Hi
I am having problems with my 2001 1.4 Xsara repeatedly chewing the front drivers side wheel bearings. The fourth bearing since May last year has just failed.
Also, not long after the first bearing failed the half shaft bearing failed. My mechanic said its only the second one he had to change in 35years. The last time the bearing was changed the mechanic also changed the hub as he thought that might be the cause, but obviously not.
Does anybody have any idea what is causing them to fail? Since the half-shaft bearing failed, Im starting to think the driveshaft could be slightly bent or unbalanced causing a vibration which travelling down to the wheel bearing? Any other possibilities?
I should also note that I do only very little mileage. My commute is only around 8 miles per day. The last 2 bearings failed after 150 and 300 miles.
All advice greatly appreciated
Thanks
{Year and engine size added to header, as per request to do so!}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 25/01/2008 at 12:33
|
The last 2 bearings failed after 150 and 300 miles.
I'd be suspicious of the level of skill/ability of the mechanic. Perhaps the bearings have been abused during the fitting process.
|
|
|
If you have had unbalanced shafts / vibration would have thought the CV joints would be going as well. When you say second one he has fitted in 35 years - bit worrying. I believe sometimes to fit these you need a press unit to do it properly, but it can be tempting to sometimes hammer it in - if you are not careful (wooden blocks etc) you can damage the hub and bearing.
Change mechanics and maybe buy a hub unit with the bearing already fitted (possible on many models). If a bearing has been fitted incorrectly it can damage the hub, meaning the
bearing outer housing could start to rotate occasionally as well as the driveshaft.
Maybe try a main dealer?, if you are paying for these parts each time, at least you have a reasonable amount of warranty on a dealer (or any good garage) fitted part.
Edited by Saltrampen on 25/01/2008 at 15:37
|
The mechanic has only changed 2 half shaft bearing before, not wheel bearings. He is an independant that has an excellent reputation and very much in demand. I dont doubt his skills, although perhaps he is so busy that he didnt take the time required to fully diagnose the problem. Saying that, he has never known a car to chew bearings like this.
Also, he uses an engineering company to press the bearing and after the last one he made sure they took extra care not to mark or scratch the bearing while pressing. So I fairly sure there is something else wrong somewhere causing these failiures.
I must say that I have only had to pay for the original bearing - the following 3 bearings, new wheel hub and half shaft brearing have all been supplied and fitted for no charge. Should I go elsewhere it could end up costing me a packet. Better the devil you know...
The only other symptoms I can give is that the car does have a habit of tramlining over thick painted road markings. Also while driving down a straight smooth road (with a recently fitted bearing) you can hear a quiet vibration noise that get louder and quieter. like a "wah wah wah" sound. Its a very quiet sound, but within 2 or 3 weeks of hearing it i know the bearing is going to fail.
I believe the CV joint and drive shaft are all one piece so I guess I will just ask him to replace this when he gets back from holiday. Can anything else cause this? Surely with a new CVJoint/driveshaft and the already fitted new hub this can;t happen again?
|
For bearings to go this quickly, if they are running free/quiet after repair then they must be under some unusual strain.
Assuming that all the parts have been fitted correctly and are original specification, then only things I can thing of are excessive heat from brakes binding (but you would have noticed this?) or some unusual Suspension misalignment which is straining the bearing again if it was that bad would have thought you would have seen some other symptoms.
I know someone who had their suspension lowered and the extra strain ruined the drive shafts and CV joints rather than wheel bearings.
Are the wheels OK (not dented/deformed and perfectly in balance)?
|
|
|
|
Sounds like the old Montego problem.
You can get on rare occasions a distortion of the hub so the bearings don't sit right. No matter how many bearings you fit, it still fails soon after fitment. Get a new hub - preferably with bearings already installed. I doubt if you'll have problems after that - and if you do, take to the Citroen agent to fix under warranty!!!
|
|
|
