1xsculler

So. before removing the old and installing the new left front wheel bearing in my 2007 GL450 I read the posts on this forum about the encoder and about installing the new bearing correctly. It all seemed pretty obvious as the old bearing was installed with what I thought was a rubbery seal like material towards the inside so I installed the new one with that black seal looking material also towards the inside. The bad bearing noise is gone but the ABS and ESP warning messages are on. When I first drove off and for about five miles everything was good except for those warning lights and then it wouldn't shift out of 3rd gear no matter what I tried. I stopped the car, put it in park, turned off the ignition, restarted it and it shifted fine through all of the gears as it still does but just after it gets moving there is a brief strange noise coming from the drive train. It happens every time I turn the key off and then on and start out again. It doesn't happen if I stop at a stop light and keep the engine running nor does it happen if I stop, put it in park keeping the engine running, then put it in drive and start out It's not a terribly sinister sound but it's obviously not right. It sounds sort of like running over an aluminum beer can.
I dug all of the parts of the old bearing out of the trash and examined them and sure enough the dark colored seal looking ring does have a magnetic field. I checked the new bearing for magnetism, or if it repelled a magnet, before installing it and I couldn't detect anything anywhere but I have since Googled the National Bearing # 510097 which I installed and it states it does have an ABS encoder internally

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON???

Problem solved by installing a new bearing and supporting the inner race when I pressed the hub on If you don't support the inner race you will damage the bearing enough that the encoder ring will become displaced and therefore not function properly with the ABS sensor.