative of bearing or brake faults and should be investigated. It is very rare that a wheel-bearing will change from being asymptomatic to failing catastrophically in the course of a single journey. |
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6th Jun 2024 10:56am |
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| AMBxx Member Since: 24 Jul 2016 Location: York Posts: 1031
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It was the rear bearings (if that makes any difference). Failed on one, the other was advisory, so replaced at the same time. There hadn't previously been any mention of a problem. Serviced earlier this year. |
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7th Jun 2024 5:26am |
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| Chris86 Member Since: 15 Jul 2014 Location: South Yorks Posts: 788 
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Have had a wheel bearing catastrophic failure with no prior symptoms once, to this day I have no idea what the mechanism of failure was. Vehicle was a work Defender 110, it had been serviced/inspected the previous week by the company that looked after the vehicles, then in addition we had swapped the wheels over to a different set and I'd done the usual, wiggle/rotate type tests described whilst it was in the air. Had been driving around doing an estate tour for some tourists at low speed all day, drove out of the estate gate, and got about 200m down the road, got a bit of a grumbling noise, so reduced speed and limped it about another 300m to a safe place to stop, initially thought it was something wedged in the brake dust shield or caliper so had a look and spotted the brake disc was interfacing the caliper.......... The inner of the 2 bearings had collapsed fairly catastrophically, and upon stripping down had managed to weld itself to the stub axle. Have had them give warning and go quite quickly after, one of the 4x4 centres I worked at didn't really hibernate the vehicles very well when lockdown happened and of the 12 wheel bearings I replaced 7 or 8 within a month of reopening where I assume they had suffered with water ingress and then corrosion when stood for extended periods of time. Chris |
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7th Jun 2024 10:18pm |
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| sako243 Member Since: 08 Jul 2014 Location: Wales Posts: 1218  
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It may be worth investing in some of the Ashcroft (other brands available) drive flanges. Since I put mine on nearly 10 years ago when I rebuilt the axles with pegged lockers I've never had to change the bearings. Occasionally I check them and everything is fine. Vehicle has done about 150k miles since then. There's a weep from the inner oil seal which means some oil from the rear axle gets into the hub but this also helps. Never repacked them with grease either.
Prior to the Ashcroft flanges I was doing wheel bearings every 30k-50k due to water and dirt ingress through those crappy plastic caps. Ed 82 Hotspur Sandringham 6x6 95 Defender 110 300Tdi |
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8th Jun 2024 8:30am |
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