Wheel Bearing going/gone!!

Matt406

Hi All,
I need some advice! There’s a “humming” noise coming from the front driver’s wheel of my car (99 Peugeot 406 - seems to be loudest at about 40mph). I’m thinking that a bearing is gone as my mechanic told me about 10,000 miles ago that he thought it might be going and would need replacing if so.
Firstly can I do any damage by not replacing this immediately?? (I was going to leave it until next service in 2,000miles)
Secondly does anyone know roughly what the cost of this might be?? Thanks.

Row

I've got a 96 406 with 211k and never put a wheel bearing in the front or back......did it failthe nct ...??
Ron.

Matt406

There's 130,000 miles on my one. It passed the NCT just 5/6 weeks ago! Do they check the bearings at NCT?...if it's not the bearing what might be making this humming noise??

cloneslad

Matt406 wrote: »

There's 130,000 miles on my one. It passed the NCT just 5/6 weeks ago! Do they check the bearings at NCT?...if it's not the bearing what might be making this humming noise??

My wheel bearing was gone on my car and it failed the nct due to it (peugeot 206) For my car I had to buy a wishbone to fix the problem, it only cost me €22 for the part.

InTheTrees

I'm no mechanic...

Wheel bearings are a collection of ball bearings in a circle with a rubber boot covering them and packed with heavy duty grease.

The boot gets torn, the grease escapesand the bearings wear and cause noise when turning the wheels.

There's a loooong way between "failing" and "failed".

First fix is to repack with grease and put on a new boot, and I'm suprised your mechanic didn't do that when he said it was going.

If one is in really bad shape the wheel would wobble when you move it (on a lift), and you'd certainly fail a nct, but there's a lot leeway before you reach that point.

InTheTrees

Again I'm an amateur at this...

Bearings should be easy enough to replace, maybe a couple of hours labour plus parts? They'll remove wheels, brakes, hub etc, and you'll need a new rubber boot and grease in addition to the bearing.

One thing I'm not sure about is whether you need a wheel alignment afterwards?

InTheTrees

Matt406 wrote: »

There's 130,000 miles on my one. It passed the NCT just 5/6 weeks ago! Do they check the bearings at NCT?...if it's not the bearing what might be making this humming noise??

Is it a constant humming? Does it change while going around corners?

frank gooding

The bit with the rubber boot is the cv joint.

The wheel bearing is behind the big nut in the middle of the wheel.

Should be cheap enough to do, I would just get it done now.

Captain Slow IRL

cloneslad wrote: »

My wheel bearing was gone on my car and it failed the nct due to it (peugeot 206) For my car I had to buy a wishbone to fix the problem, it only cost me €22 for the part.

Wishbone and wheel bearing are 2 totally separate items

InTheTrees wrote: »

I'm no mechanic...

Wheel bearings are a collection of ball bearings in a circle with a rubber boot covering them and packed with heavy duty grease.

The boot gets torn, the grease escapesand the bearings wear and cause noise when turning the wheels.
........................

That's a constant velocity (C.V.) joint

InTheTrees wrote: »

................One thing I'm not sure about is whether you need a wheel alignment afterwards?

In an ideal world, wheel alignment would be done but it wouldn't be necessary.

@ Matt406 - It shouldn't be too expensive to replace, maybe 100 to 150 tops from a good independant. The bearing should have been checked during the nct although it's possible it was overlooked. It's also possible you have a problem with your gearbox or carrier bearing. You will have to go back to your mechanic to get a more accurate quote and have him take a look at it.

kravmaga

Matt406 wrote: »

Hi All,
I need some advice! There’s a “humming” noise coming from the front driver’s wheel of my car (99 Peugeot 406 - seems to be loudest at about 40mph). I’m thinking that a bearing is gone as my mechanic told me about 10,000 miles ago that he thought it might be going and would need replacing if so.
Firstly can I do any damage by not replacing this immediately?? (I was going to leave it until next service in 2,000miles)
Secondly does anyone know roughly what the cost of this might be?? Thanks.

I would say about €160 approx

Matt406

The “humming” is constant enough but increases in intensity/volume when cornering (right).

snowman707

Matt406 wrote: »

Hi All,
I need some advice! There’s a “humming” noise coming from the front driver’s wheel of my car (99 Peugeot 406 - seems to be loudest at about 40mph). I’m thinking that a bearing is gone as my mechanic told me about 10,000 miles ago that he thought it might be going and would need replacing if so.
Firstly can I do any damage by not replacing this immediately?? (I was going to leave it until next service in 2,000miles)
Secondly does anyone know roughly what the cost of this might be?? Thanks.

a bearing might cost about €30

keep driving and it fails at high speed could cost a lot more. the cost of a long stay in hospital or even a funeral

urranger

I was charged E250 to get a wheel bearing replaced on my 9 yr old focus.
Was I ripped off??

maidhc

Rear wheel bearing failed in my focus last week.

To fix cost €30 for a bearing kit from the local motor factor (would be €80 for a genuine Ford one... but you get the same FAG bearing...!) and 30 mins of my saturday morning. The front on a fwd car will be a little more involved, but not too bad.

Once a bearing starts to fail, replace it ASAP.

JHMEG

InTheTrees wrote: »

I'm no mechanic...

Wheel bearings are a collection of ball bearings in a circle with a rubber boot covering them and packed with heavy duty grease.

You're right. That's a CV joint.

A wheel bearing is sealed and cannot be repaired.



OP, you should be fine for another 2k miles. Wheel bearings fail over a very long period of time.