Pekkle

Guys, don't kill me that I take my car to Firestone for service. Today, I went back to get alignment done and they told me that my both front bearings are worn and have about 1/4" play in them so it's wearing my inner tires? They also said about without replacing them my wheel can come off? So naturally, I am posting here as I trust you guys more than Firestone techs. Right now they said without the hub bearings they can't get a accurate alignment done and they quoted me approx $1000 bucks for both sides. Do anyone have any experience on a 2007 E5550's hub bearings? Are they really that easy to go bad? and how bad can it get if I don't get them replaced?Any thoughts is greatly appreciated.

Shifter

Dealer prices are cheaper than that. Mb recs a repack at 60k. Unless they are damaged that's all you need.

Dealer should be $50 in parts and 3.5 hrs labor.

Indys don't always give you the better deal! Especially when you take the lack of experience and special tools into consideration.

GermanCars

Jeez O Pete, Find a decent independent and depending on the mileage, ask to have the wheel bearings ADJUSTED, not replaced. Takes just a few minutes for both sides once the wheels are off. Rarely do we see wheel bearings needing a replacement below 100K-120K miles.

Chain tire stores are not where one would expect to find a tech with Mercedes experience. Ask other Mercedes owners in your area about fair/honest indy's in your area. They would have likely recommended a wheel bearing adjustment during a regular service . Yes you will pay more for a proper service at the indy than a oil change at the chain store. But the indy will not as likely try to sell you bogus $1000 wheel bearing jobs.
Don't be penny wise and pound foolish. Most of the time you still do get what you pay for.

Indy in Sarasota since 1979

Shifter

Don't just adjust them tighter without repacking them. Bad idea.

Pekkle

Thanks for all the comments. That's why I post here I know you guys know why more than those chain stores. My car is 100k right now, should I replace them or will repack work?

Critter

Did they actuall show you the movement in the wheels to support their so called expert mechanical knowledge. Chances are the guy does not even have a mechanical certificate if he is working at Firestone. Fear mongering is a good source of quick cash and for 1000 dollars to do wheel bearings you should have been rushed to the nearest hospital laughing hysterically, the nerve.

BlackOmega

If there is a lot of slop (movement) in the wheel bearing, it needs to be removed and inspected for uneven wear, scoring and such.

If none detected, repack (not just recoat) the bearings.

vettdvr

Something smells here.. Both wheel bearings at the same time? Very unusual for both to fail at 60,000 miles and both at the same time? IF they have failed the wheels could come off, but someone would have to jack the front of the car and SHOW ME BOTH WHEELS before I would bite on that one.

Shifter

Actually at that mileage it's common for both sides to have excessive play and require a repack.

Remember MB recommends it at 60, he's at 100 k.

Pekkle

Yeah, my car is already at 100k miles, and he did scare me with wheels can come off. I am going to check with dealer and see how much to just repack the bearings. Btw, where would you guys recommend to get alignment done besides Firestone?

Muchl thanks to all of you folks, without you guys I would have listened to them and get it replaced.

BlackOmega

From what I gather about MB's is that they're press toe alignments, meaning there's a special tool needed to do it properly.
Find a Euro car specialist in your area, other than the dealer, they're probably the only people that could get it right as they likely have the special tool needed to do the alignments.

Also, I believe that MB's aer supposed to have a full tank of fuel in them when aligning. Check with the dealer or euro car specialist in your are for exact details.

edwinwalke

Don't recall seeing any mention in my service manual of the wheel bearings requiring repacking. I just check for bearing play when I do the 26K mile service.

otto6457

I wouldn't let a Firestone mechanic work on my Kia if I had one. There is a reason those guys work at Firestone and not at high quality independents and dealerships. It's called "qualifications".

Critter

Sorry to say guys but does anyone ever work on their cars, or for that matter ever work on the cars they had before the mercs. These cars are electronic nightmares but mechanically they are very much the same idea as most common makes like GM and Ford"wash my mouth out with soap". Most cars will go their entire lifetime without so much as a consideration as changing the wheel bearings or for that matter repack them. But if you are concerned, just jack up one wheel off the ground , place one hand at 9 oclock the other at 3 oclock and try to move the wheel back and forth looking for play, also try for movement towards you and push back into the car. Of course for a high mileage car repacking or removal and inspection during a brake change just makes sense, just beaking off! As far as alignment goes, a shop that just deals with alignments is your best bet, they will tell you what is loose in the front end long before they attempt to align it. If you see them drive your car on the rack and start to adjust the car then you know right away you are in the wrong shop. Good shop will first adjust the air pressure in the tires, always watch you will pay dearly for their mistakes.

Critter

otto6457 you are so right, that is why it pays to watch whenever some tech works on your car. As far as dealership lube changes it would be a save bet to say that the guy doing the oil change is not a certified mechanic but just ask for yourself and then do not be surprised when they say no!

Plutoe

A very simple but informative test is to remove one tire and grab the hub at either 12 and 6 or 3 and 9 o'clock and use a push pull force with your hands----do you notice movement------if you do you know there is an issue, either the special nut is not as tight as it should be or you in fact have a bad bearing. However the true test requires a dial indicator and bla bla.

Satisfy your curiosity and do the test on both wheels as anyone could sense .250 play---the specs are about .002mm play and seattle sam/ BS Billy couldn't sense that with out a dial indicator.

Pekkle

Thanks guys!! You guys are too awesome!! Like everyone commented, the car came back with the same messed up alignment, the camber is still negative -2.1 and -1.2 and that is with camber kit installed per their recommendation the last time I did the alignment. Btw, I have standard OEM 18" wheels and never thought I need a camber kit.

Long story short, I am going to check the hub bearings play per you guy's suggestions, and I am probably going to drop off my car to a shop that does just alignments or a euro shop to see if they can fix it.

jslimjeff

Just changed both of mine out today on the front. I bought the complete kit which comes with inner & Outer bearing and race. Seal and front hub cover. Each kit was 45.00....

Took about 30 min a wheel as getting the race out is a but tricky. Best to heat the hub up and then gently remove. Pack with proper amount of grease as too much grease will cause seal failure. Follow proper method to tighten spindle nut and lock in place. Care must be taken not to overload the bearing.

BlackOmega

I dunno how it is in Texas, but here every tech that even so much as looks at your car has to be certified. It's not uncommon to see the techs that work at Firestone to later work at a dealer.
The only thing the dealer will probably have is their own certifications.
The dealer I work at, certified techs do the oil changes. We do them so we can inspect the cars properly because most oil lube techs just don't know what to look for.

EDIT: I do all of my own work and have for quite some time. It seems as though whenever anyone else touches my car, regardless of make or model, they eff it up. Taking my car to the dealer last year for an alignment just reinforced that fact. They aligned it with a worn out and bent control arm in the rear and adjusted the front toe so my tires are feathering pretty badly. Even without the special tool, I think I'm going to align it myself. Our alignment machine has the compensation for doing it without the press bar.

vettdvr

Play in taper bearings comes from worn/defective parts. Max of .001 to .003" of play for new. Preload in the range of 5 to 15 INCH pounds is about the most you can have on a car taper wheel bearing.

Repack is only replacing Grease in the hub assembly and seal if necessary. The seal on a E class has the magnets for the ABS sensor / traction control.

My E500 went 125,000 miles before ever pulling the front wheels. The grease specified by MB is a synthetic and not a conventional lubricant. Follow MFG specs on lube and buy from the Dealer the proper seal.

IF you expect repack to take out play you are barking up the wrong tree.


You are NOT driving a chevy, chevy's have sealed for life bearings in the hub assembly.

Most people on Mercedes replace the bearings at 100000+ miles or when a bearings begins to give a problem. The new assemblies on MB E series are hubs/bearings and lubricant. This part runs about $250.

So if you really want to do what is necessary and really do have play at 3 & 9 replace the hub.

DON'T try to go to your local bearing supplier for these bearings. The radius on the inner bearing inside race for MB is a special cut and a stock off the shelf bearing will burn out due to this mis - fit.

You can repack if you want to spend the time and $$ and if you enjoy doing that work then do it, it is your car.

But I recommend you follow the MB maintenance procedure for front wheel bearings in the Manual.

Shifter

IF you expect repack to take out play you are barking up the wrong tree.

This is not entirely true. After you repack the bearings with grease , you then adjust the free play. MB spec is .001-.002 mm.
And to check the play on then grab the wheel at 12 and 6. 9 and. 3 you would be feeling play in the steering components.

otto6457

Certified by who? ASE? ASE Certification is better than nothing, but it doesn't mean you are actually "qualified" to work on a car properly. It only means you have taken a basic test that a first year auto tech student could pass.

My dealership will sometimes hire a "tech" from Firestone or Sears and invariably they are "certified" lube techs or have some other nonsensical "certification". They are seldom as knowledgeable as a kid fresh out of auto tech school.

The dealership qualifications are much more involved and require a much more specific knowledge. A dealership Master Diagnostic Technician has spent a minimum of 5 years on his particular manufacturer and has hundreds of hours of classroom time and hands-on instruction by the manufacturer's best instructors. There is no comparison between an ASE "Master" Technician and a MB Master Technician, or a Toyota Master Technician, or even a Chevrolet Master Technician. I can pass the ASE Master Technician exam every 5 years without even cracking a book or reviewing a single tech article. The ASE exam is a total waste of my time, but I'm required by Toyota to have an ASE Master Certificate. My yearly Toyota Master Skills test requires several days of preparation and study. I work on Toyota's every single day and I still dread my yearly Master Skills exam. After 35 years of experience, I still have to study to keep my Master Diagnostic Certification up to date. In 2012 I spent 15 days in class and that is an average year for me.

So when a place like Firestone tells you they have "certified" technicians, don't be surprised when they try and sell you a bunch of stuff you don't need because they are trained to over sell repairs, or they are using the "shotgun" method of repair in hopes that they hit your actual problem in the blizzard of parts that are shooting at your car.

I repeat....I wouldn't let a Firestone mechanic work on my Kia if I had one.

vettdvr

If both bearings were set new properly and you had excessive play there would be damaged bearings. I bought my car new and would expect MB to have them in spec. Every bearing I have changed that were taper rollers that were set properly and increased play were either damaged in some manner or the races weren't seated fully to the stops during assembly.

My comment is based on they were set up properly to start with. If not of course you could adjust them out. However if you have excessive play and they were set properly then I stand by you have some damage somewhere as bearings are mfg to tolerances of .0001" or better.

Plutoe

Quote And to check the play on then grab the wheel at 12 and 6. 9 and. 3 you would be feeling play in the steering components. Unquote

You are absolutely correct, the tire should be off and I have ammended my post accordingly. However my point was that if you could produce that type of play there is an immediate issue>

JCROGERS

its .01 to .02 mm which is .393 to .787 thousands of an inch