Whining/Whirring = Wheel Bearings

[riplash]

When I had the 17s, I put it down to tyre noise... but now Ive got smaller rims on, the noise is lessened but defiantely still present.

Kind of a whirring, like tyre noise but louder... increases in pitch as speed increases, and is definately related to the wheels as it remains when I drop it out of gear.

Certainly is annoying, headache inducing crap........ especially when its frequency matches or almost matches the exhaust tone.. this horrible doubling up, resonating noise that goes right through you!

Made even worse right now because exhaust needs adjusting, so the whole car is shaking at certain revs where centre section is ratting off things.

Annyyyway, is this wheel bearings? Easy way to check?

 

[JAY172]

sounds like a wheel bearing. where does it sound like its coming from and does the noise change with speed,direction or if you brake?

 

[Smokey]

Alright mate, sounds like bearing!

Jack car up and grab wheel at 3 & 9 oclock and see if you can wiggle it, if so its the bearing.

Mines gone on my Valver and i just got a bearing off of e-bay for £20. Am gonna fit it myself on Tuesday.

Smokey

 

[riplash]

Quote: Originally posted by JAY172 on 09 May 2004

sounds like a wheel bearing. where does it sound like its coming from and does the noise change with speed,direction or if you brake?

Seems to come from both front wheels..

sound changes if i change direction, seems to die down.. but back in force when I stop steering.

changes with speed, gets higher as I get faster..

 

[Smokey]

Hopefully its not gearbox probs

 

[riplash]

Nah, the sound doesnt go away if i take it out of gear and coast.. my gearbox isnt any noisier than my Williams was.

 

[BenR]

Almost 100% the bearings.

 

[NIN-172]

If it changes when you change direction, then most likely bearings.

But I would also check the wheel is on correctly & all the nuts are fastened to the correct torque.

I had an xr3i years ago & I had a similar problem, which I thought was a bearing, then one day the wheel popped off as I was driving, hit the kerb at the other side of the road, bounced back & destroyed the door & front wing.
When the AA guy came, he put the wheel back on with 1 bolt, to get it on the truck & later I put some more bolts in, & guess what, the noise had gone.

So just check your nuts/bolts carefully.

 

[riplash]

Quote: Originally posted by NIN-172 on 09 May 2004


But I would also check the wheel is on correctly & all the nuts are fastened to the correct torque.
So just check your nuts/bolts carefully.

Definately not bolt related as its been happening for weeks and Ive had the wheels off 3 times!


Ill check the bearings as advised by Smokey..

Cheers for the help guys!

 

[JAY172]

if you turn left you load up the right bearing. if you turn right you load up the left bearing. as you load up the bearing the noise will get louder if its faulty. give it a run and try it.

 

[riplash]

Ok.. On further investigation it definately subsides when I steer left or right, but the sound is coming from the back of the car - I assume when I steer I take load off of the inside rear wheel (depending on what way I turn) and this makes the bearing quiet for a second, because of the weight transfer?

 

[BenR]

Just check the wheels for play then u can be sure.

 

[JAY172]

jack up the car and spins the wheels by hand. you should be able to hear the noisy one (not a lot but you will hear a difference compared to a good bearing)

 

[Ben H]

Riplash: as you know I had a lot of stuff done to Holly when it was mine and the wheel bearings were last done at about 94k miles IIRC. Have a look in the bills folder - Ben did give it to you didnt he? Theres a ton of bills for that car. I wouldnt have thought it was the wheel bearings. Id also doubt it was anything to do with the track rod ends, ball joints or CV joints as they were all done when in my ownership. The driveshafts should be OK too (had them done as well!).

I do remember that there was a fair bit of whine from the gearbox, but the box itself was (surprise, suprise) also rebuild when I owned the car so it should be pukka.

The exhaust system on Holly took a lot of bedding in and had to be re-fitted many times before it was right. I used to get all sorts of distrubing noises from it, which mainly related to the pipe rubbing somewhere or there being a blown gasket (especially the downpipe one - sounded like a fatal gearbox problem until I discovered it was simply a gasket!).

Holly was treated to first class care and always had Renault bits fitted by an ex-Renault mechanic with all the right tools. The only thing that escaped my attentions was the shocks and their mountings. Maybe the problem lies here?

Good luck and just ask if you have any questions mate.

 

[riplash]

I did notice that in the folder Ben, its why Im a bit puzzled about this.. Everything seems to point to bearings, I will jack the car up tomorrow afternoon and try the things mentioned above - but I dont know what else it may be.

Do big alloys promote premature wear on bearings? Maybe this is a contributory factor...




Exhaust needs refitting at the moment, the back box and centre providing a chorus of vibrations through the car.. Each climb in revs rattles a new bit of interior/dash/bodywork!! There is another noise from the downpipe area so Ill have the gasket there checked out too.
I blame my slightly enthusiastic country lane excursions for the exhaust rattles though..


The shocks are very high on the list of "to-dos" - they are definately feeling their age and mileage now.. and I need to investiage a nice leak Holly has developed recently! (aerial, fingers crossed)

 

[Ben H]

The thing is that Renault bearings need to be fitted with the correct Renault tool. I actually had the fronts done at about 84k, but they werent done properly and were on their way out by the time I had them done properly at about 95k(?). Unless theres a problem with the bearings themselves being faulty I cant see why theyd go - even with big wheels.

The exhaust took some time to get right, but stayed perfect when Id got it right. There was always a leak from the roof, but I did silicone seal the ariel and that seemed to stop the worst of it.

 

[JAY172]

its not a renault specific tool. all you need is a press. any half decent garage should have a press.

 

[Glennclio16v]

^^ Jay is quite right they are just pressed bearings so can be swapped with a press ...or a big hammer!! lol

I would say that the wheel bearing may well have gone ALREADY simply by the time that the inbetween owner had the 17"s on it!!

Speaking from experience!! lol

 

[jameswrx]

Picked up a 16v for my girlfriend yesterday. Also having wheel bearing (I think) related probs..

Getting a grumbly whirring sound from the front which appears over 30mph, clutch up or down, in or out of gear makes no difference, so pretty certain its a bearing. Also it stops completely when you turn left.

JAY172, from what you said, the fron left wheel bearing in this instance will be knackered, is this true?. Reason I say is because the noise appears to be coming from the right hand side.

I also jacked the front up and tried both bearings for movement, nothing really, but the fron left one made a rough noise when I span it. Suppose it could just be the sound appears to be from the rhs, but is the left bearing.

Are they easy to DIY change?, Ive only ever done them on motorbikes (using a socket the same size as the outer part of the bearing and a big hammer). Is it this simple on the car or are they really in there hard?.

 

[riplash]

Just thought Id update this one really.. finally got round to sorting my bearing noise this weekend just gone.

Turned out to be the rears.. passenger side was noisy, sounded well rough when you span the disc by hand.. and the drivers side was seized on, took us a good hour of manhandling to get it off.

Pretty easy job though really, couple of hours max.

Needed 30mm socket (£6.50 from Halfords), new discs with bearings in were about £53 each from Renault.. Loctite for the hub nuts (forgot to buy new ones)..


Glad I took the rear wheels off and span the discs by hand to check for noise before I dived in and paid for the fronts to be changed.. thats a much more awkward job.. need a press etc.

Glad I bought the fronts too though, theyre safe in my garage for when theyre needed - - probably soon!!