Fabia 2010, 64000 miles - Noisy front wheel bearings. Can I re-grease them?

[tony1951]

Lately, I have noticed an increasing drone from my front wheel bearings. Last week, I jacked up the front end and tested for bearing play and I could not detect any at all, but the drone is certainly a bearing type noise and I thought was more noticeable from the offside wheel. IT is entirely related to road speed - not engine related. I tried steering right and left to see if it improved or got worse - no different.

 

Yesterday, I took it to my highly trusted garage. I've used them for thirty years and they are really good. He had one of his mechanics drive it and test for play on a lift, then he took the car out himself. He said it is just a but noisy and is early in the development of the failure so advised that I keep driving it  for a bit and then bring it back if there is any change. He also said that these kind of bearing failures at this mileage are always about water ingress to the hub, and corrosion.

 

Given that the bearing has not failed, I was wondering of I could tap out the bearing seal and re-grease it. Maybe packing it with more grease would prevent any further deterioration or even solve the noise altogether.

 

Does the oil seal cap come off like my old cars used to do, so you can tap them out with a chisel and hammer?

[m8t]

I had to have mine replaced at 45k. I chose to get it done straight away rather than risk failure at 70mph and the droning noise was a pain. The wheels felt fine with no play but when I examined the old bearings off the car they felt quiet gritty.

Edited 2 October, 2021 by m8t

[sepulchrave]

31 minutes ago, tony1951 said:

Lately, I have noticed an increasing drone from my front wheel bearings. Last week, I jacked up the front end and tested for bearing play and I could not detect any at all, but the drone is certainly a bearing type noise and I thought was more noticeable from the offside wheel. IT is entirely related to road speed - not engine related. I tried steering right and left to see if it improved or got worse - no different.

 

Yesterday, I took it to my highly trusted garage. I've used them for thirty years and they are really good. He had one of his mechanics drive it and test for play on a lift, then he took the car out himself. He said it is just a but noisy and is early in the development of the failure so advised that I keep driving it  for a bit and then bring it back if there is any change. He also said that these kind of bearing failures at this mileage are always about water ingress to the hub, and corrosion.

 

Given that the bearing has not failed, I was wondering of I could tap out the bearing seal and re-grease it. Maybe packing it with more grease would prevent any further deterioration or even solve the noise altogether.

 

Does the oil seal cap come off like my old cars used to do, so you can tap them out with a chisel and hammer?

 

No you can't, it's physical wear, if you're going to all trouble of stripping it down to clean and regrease it then you might as well replace it.

[Murdockman]

The work involved just to get some grease in the bearing is not worth the trouble as the bearing will fail anyway, if doing it yourself you will need a puller set for this car around £50, I purchased a decent set of front bearings from Autodoc they did cost £120 for the pair with delivery and lasted 3 years plus until the car was written off

, might be a bit more expensive now but don't buy cheaper Bay ones they will not last ok if selling car but not if you are keeping it, I also changed my drive shaft rubber boots at the same time

[AnnoyingPentium]

I just got one of mine replaced at 54,000 on my Mk1. I'd just get them replaced to be honest.

[tony1951]

Thanks for the replies. I had hoped the bearing might be like my old Morris Thousand one, which had a dust cap over the bearing that was easy to tap off with a screwdriver and hammer. This gave you access to the grease and you could just pack some in. Incidentally, you could pull a split pin and tighten up the castellated nut and take up a bit of slack if the bearing was slightly worn. I expect they were taper bearings - can't remember. I think my minis had the same kind of serviceable bearing.

 

Seems not so on the VAG version, so, I will wait a while for the problem to develop a bit, and get the pair done on the front.

 

Thanks again for all responses. 

 

Cheers.

[AnnoyingPentium]

1 minute ago, tony1951 said:

I will wait a while for the problem to develop a bit

 

That's not recommended as it could pack in and result in massive consequences for yourself, passengers and other road users, potentially.

[Warrior193]

20 minutes ago, tony1951 said:

Thanks for the replies. I had hoped the bearing might be like my old Morris Thousand one, which had a dust cap over the bearing that was easy to tap off with a screwdriver and hammer. This gave you access to the grease and you could just pack some in. Incidentally, you could pull a split pin and tighten up the castellated nut and take up a bit of slack if the bearing was slightly worn. I expect they were taper bearings - can't remember. I think my minis had the same kind of serviceable bearing.

 

Seems not so on the VAG version, so, I will wait a while for the problem to develop a bit, and get the pair done on the front.

 

Thanks again for all responses. 

 

Cheers.

Hi Tony, yes, the 'castellated nut and split-pin' setup would possibly have been tapered-roller bearings - which are both adjustable for end-float and also much more endurable.

[chimaera]

1 hour ago, tony1951 said:

Thanks for the replies. I had hoped the bearing might be like my old Morris Thousand one, which had a dust cap over the bearing that was easy to tap off with a screwdriver and hammer. This gave you access to the grease and you could just pack some in. Incidentally, you could pull a split pin and tighten up the castellated nut and take up a bit of slack if the bearing was slightly worn. I expect they were taper bearings - can't remember. I think my minis had the same kind of serviceable bearing.

 

Seems not so on the VAG version, so, I will wait a while for the problem to develop a bit, and get the pair done on the front.

 

Thanks again for all responses. 

 

Cheers.

Modern wheel bearings are usually a sealed cartridge unit and not user serviceable. You can replace the cartridge itself if you have access to a bearing puller and press. You can also buy the hub assembly with the bearing included which just bolts into place. A little more expensive in parts but no special tools needed. You'll need a torque wrench to tighten the centre bolt that secures the CV joint to the hub.

[Breezy_Pete]

3 hours ago, chimaera said:

You can replace the cartridge itself if you have access to a bearing puller and press

Not on a mk1 or mk2 Fabia, to the best of my knowledge. They use a Gen2 bearing set-up like the one shown here: VW POLO (6R) 2009>2015 FRONT HUB WHEEL BEARING KIT WITH ABS **BRAND NEW** | eBay all integrated with the hub and ABS magnetic ring.  Don't think it's possible to remove those from the bearing housing non-destructively; and they need special tooling to install, as demonstrated e.g. here:

 

[tony1951]

3 hours ago, Wino said:

Not on a mk1 or mk2 Fabia, to the best of my knowledge. They use a Gen2 bearing set-up like the one shown here: VW POLO (6R) 2009>2015 FRONT HUB WHEEL BEARING KIT WITH ABS **BRAND NEW** | eBay all integrated with the hub and ABS magnetic ring.  Don't think it's possible to remove those from the bearing housing non-destructively; and they need special tooling to install, as demonstrated e.g. here:

 

 

Thanks for that. I will be leaving the job to my garage, but it was interesting to see how it is done. Many thanks.