Wheel bearing DIY? Or any advice

[ecproductions143]

Will a bad wheel bearing cause the rotor to have slop in it? When I inspect everything , all that slops around is the rotor or hub whatever it's called.

p.s. The symptoms I'm having is under braking at speeds over 40+ it seems to go away after 2-3 seconds. I'm leaning towards wheel bearing.

[carlgo]

Just got my '05 X5 wheel bearing replaced at an independent BMW specialist. A little over $400. While I can get discounts on BMW parts, this job with all the pulling and pressing just was too nasty and a trip was upcoming soon, so I had them do it.

He said he has only done a couple of them on this model and he is a busy shop that has been around for many years, but clearly this was the problem.

No flopping around, just noise that was worse when going around a corner in either direction. Mine had no signs of looseness, no wiggling around when rocking the tire from 12 and 6 o'clock.

One of the problems on my year car at least is that these are not quiet like a Lexus, nor actually my Tundra pickup. Lots of road noise even without aggressive tires. Hard to know if the noise is too much or normal or what.

I like the old split bearings all cars used to have. Cost $10 or less and and would last forever if you cleaned and adjusted them once in awhile, and that wasn't hard. $600 to replace one bearing is ridiculous. And the parts themselves are sure not worth anything near their cost.

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by ecproductions143

Will a bad wheel bearing cause the rotor to have slop in it? When I inspect everything , all that slops around is the rotor or hub whatever it's called.

p.s. The symptoms I'm having is under braking at speeds over 40+ it seems to go away after 2-3 seconds. I'm leaning towards wheel bearing.

Just did the job this summer on both front sides, its a bear of a job.


Are you having vibrations while braking? That has nothing to do with wheel bearings. When the wheel bearing is loose it makes noise above 40 mph, but introduced no excessive vibrations.

If you have vibrations while braking you have worn suspension components in the front. I'd start with thrust arm (tension strut) and ball joint replacement, then the wishbone control arms.

[RFaber]

I just changed out my front wheel bearings (along with my complete front suspension!) I didnt find the entire job all that difficult at all!
the job does require a press of sorts (at least 20 Ton) i was able to remove the knuckle, pound out the old hub (without damaging it so i could reuse it!)
Then i pressed out the old bearing, used a dremel and a cutting wheel to grind a slot perpendicular to the bearing race that was left on the hub, then using a sharp cold chisel, i cracked the race, and used a 3 jaw puller to heave it off!
install was easy as well, press in the bearing, and then put the snap ring in, reinstall the dust shield and hub flange shield. and then press in the hub. I chose to use a thin layer of anti seize on the bearing and hub to make it that much simpler the next time around!
entire job was less than 2 hours! Its not a beginner job thats for sure, but if you have a slightly better than average tool box, (access to a press is great too) its entirely possible to do it yourself.
My daughter says this stuff is easy (she's 8) "all you do is have to take one bolt out and then another until youre done, then put it all back together again! "
Something to note, is that you wont find much play in the bearings, they are quite wide, and even when they are shot, there may only be an extra .001 inch play which is quite hard to detect! I usually go by the noise (as described earlier) and corner side to side to see which one makes less noise when unloaded or loaded up. although sometimes thats not the best way to tell. failing all that, i jack up all four corners, place sufficient jack stands all around, recheck for safety, and place it in drive, and listen with a stethescope to see where the culprit is!