Near side wheel bearing keeps failing

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basil40
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Near side wheel bearing keeps failing

Post by basil40 »

I'd really like to do this job - replacing the ner side wheel bearing. It must have gone 10 times now. I've tried 3 different garages, the last one chaged the drive shaft and fitted a new bearing. This has failed in less than one month. I can't believe what they tell me anymore. It's an Activa and I've done most of the doable jobs on it - apart from this one!! Does the Activa have a different wheel bearing part spec?
Peter.N.
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Post by Peter.N. »

How does the bearing fail, does it go noisey or loose or does it sieze up?
martyhopkirk

Post by martyhopkirk »

Has it ever been stuffed in a crash?
My AX munches through driveshafts for fun as its all lovely and twisted at the front.
mpr1956
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Post by mpr1956 »

Hi.. this is a really strange problem, I find it hard to believe that all three garages got it wrong... I wonder if the bearing carrier is warped ? -but its a hefty casting so perhaps unlikely. Could your brake caliper be binding and "boiling" the grease away ? Some more help is needed here... Is the activa that different to the normal xantia? Where is activa v6 when you need him ?
paranoid
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Post by paranoid »

Reminds me of a montego that we had in, had 8 front wheel bearings because it was a notorious weak spot, Owner threatened to sue etc etc.
Turned out to be gearbox was low on oil all along, was slowly cooking itself, looked at the service book hadn't been serviced for about 40'000 miles
I'm not saying this is your problem though but worth a look, CV joints can make wheel bearing noises as well.
JohnT
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Post by JohnT »

If you have done this ten times so far you are probably better at providing the answer than us. Can I ask what were the reasons for the failure by those who did the job that may times? I must admit that I would have been unhappy with unsatisfactory result after the second attempt? May I sugest you change the whole hub assembly as that might be a start ? If this problem is as bad as it sounds it seems your front sub frame is out of line. Is the tyre wear abnormal? What do you mean in that it has 'failed'?
bxbodger
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Post by bxbodger »

Appart from the aforementioned Maestro/Montego range ( and that was only the early ones with the two bearing-race hubs ) you should only need to change wheel bearings once in the lifetime of the car- my BX is approaching the quarter million mile mark and its only ever had one rear bearing changed....
Something is clearly amiss here, wether its an alignment problem or not I don't know, but I would go with JohnT's suggestion and start with a new hub assembly from a scrapper, and see what happens then!!
citronut
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Post by citronut »

i would say either these garages are damaging the seals on fiting or they are not doing hub nut up tight enough regards malcolm
jeremy
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Post by jeremy »

What's actually going wrong with the bearing? I can't see thatany misalignment is going to damage the bearing unless its so gross that the car would be undriveable!
I agree with those who are questioning 'is it really the bearing?'
Jeremy
alan s
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Post by alan s »

You don't happen to park your car on a road with a high crown by any chance? One that has a gutter that tends to fill with water fairly often?
I'm suggesting that if this is the case, then chances are the bearing is getting contaminated with water and road grit.
Just a lucky dip but sillier things have happened.
Alan S
oilyspanner
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Post by oilyspanner »

Sounds like someone isnt pressing them in using the outer edge and a suitable sized mandrel for the press.
Stewart
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Post by citronut »

these bearings are pritty tough,as i and stuart said its just as likly they are beeing damaged when fitting,or as somone elss said it might be brake noise,so when the garage takes it all apart and refits it the noise goes for a while regards malcolm
Dave Bamber
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Post by Dave Bamber »

I wonder if the hub is damaged in some way and the bearings are not seating correctly. I'd be temped to replace the hub and see what happens.....
citronut
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Post by citronut »

dave very unlikly but it may be the best thing to try regards malcolm
Peter.N.
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Post by Peter.N. »

Go down to the scrap yard and get a complete hub.
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