Right, so the MOT tester said yesterday the front wheel bearings on both sides could do with tightening up a little, but didn't warrant an advisory or anything. Went for a drive afterwards and I think there was a humming at 50mph on the passenger side, but which seemed to go away when I turned right and there was weight on it. Under 50mph I couldn't sense anything.
Got the car jacked up today and both sides sound like this video: https://youtu.be/qbw_stDxeIg
Question is: is that amount of sound "normal" or do they need replacing once again? The passenger side did need tightening up by one flat of the castellated nut, and that removed the little bit of 12 & 6 movement, but I've not done the driver's side as I wanted to get some thoughts from you knowledgeable folk first.
These bearings have only been on the car 6 months, and the ones before that 18 months, so if they are going back it may very well be my ineptitude in packing/installing them. Should also note that they sound nowhere nearly as bad as the ones I replaced in summer last year did (https://youtu.be/aZYGcxf_p0g)
Front wheel bearing going out again?
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- Hawaiis0
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Re: Front wheel bearing going out again?
Dont want to be the one to ask stupid question, but is any of that noise from the brakes?
Is the 12 - 6 wobble attributable to track rod ens etc.?
Is the 12 - 6 wobble attributable to track rod ens etc.?
Nothing is fool proof. Fools are clever!
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Re: Front wheel bearing going out again?
Not track rod ends on the passenger side as tightening the bearing by one flat seemed to resolve it.Hawaiis0 wrote:Dont want to be the one to ask stupid question, but is any of that noise from the brakes?
Is the 12 - 6 wobble attributable to track rod ens etc.?
Very good question about the noise being brakes though and that's very possible. Might check the driver's side and then see how it drives/sounds
Re: Front wheel bearing going out again?
Usually when you pressure the bearing up the noise gets worse not better, however I have learnt that cars can often defy the simple things in life, like -The laws of Physics. Usually the unloaded (as in reduced loading) bearing will go quiet, the right in right turn and left in a left turn. When this is not the case we may consider two possibilities one is sound transference (our ears playing tricks) or that the change of direction has whilst increasing load on the hub as a whole, but has decreased the load on an element of the bearing. If the noise is indeed coming from the side you think. look carefully at the outer bearing as the load will be firmly on the inner.soldave wrote: Went for a drive afterwards and I think there was a humming at 50mph on the passenger side, but which seemed to go away when I turned right and there was weight on it. Under 50mph I couldn't sense anything.
When buying replacement bearings, possibly try some one like Hayley bearing specalists (industrial bearing manufacturers tend to have better endurance, take your old bearings and they will match them) or someone who strives for longevity and strength to apply it in Motorsport (lotusbits). A great many parts I buy lately seem to be made cheaply with price seemingly the primary focus and functionality a distant second, this is especially true when buying parts for Triumph Stags, Heralds and Spitfires.
With regards to brakes have you changed anything lately, I spent an age looking for a strange noise on VW LT to find that new brake disc had been manufactured with a slightly higher top hat. As the bearing the moved slightly under a right hand turns the disc kissed the carrier no marking was readily visible, but it still sang out!
The Lotus Eclat, a lot like the English Whisky company: comes from Norfolk and better than you are often told it is.
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Re: Front wheel bearing going out again?
Also worth considering the inner bearing race spacing tubes you can buy for the Triumph 2000 - you shim up the spacer to give the proper clearance/preload on the bearings. This stops the inner races from rotating on the stub axle and wearing out the upright/stub axle.
Pete
Pete
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Re: Front wheel bearing going out again?
This is the wear Pete mentions, from his refurb story - page 5 of viewtopic.php?f=7&p=80568#p80568
Thought this was scrap, but decided to machine it: The horrible brown tape is holding a balancing weight on!
bit better:
The felt seal will have about 0.5mm more crush than before, and the brake disc will be 0.5mm further inboard, but don't foresee any problems, and saved myself ~ £200 (both sides need machining) .
Still needs a new stub axle though.
I've found someone selling spacer kits that allow proper shimming of the bearings - this will prevent the inner races wrecking the upright/stub axle in future - proper engineering
Thought this was scrap, but decided to machine it: The horrible brown tape is holding a balancing weight on!
bit better:
The felt seal will have about 0.5mm more crush than before, and the brake disc will be 0.5mm further inboard, but don't foresee any problems, and saved myself ~ £200 (both sides need machining) .
Still needs a new stub axle though.
I've found someone selling spacer kits that allow proper shimming of the bearings - this will prevent the inner races wrecking the upright/stub axle in future - proper engineering
Nothing is fool proof. Fools are clever!
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Re: Front wheel bearing going out again?
I'd forgotten about that post Stu! Actually, since then I have decided to go trunnion-less on the uprights. I'll post up some piccies of that later as well!
Pete
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Re: Front wheel bearing going out again?
There is definitely substandard poor quality bearings on the market.
I bought new hubs (complete with bearings) for the front of our SMART Roadster from an official SMART parts supplier and they lasted just one year (7000 mile) before they rumbled very badly both sides.
I rang the said supplier to complain and they admitted that they had been done-over with poor quality stocks from China. The replacements had proper Japanese bearings which 20K later are trouble free.
The Chinese bearings had no visible branding. The proper Japanese bearings were marked KOYO (BS approved). The tolerances required to grind perfectly spherical ball bearings are hugely important as is the hardness of steel used. Moral. Don't buy unmarked bearings. Even the suppliers got done on this.
I bought new hubs (complete with bearings) for the front of our SMART Roadster from an official SMART parts supplier and they lasted just one year (7000 mile) before they rumbled very badly both sides.
I rang the said supplier to complain and they admitted that they had been done-over with poor quality stocks from China. The replacements had proper Japanese bearings which 20K later are trouble free.
The Chinese bearings had no visible branding. The proper Japanese bearings were marked KOYO (BS approved). The tolerances required to grind perfectly spherical ball bearings are hugely important as is the hardness of steel used. Moral. Don't buy unmarked bearings. Even the suppliers got done on this.
Peter K
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Re: Front wheel bearing going out again?
I always buy Timken bearings if available, but I think some of those are now made in China - better quality control though I hope.
Pete
Pete
- DavidOliver
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Re: Front wheel bearing going out again?
For Soldave. My opinion is the noise is brake pad scuffing, you need to take the wheel off and lever the pads slightly off the disc, wheel on and listen.
Newly installed bearings (without compression pipe inserts as our front bearings are) may settle in after driving and quite often should be re-adjusted for clearance.
Dave the cog.
Newly installed bearings (without compression pipe inserts as our front bearings are) may settle in after driving and quite often should be re-adjusted for clearance.
Dave the cog.
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Re: Front wheel bearing going out again?
I worked for Timken for 40 years. We made Aerospace bearings but I know there were lots of counterfeit bearings around both in Automotive and Aerospace. It is a big problem for 'proper' bearing manufacturers. As Lotus-e-clan says don't by bearings that don't have the manufacture, part no and place of manufacture marked on the ring side faces. Especially cam belt tentioners. Timken opened two big plants in china. One was aerospace hence they closed the Wolverhampton plant. I know as our work was moved to China we had a lot of problems getting them to understand the importance of quality. Getting them to cleanout the hardening furnaces was a nightmare.Pete Boole wrote:I always buy Timken bearings if available, but I think some of those are now made in China - better quality control though I hope.
Pete
Cheers, Phil
Never take life seriously, nobody gets out alive anyway!
Never take life seriously, nobody gets out alive anyway!