7 replies to this topic

[SIXER]

OK so hear is my problem, my car is huming real bad for the past week or so and its drinving me nuts. I thought it might have something to do with my tire because my alignment is off a bit so i switched them around a bit but no luck it still humed. Then while i had the left side tire off i moved the axle a bit,there was a little play so if that was on its way out would it hum? I think it is the wheel bearing but i thought i would ask about the axle. Alight so nither of the tires have any play so how do i determine if it is so a wheel bearing, like how do i no what side could it be i think it is coming from the left side but i don't no, the sound is really lound whele driving but when i am making sharp left hand turns the noise quiets right down. So all the help i can get would be greatly appreciated thanks.

[misa]

I think,that's a bad wheel bearing.
You can determine which one is bad this way:
-pull e-brake and set gearbox in "n" position
-lift your car
-rotate suspected wheel in both directions
...and you should hear noise.If you hear humming(noise)or if there's a difficulty in wheel rotation,than that bearing needs to be replaced.
I suggest you to do that with all other wheels in order to determine if others are in good shape.
Sometimes you need to make some space between rotors and brake pads(just 1-2mm),in order to make rotation easily and to eliminate rubbing between them.

[boltz]

I just did one of these... if it quiets down on a sharp left you've got it nailed. That's how you can tell the difference between brake noise and a wheel bearing. About a $125-150 part if you want the German bearings, if you're not selling it next week to a stranger you probably do.
If you're not gonna keep her, you could go with the chinese version for $75.

There's a writeup in bay 13. You'll need an E14 torx socket (not driver), I believe, plus the 36mm socket for the axle nuts (3/4" drive is best).

If you have time to order the genuine Volvo kit you'll get new E14 bolts and a new axle nut. If you wreck one of the torx bolts, you might be kinda screwed. It doesn't look like there is room for a regular hex head bolt. FCP's got them for $2 each.

It's a really satisfying repair to do because when your done that horrible sound that's been driving you nuts is (hopefully) gone!

good luck,
-JH

[SIXER]

OK yah thanks for the input but i did put the car up in the air and rotate tires to see if i could hear noise but i never heard anything and that got me flipped. so what do you recomaqnd to do/use for these spacing thing your talking about. And bolts when you said i got it nailed when i make the left turns you mean the left side? and again thanks for the help.

[Gilhuly]

I've done both of mine. Typically the sound will occur when the bearing is most loaded and less when not. On a hard left you are unloading the driver's side and the noise goes away. This is why its tought to detect with the front end up. If you had a stethoscope you'd be able to pick it up. I have had the bearing wear the other way, though (opposite of usual). Get a friend, girlfriend, kid to ride in the pass side and get their face right down there and listen and then the same as much as possible on the drivers side.

90% chance it is a driver's side wheel bearing. IF you are doing this yourself, have a torch and a puller. And a big cheeter bar for your big socket/breaker bar. And the e-torx. This can go smoothly or be a total beehotch. Sometimes a ball peen hammer on the end of the axle and whack from another hammer is all that's needed to break the axle free of the bearing. They are metal glued in there at the factory and people's experiences here run the gamut. One of mine basically came right out and the other I couldn't get out taking baseball swings with an 8 lb sledge until I put heat on it and used a puller. Use the method of taking out the big bolt for the control arm and swing the whole assembly out from the axle after initially breaking it loose.

SIXER, on 30 May 2009 - 03:54 AM, said:

OK yah thanks for the input but i did put the car up in the air and rotate tires to see if i could hear noise but i never heard anything and that got me flipped. so what do you recomaqnd to do/use for these spacing thing your talking about. And bolts when you said i got it nailed when i make the left turns you mean the left side? and again thanks for the help.

[SIXER]

Thanks for all the help guys it helped me out alot i appreciated alot.

So what are these FAG named wheel bearings like are worth putting in or not?

C.J

[boltz]

FWIW, I inherited a full service history of my car, with no mention of a hub replacement, and the one I took out said "FAG", and all the machining and heat treat marks looked identical to the new FAG assembly I put in. The replacement was marked "made in Germany" on the box, but I do wish I'd gotten the kit with a fresh axle nut and new torx bolts, just had to get back up and running that day. It was a pleasant surprise to find a German made bearing at my local O'reilly.

You'll know after the first few taps on the axle if your life is gonna be hell getting the drive spindle out of the hub. If it's got "metal adhesive" that's really just a fancy name for loctite, and you've gotta get the works up to 400 degrees or hotter before it'll pop apart. Burnz-o-matic is not gonna do it, you need oxy-acetylene with a nice big flame. The object of the game is to dump a bunch of heat in to where the loctite is fast, bust it apart and then chill down the CV before the grease starts cooking out of it.

Of course, it might just pull right out, like mine did. :-)

Kinda interesting that the left side seems to fail first. Could be because the battery is on the left side, everything is a little rustier on the left side.

-JH

[SIXER]

Well thats good to know im gonna go order that now. well that helps me out alot i got to say it again thanks for all your help guys.