BMW E36 E46 Rear Wheel Bearing Issues Solved
Discussion
My 1998 BMW E36 Touring, a recent buy, developed a creaking/scraping noise from the N/S rear wheel. As it worsened, it became clear that the wheel bearing was the culprit.
When I took it apart, the bearing was obviously new, but as is always the case, the wheel side inner bearing race came out still attached to the hub, so I had to put a new bearing in anyway. Surprisingly to me, the noise was cured and so I thought nothing of it. About 2,000mls later, the exact same noise returned.
As I was having some significant health issues, I ignored it, as I was only using the car to get to the hospital appointments. However, come MOT time and the amount of play in the rear hub was a fail.
What had happened was this: the previous owner, a friend, had replaced a very worn bearing when he restored the rear axle assy. When the old bearing was in place, the inner race had spun for a short time on the hub. This had worn the hub down, reducing its diameter by a small amount. With a new bearing and a tight hub nut, all was well, until the slight free-play increased enough so that the driveshaft CV rubbed on the cast iron hub assy.
There was only a small tell-tale mark of polished metal where the CV joint was touching the hub, which I stupidly didn't spot: I've been a professional motor mechanic for 45 years and garages still phone occasionally phone me when they have a puzzling car problem, so I wasn't too pleased with myself...
Apparently, it's quite problem on BMWs of this era. You replace the bearing, all is well and you think the problem is sorted. But if the hub isn't a decent press-fit on both halves of the wheel bearing, the noise will return. As it can be a time consuming job when the bearing might have been in place for 30+ years and a new hubs are quite cheap (£19 inc p&p on eBay) change the hub whenever I do this job in future.
Finally, I came out of retirement a few weeks ago and have rented a workshop. A big one. Wish me luck, as I need to make £200/wk to break even :-)
When I took it apart, the bearing was obviously new, but as is always the case, the wheel side inner bearing race came out still attached to the hub, so I had to put a new bearing in anyway. Surprisingly to me, the noise was cured and so I thought nothing of it. About 2,000mls later, the exact same noise returned.
As I was having some significant health issues, I ignored it, as I was only using the car to get to the hospital appointments. However, come MOT time and the amount of play in the rear hub was a fail.
What had happened was this: the previous owner, a friend, had replaced a very worn bearing when he restored the rear axle assy. When the old bearing was in place, the inner race had spun for a short time on the hub. This had worn the hub down, reducing its diameter by a small amount. With a new bearing and a tight hub nut, all was well, until the slight free-play increased enough so that the driveshaft CV rubbed on the cast iron hub assy.
There was only a small tell-tale mark of polished metal where the CV joint was touching the hub, which I stupidly didn't spot: I've been a professional motor mechanic for 45 years and garages still phone occasionally phone me when they have a puzzling car problem, so I wasn't too pleased with myself...
Apparently, it's quite problem on BMWs of this era. You replace the bearing, all is well and you think the problem is sorted. But if the hub isn't a decent press-fit on both halves of the wheel bearing, the noise will return. As it can be a time consuming job when the bearing might have been in place for 30+ years and a new hubs are quite cheap (£19 inc p&p on eBay) change the hub whenever I do this job in future.
Finally, I came out of retirement a few weeks ago and have rented a workshop. A big one. Wish me luck, as I need to make £200/wk to break even :-)
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