2005 S60 2.5T FWD Wheel Bearing Play

jthom931 · Post by **jthom931** » 09 Jun 2015, 02:01

Hi all,

Earlier this year I ran a curb and hit a post with my poor Volvo (summer tires on snow), replaced the door and the front wheel bearing (driver side) as I was hearing some bad road humming from inside my car as that's what my indie mechanic narrowed the road noise down to.

Swapped out my winter wheels for summer wheels a few weeks ago and heard the same squealing/humming when the wheels were turning to the left. Took my car back to the indie repair shop and they replaced the wheel bearing again (under warranty of the part). Car sounded fine for a bit.

A week later the same squealing noise was heard when turning the tires to the left again. Hoisted the car myself and sure enough there is play in the front driver side wheel, I can physically rock the wheel back and forth a little bit.

The indie shop I go to specializes in Volvos and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't screw up twice on a job like that, my car is going back in a few days.

Is there anything else that would put excessive wear on a wheel bearing within a week's time? Bent wheel, bad axle? Or any other cause of excessive play in the driver side wheel other than a wheel bearing?

The car feels fine/sounds fine when accelerating, no other noise are heard other than the squealing from the driver side wheel when turning the wheels left. I don't think it's the driveshaft or something, but you never know, any advice would be great.

Thanks

Post by **vtl** » 09 Jun 2015, 05:48

What bearing brand they put in?

jthom931 · Post by **jthom931** » 09 Jun 2015, 14:14

Pretty sure they used an OEM bearing. Like I said, they specialize in Volvo's so I assume it would be OEM... I will have to ask when I take it in on Thursday.

Are some known to go bad quickly?

Post by **oragex** » 09 Jun 2015, 15:39

I think it takes quite long for a dry wheel bearing to develop a play. Let alone for a new one. I would expect the tire to wear on the outside in less than a week.

Was the wheel spindle checked for deformation where the wheel bearing is seated? When the second wheel bearing was removed, did they turn it and feel any play/roughness?

The rumble noise could very easily be caused either by a tire without enough pressure or poor geometry. It would be quite loud. As loud as a bearing or louder. A bent ball joint is impossible to check (it won't have any play) and it will cause a vague/disconnected steering feeling.

As for the play felt in the steering wheel, were the other components checked - tie rod end, inner tie rod, broken suspension bolt, etc.

Finally, there is a chance a cheap crappy bearing to go bad right away, better stick with either a good aftermarket brand or a used OEM one that checks fine without any roughness.

jthom931 · Post by **jthom931** » 09 Jun 2015, 17:07

Gotcha, that all makes sense. Just for correction, there is no play in the steering wheel, the actual driver side wheel can be rocked back and forth a little bit.

Thanks for the heads up, I will find out what kind of bearing they used and if the wheel spindle was checked for deformation, etc. Really don't want them trying to replace things that have nothing to do with the issue trying to fix it.

My mechanic seemed pretty keen on replacing the CV Axle on the driver side last time because they were sure the squealing noise was coming from the abs ring rubbing along the driveshaft (which is not even close to touching the driveshaft when I lifted the car up today).

I mentioned the issue of being able to physically move the driver side front wheel back and forth with both hands to my mechanic over the phone, and he believes (wants to anyways) that my CV axle is causing the play in the front driver side wheel

Post by **oragex** » 09 Jun 2015, 18:15

Mm, I'm yet to hear that an axle would cause wheel play. Even without the axle in place, the wheel will not have any play if all other components are in good condition. Seems a bit fishy to me what the mechanic said and that together with two wheel bearing falling in a short period..

As for the play in the wheel, did you notice which way is the play ?

jthom931 · Post by **jthom931** » 09 Jun 2015, 22:19

That's what I figured. This is my third Volvo and I've never seen a situation like this.

The most play comes from the wheel when I grip it at the 12 and 6 o clock positions and wiggle it that way (minimal play), less play when I grip the wheel at the 9 and 3 o clock positions and wiggle it that way.

I went underneath with a flashlight while wiggling the wheel and did not notice the control arm or other linkages reacting to the movements

Post by **abscate** » 09 Jun 2015, 23:06

The two places to look for looseness are tie rod ends and ball joints.

12-6 o'clock play is ball joints. If you broke one in your curb collision, that would explain it.

Post by **oragex** » 10 Jun 2015, 05:37

As above. But before, just to make sure, check the two lower strut bolts for being loosen. I believe it's 18mm or 19mm bolts. Maybe they got stretched in the impact, and are not tight any long. This will also affect the geometry. Will need replacing them.

jthom931 · Post by **jthom931** » 11 Jun 2015, 11:07

Just got back from my mechanic's, the wheel bearing was the culprit (FKS is the brand I believe) so they replaced it again. So far so good, if it breaks again then they're going to replace the spindle which would supposedly be causing the wheel bearing issue (like oragex said)