Wheel bearing DIY? Or any advice

[flatlander]

I've searched the forum and haven't seen too much on wheel bearing DIY. I had the dealer do one of my front bearings for $600. They insisted on replacing the hub as well because they said bearing removal destroys the hub and old bearing. The X5 repair manual says the old bearing is destroyed but does not say that the hub needs to be replaced.

What is everyone's experience with wheel bearings on the x5?
Is it worth it to try DIY? Any special tools needed?

My other front bearing is going out so it looks like I'll be replacing it soon.

Thanks for any advice!

[Oil Burner]

Hi There,

There is a none OEM wheel bearing kit available (At least here in the uk).It includes the hub with wheel bearing in place/already pressed in.This is probably what your dealer had done.Each side is approx 100GBP inc postage.I have a "Tame"(open to bribary) mechanic in a UK chain of tyre etc fitters that is going to do the job on both front hubs for me.You really need a ramp and a bit of experience of pulling suspension components apart,not to mention all the tools handy (air drivers etc).

I have priced the whole job at £300/GBP all in.Havent priced the job at my dealer,but dare say a LOT more than that.Not unduly bothered about none OEM parts as sure BMW bearings have to be farmed in as well.Hope thats a little help

[erisol]

what is the symtoms on wheel bearing fail? spesial Noise or when on jack, you feel some slack on the wheel?

[spoon]

Originally Posted by erisol

what is the symtoms on wheel bearing fail? spesial Noise or when on jack, you feel some slack on the wheel?

Its a very distinct whining noise, I mistook it for wheelnoise.
Drove our X3 from Norway down to Italy and back, last summer. On the way back, halfway through Germany I started hearing the noise. Took the car to my nearest dealer (Hamar Bil) when I got home, the front left bearring was finished! They didn't have the parts in stock, so I called the dealer where i bought the car (Autozentrum, Oslo). The X3 had only done 40000 km at the time, so after a short discussion they replaced it free of charge

[BradATL]

Experiencing a mild "clunk" or knock coming from the front left suspension when turning sharp left at very low speeds (especially in reverse). Car only has 30K miles.

So I brought it to the stealer to take a look. Called today and said front left wheel bearing needs to be replaced. Have to get the part from Germany! Could take a week or more. Fortunately car is still under factory warranty for another 6 weeks. Good timing.

Was surprised to hear them say it is the wheel bearing. Expected ball joint or control arm or sway-bar link.

[DaveMires]

Hey Guys, I just finished up doing the left front wheel bearing on my 02 4.6is....I will post a DIY soon, I took pictures along the way for help. It took me around 4.5 hours to do the LH side, and I will do the RH tomorrow, maybe I can shave some time off!

Here is the low down so far, the parts are available from BMW, you have to buy a bearing and a new hub, I paid 250 per wheel including tax from my local dealer, I had to beg for a discount, but in the end they came through.....and of course they have never heard of the wheel bearings going out.....(right) As far as tools to pull the bearing out of the front suspension carrier, I went to Harbor Freight - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices and bought their standard front end bearing kit, it worked like a charm on the bearing, both removing and installing. To remove the hub from the old bearing I purchased a rear axle slide hammer kit http://ep.yimg.com/ip/I/sjdiscounttools_2055_725924714 with the flange that will fit the wheel centric on the hub, this tool did dual duty as it was able to push the axle stub shaft out of the hub, and then I used the slide hammer to remove the hub from the old bearing. All in all I would say it is an 8 out of 10 on skill level, if you can do your CV boots, I think you could tackle this project. Just remember to not put force on the bearing when pressing it into the carrier, put the pressure on the race (outer surface). Then use the bearing puller to install the hub and this time put the pressure on the center of the bearing.

I know this sounds confusing, but I will do the write up with pics in the next couple of days...I will also have pics of the tool kits I purchased and a list of needed hand tools. The two kits I purchased were 89 bucks each, so for under 200 in extra tools, you can do it yourself. My dealer wanted 1200 to do both sides.

[pinksoviet]

Just wondering, but would the following link have anything in common with the method to change wheel bearings on an X5 (It's of a 7 Series front wheel bearing replacement)?

How to: Front wheel bearing (hub) replacement

It's the closest I could get to a BMW front wheel bearing replacement guide that was nicely photographed and (relatively) simple in documentation.

Edit: On second thought, disregard this entirely. The front wheels are also powered on the X5, as opposed to the RWD of a 7-Series. Whoops, sorry.

[Oil Burner]

It's a like an old WW2 Bomber drone.Sort of a dull Wah Wah Wah sound.I initialy suspected tyre noise as i run a fairly aggresive off road pattern tyre (I have a house in darkest Shropshire UK) and do have to tackle farm tracks,flooding and generally bad road conditions.But it's not the tyres.The main givaway is driving around a corner at around 30MPH/50 odd KPH.You can hear the note change as you load/unload the bearings.It's only my left front,but am replacing both.

There is no movement at the wheel (Top/Bottom) on a ramp,and suprisingly very very little noise whilst spinning the wheel.Apparently mine is only in the early stages.

[carlgo]

Originally Posted by Oil Burner

It's a like an old WW2 Bomber drone.Sort of a dull Wah Wah Wah sound.I initialy suspected tyre noise as i run a fairly aggresive off road pattern tyre (I have a house in darkest Shropshire UK) and do have to tackle farm tracks,flooding and generally bad road conditions.But it's not the tyres.The main givaway is driving around a corner at around 30MPH/50 odd KPH.You can hear the note change as you load/unload the bearings.It's only my left front,but am replacing both.

There is no movement at the wheel (Top/Bottom) on a ramp,and suprisingly very very little noise whilst spinning the wheel.Apparently mine is only in the early stages.

I have this, with non-aggressive tires no less. The dealer said tire noise, a road test done by their senior guy who I actually know. But, I don't think he took it out of town, so in-town noise might drown out the sound I hear.

It has been like this since I bought it, nearly 20K miles ago and the sound has not changed a bit. Usually, bearings get worse in a hurry, but maybe BMW is different?

Same exact symptoms as yours, no noise spinning, different tone on turns and pretty much the same on different road surfaces. That kind of pins it down for me.

So, please keep us up to date when you get the new bearings. I really am anxious to hear (or not) your results.

[JCL]

For what it is worth, my 2003 X5 3.0 experienced a failed wheel bearing at approximately 50,000 km (from memory). It was just within the warranty period. It had been parked at the airport for 6 days, and was totally quiet up to that point. Driving out of the airport, I heard what I would describe as a "ruh, ruh, ruh" noise, which I think is very similar to what Oil Burner described. It was a very typical wheel bearing noise, and varied with road speed and not engine speed. It didn't vary with road surface, didn't vary with turns, and was loud enough that I wondered about my chances of making it 80 km to my home. I stopped at my dealer (with no appointment) on the way home, described the problem, and suggested it was probably the LF. A tech drove it, returned in 3 minutes, and confirmed my self-diagnosis. They took it in immediately, and it was ready the next day. Loaner car and all. Great service. Anyway, the way mine failed (and they are known to fail...) it wouldn't have gone for 20,000 miles or kilometers.