What’s the best method of determining a faulty wheel bearing ? Probably coïncidence but I had the ‘ spanner’ icon show on the dash recently to 

Spanner icon is simply a service due reminder, its nothing to do with a wheel bearing.

 

The method that works for me is:

 

Jack up the car so the suspect wheel is off the ground. Obviously take appropriate precautions to make the car safe when jacking, handbrake on if checking the front, or in gear and handbrake off if checking the rear.

 

Using one hand, grip the suspension coil spring at the half way position.

 

Use the other hand to rotate the wheel.

 

If the wheel bearing is going, you can feel obvious vibrations amplified on the spring as you rotate the wheel, if you cant feel vibrations and the wheel turns smoothly, the bearing is ok.

Compare side to side when it will be more obvious which side is faulty.

 

Abnormal tyre wear can give droning sounds while driving which are similar to a failing wheel bearing. So swapping tyres around or using the spare can help you ascertain whether the tyres are to blame. Abnormal tyre wear could be due to suspension alignment issues, worn suspension bushes or simply bad tyres.

 

 

Edited 12 March, 20215 yr by xman

Okay cheers. As I think it’s a rear unit, when  doing this check does the suspension need to be suspended ie jacking from body or not ( jacking underneath ) ?

Rock jacked up wheel back and forth and you will get some play(well usually) if bearing is bad.

11 hours ago, wd20 said:

Okay cheers. As I think it’s a rear unit, when  doing this check does the suspension need to be suspended ie jacking from body or not ( jacking underneath ) ?

I would jack the car so leaving the spring extended and wheel hanging down. I've never had to check the rear wheel bearings, iirc you might find it difficult to reach the spring (safely) You also might find it difficult to spin the rear wheel by hand if the rear disc brakes are dragging. So take extra care when jacking, secure the car and only do it on level ground. You will need the handbrake off so put the car in gear and/or chock the front wheels. Don't take risks.

 

A common reason for droning from the rear on the Octavia mk2 is  "saw tooth" wear due to alignment being out. You can check for tyre sawtoothing by running your hand lightly round the tyre tread in opposite directions and comparing.  Recommend you check this first before thinking about the wheel bearings. Swapping tyres front/rear is another thing to try.

 

Good luck.

Thanks again.