My car is making a funny noise

When I had the noise the garage did say it is hard to diagnose which wheel it is when doing a test drive. Seeing as at the time I was working in erskine I had them do both just to be on safe side and it was about 300 quid
 
I would've said tyres before bearings - presume you have a recognised brand rather than budget... Budget tyres tend to lose their shape. I had a set which very noisy- Kleber (not exactly budget, but not premium).
 
StewartR said:
I'm positively the last person to ask that. To me, that sounds the same as "Do people no longer sweep their chimneys?"
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I last cleaned my wheel bearing way back in the 90s. I last cleaned our Chimney early 70s. :)
 
I had an issue with my old tyres - would only happen at around 65mph where I would get a drone / very loud rumble from the car, if I sped up or slowed it went away. I also found out if I altered the tyre pressures it would alter the speed at which it came in - was my rear tyres due to the set up of the car having a 'saw tooth' effect to the outer treads.

Bit the bullet, swapped all 4 to Michelin PS4's - transformed the car and problem solved...

Hope you get it sorted as it can be bl00dy frustrating.
 
Al1944 said:
Try jacking the car up and spin each of the front wheels They should spin quite easily, but if not the wheel bearing would be suspect.
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That is NOT how you check a wheel bearing and I advise leaving it to the experts to check properly i.e. a qualified motor mechanic.
 
I bow to your superior knowledge. Like your handle btw.

Edit. Oops, forgot to add ;)
 
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magicaxeman said:
That is NOT how you check a wheel bearing and I advise leaving it to the experts to check properly i.e. a qualified motor mechanic.
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It depends what is wrong with the bearing. It would determine which corner of the car the noise is coming from. To test the bearing for play, jack it up, hold the tyre at top and bottom and try to rock it backwards and forwards, rotate the wheel through 90 degs and grab top and bottom again and try to rock the wheel backwards and forwards again, if there is movement it's likely to be a worn bearing but could also be movement in another part of the suspension / steering. If there is no movement in trying to rock the wheel but the noise is coming from that wheel, it's likely to be the inner shaft bearing. Which ever side bearing is making the noise, get the opposite side done at the same time, sods law is if just one side is done the other will need replacing a few months down the line and mean another visit to the garage.
 
nilagin said:
It depends what is wrong with the bearing. It would determine which corner of the car the noise is coming from. To test the bearing for play, jack it up, hold the tyre at top and bottom and try to rock it backwards and forwards, rotate the wheel through 90 degs and grab top and bottom again and try to rock the wheel backwards and forwards again, if there is movement it's likely to be a worn bearing but could also be movement in another part of the suspension / steering. If there is no movement in trying to rock the wheel but the noise is coming from that wheel, it's likely to be the inner shaft bearing. Which ever side bearing is making the noise, get the opposite side done at the same time, sods law is if just one side is done the other will need replacing a few months down the line and mean another visit to the garage.
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Correct but thats exactly the information I didn't want to post, you need experience to diagnose properly as miss diagnosis can lead to a stub axle shearing or the bearing collapsing which can result in a very serious accident.
As an ex motor mechanic (qualified) and MOT tester I can only advise take it to a qualified mechanic to get it checked
 
So anyway, the official diagnosis was that the front offside wheel bearing had seized. Thanks to everyone for their input.
 
I thought it was a bearing and was surprised nobody had suggested it....;)
 
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StewartR said:
So anyway, the official diagnosis was that the front offside wheel bearing had seized. Thanks to everyone for their input.
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You'd have thought someone might have guessed bearing wouldn't you?
 
StewartR said:
So anyway, the official diagnosis was that the front offside wheel bearing had seized. Thanks to everyone for their input.
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It was a wonder that the wheel would turn if the bearing had seized. Wonder if it was a lack of grease or just worn? Also happens if the wheel bearing nut is over tight, or not tightened correctly. too much play.
 
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