Wheel Bearing Noise

Post by **rmmagow** » 13 Nov 2012, 08:04

OK, 183,000 miles so I guess I should expect some noise. I am hearing a faint wooo-wooo-wooo at 30ish mph, the classic wheel bearing type noise. I can't tell at all where it is coming from. It is very slight and my question is can I just wait for it to get a lot worse before being too concerned? I have used an infrared thermometer to measure wheel temps and there is no big differences at this point. The car uses a bearing hub assembly on all 4 corners right? Would it make sense to do them all when the time comes? At 183K I'd probably opt for cheap although I am planning to try for 250K on the car before replacing it or handing it down.
And yes, the radio definitely makes the noise stop

Post by **rspi** » 13 Nov 2012, 08:17

Wait. I hear a little myself and it's not even on my list. They can go 30,000 miles before they get bad. If you have no play in it don't bother.

Post by **cn90** » 13 Nov 2012, 08:28

Don't play Russian roulette with wheel bearing, it is a safety item.
It may last another 20K, or it may fall off any time (unusual but can happen).

I posted info on inexpensive alternative (Timken box with F.A.G. German bearing) for $86/each.
Look, a brand new tire now costs $100 anyway.
Change your bearings and enjoy the ride.

Post by **jblackburn** » 13 Nov 2012, 09:31

rspi wrote:Wait. I hear a little myself and it's not even on my list. They can go 30,000 miles before they get bad. If you have no play in it don't bother.

No. I had one go bad within 125 miles. It started at first, and progressively got worse as I neared home. The next 2 days, the noise was almost constant. When I finally got my replacement part, the old one fell into pieces in my hand. It's a sealed bearing...it's not supposed to do that.

And there's no need to replace them all; just replace the one that's bad. I never had a bad wheel bearing in my other high-mileage cars, and the Volvo only had that one.

Post by **rmmagow** » 13 Nov 2012, 09:54

I've got to see if someone riding with me can narrow down where it's coming from. I'm partial to the passenger side front, but not 100% sure it's that one. Looks like a PITA, but my GMC truck has the same type of setup and ultimately it was an easy job. Subaru has to be the worst in the world! very very difficult to replace wheel bearings and they fail all the time.

Post by **jblackburn** » 13 Nov 2012, 10:20

One of the noises that drove me crazy was when I had a bad transmission bearing in a car. I could hear it - and it sounded EXACTLY like a wheel bearing, but I couldn't narrow it down. It was coming right from the middle of the car, and no manner of swerving, accelerating, or braking would make the noise change tone.

But in your case, see what kind of load will make the noise stop, and that will point out the wheel to you.

bguzz · Post by **bguzz** » 13 Nov 2012, 10:57

no rush on replacing the bearing...they will get noisier and noisier and you will know which it is then. I have 399K on my car have replaced one of the front ones twice and the other once. I have nearly 70K on the other one still and it is quiet...i would only replace the one that is making noise. I was able to get about 180K out of one of the SKF ones, the other is still going. I replaced it with a $40 ebay item that wound up being a Raybestos even though it wasn't advertised as that...I was happy and that was 70K ago.

Post by **850 LPT** » 14 Nov 2012, 06:35

I had a similar problem a while ago with my 850 and it was driving me nuts. The right front wheel bearing was going bad, but it was just not going bad enough. Other folks simply would not notice the noise, but I knew it was there.

I went to my indie Volvo mechanic and what they did right away is lift up the car up and spin the wheels in the air. They could not hear the bad bearing and would not do the repair, because they were afraid they would do the wrong one. So I drove around for more than another year until the noise got a little louder. Now I finally got it replaced.

But, maybe you can ask a shop to lift it up for you and spin the wheels? Maybe they can even use a stethoscope or something to help amplify the noise from the bearings? Just an idea. You don't have to freak though, it's rather unusual that they just blow up. To me it more annoying than anything.

Post by **rmmagow** » 14 Nov 2012, 06:42

Yeah, I made it a point to listen for it this morning, i.e. turned off the radio. Seriously, it is too faint to cause me any worries. Someone did mention a noisy transmission bearing which is what I was concerned about, but no, it is a wheel bearing, passenger side front I think, and too faint to worry about this season. I'll order a couple of cheapo bearings to keep in stock just in case.

Post by **cn90** » 14 Nov 2012, 08:23

As we speak, there is an ebay seller who sells Genuine Volvo bearing for $95/each.

Seller ebay name is "swedish*auto*lamps*for*less".

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Volvo-850-S70-V ... 0510236446