Thread: How to tell wheel bearings are worn?

Signs of a worn ( but servicable) bearing IMHO is that the outer race is a matt grey with a bright finish around the area where the bearings do not run. As long as the bearings are smooth, and the rollers undamaged they can certainly be spares as a bit of grease will overcome many problems.

Damaged bearings will have scratches on the contact area of the outer race, or obvious rust on the rollers, or damaged rollers.

I am sure if you google you will find photos of different types of damage.
I have run rusted solid bearings on a borrowed boat trailer by just separating them and greasing them up. I wasn't going to buy a new set for the owner just to borrow his boat for the weekend. They lasted easily from Melbourne to Lake Eildon and back.

Regards Philip A

If they are a well known brand they might be worth keeping. The two nuts are to allow the bearing end-float to be adjusted (so play can be taken up).
Check the area where the rollers run in both the inner & outer races if there are any marks in this area or if it is grey in colour then they may be worn but could still be a lot longer lasting than the Indian ones on the aftermarket. Big brand bearings, discounted, were about $350 for the pair from memory.....



Colin

Here is some info from SKF regarding bearing failure....

http://www.kamandirect.com/resources...eandcauses.pdf


Colin

If correctly adjusted and lubricated, unless subject to contamination by water or mud, Landrover wheel bearings will last many hundreds of thousands of kilometres (my County with about 530,000km has, I believe, all original wheel bearings). In my view, unless the bearings are showing signs of failure (see the linked document from gromit), I would reuse the old bearings. I have never encountered a Landrover wheel bearing that has simply worn out - the most common cause of failure is contamination (usually on grease lubricated bearings) followed by incorrect adjustment.

John

Originally Posted by gromit

If they are a well known brand they might be worth keeping. The two nuts are to allow the bearing end-float to be adjusted (so play can be taken up).
Check the area where the rollers run in both the inner & outer races if there are any marks in this area or if it is grey in colour then they may be worn but could still be a lot longer lasting than the Indian ones on the aftermarket. Big brand bearings, discounted, were about $350 for the pair from memory.....



Colin

$350 a pair!!!!!!!,
you can by genuine Timkin hub sets with gaskets and washers for $52, so $52 a side =just over $200 for all 4 wheels.
Land Rover Defender/ Disco 1/ RRC Wheel Bearing Kit | eBay

On a related note: once I've been travelling at speed for a while and everything is nice and warm, I get a screech from the front left as I take sweeping left bends at speed.

The screech stops if I lightly press the brakes.

Could this be a sign the bearing is worn or maybe something to do with the brakes?

Originally Posted by nice1guv

On a related note: once I've been travelling at speed for a while and everything is nice and warm, I get a screech from the front left as I take sweeping left bends at speed.

The screech stops if I lightly press the brakes.

Could this be a sign the bearing is worn or maybe something to do with the brakes?

Could be worn, but perhaps more likely excessive free play on the bearing, which allows the brake to drag (making the noise) on corners. It could also be that the bearing is contaminated or unlubricated. I would check immediately by jacking up the suspect wheel and spin it by hand, feeling for any roughness, and then try rocking it both sideways and up and down. Reppeat this with someone holding the brake pedal down. The difference between the two is free play on wheel bearings, and should be barely perceptible. If there is sideway free play with the brakes locked, check steering tie rod ends etc, and if there is vertical free play with the brakes locked, it is loose swivels. Both should be attended to at an early date.

If roughness can be felt when turning the wheel by hand, I would at the very least remove the drive flange (and preferably remove the bearings for examination), to check bearing condition before further driving.

John

Originally Posted by It'sNotWorthComplaining!

$350 a pair!!!!!!!,
you can by genuine Timkin hub sets with gaskets and washers for $52, so $52 a side =just over $200 for all 4 wheels.
Land Rover Defender/ Disco 1/ RRC Wheel Bearing Kit | eBay

Unfortunately these do not fit the Series Land Rovers unless you change to Stage 1 hubs.


Colin