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"Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong" Wheel bearing incident!!!
Hello all,
So I was driving back from Toronto to Ottawa ~400km at 11:00PM, temperature was -30c°.
Everything was perfect, car felt fine, and the steering was great no noise at all.
Until 140km from Ottawa, I was doing 100km/h and out of no where AND I mean NO WHERE I hear a Loud whistling/squeaking noise from the front left wheel and in a fraction of a second BAM the wheel seized!
So I pulled to the side, got out expecting that I've lost a wheel, but everything seems intact .
Then I tried driving again @ 50km/h but No noise !
I kept driving for another 2 hours then it happened again! 40km out of Ottawa.
I arrived home Thank GOD!!! It was the loooongest 3 hours
Today I jacked up the car, grabbed the complete hub assembly and there's much play it almost fell off!
Also the wheel was very very hard to rotate + grinding sound.
I have no problem if all I need is replace the Hub, I'm afraid that the spindle is damaged.
Thank god nothing more catastrophic happened, also can you believe that 300 km of road was empty! not even a single car!
What surprises me is that it came suddenly and with no warning, no noise.
Car has 159,000 km ~ 99k miles.
Service interval is 60k miles. So way overdue. Lucky.
I think I'm gonna go grab a lotto ticket
A Mercedes indy told me there's no play in the bearings 4000km ago
Also, I've never had to replace the bearings in my 1992 W124 260E.
Bought it new in 1992! or the 2005 Escalade
Maybe the W210 has a mind of it's own
Faiz
My C43 suffered a hub bearing seizure. Essentially, it welded itself to spindle assembly; both the bearing & spindle needed to be replaced. Faiz, was your rotor damaged?
Last edited by eFifty5AMG; Jan 16, 2015 at 01:22 AM.
My C43 suffered a hub bearing seizure. Essentially, it welded itself to spindle assembly; both the bearing & spindle needed to be replaced. Faiz, was your rotor damaged?
Did the wheel seize completely or was it Intermittent?
The idea of replacing the knuckle with all the headache is freakin me out! + This is my daily driver
As for the rotor I noticed small scratches on the brake carrier, it rubbed against the rotor. But the Rotor is one hell SOB!
I ordered two Genuine hubs from ECStuning, waiting for delivery.
Faiz
I just replaced both of my front wheel hubs - search my build thread. When you remove the hubs you will be able to visually inspect the spindle on the shaft. I think two new hubs ran me around $260 off Amazon - I went with Febi brand and was pleased with the quality (Part #28384). If you can do your own brakes you can do the wheel hubs. I personally suggest skipping a rebuild kit and buying an entirely new hub with bearings.
Your are a lucky son of a B nothing worse happened!
Did the wheel seize completely or was it Intermittent? The idea of replacing the knuckle with all the headache is freakin me out! + This is my daily driver As for the rotor I noticed small scratches on the brake carrier, it rubbed against the rotor. But the Rotor is one hell SOB! I ordered two Genuine hubs from ECStuning, waiting for delivery. Faiz
Pulled out of the driveway and about an 1/8 mile down the street, it made a grinding noise against my rotor. I assume the bearing had been frozen for a decent amount of time before making an audible noise. Unfortunately, if I had caught it sooner, I most likely wouldn't have needed to replace the spindle.
Btw this was caused by a friend who I lent the car to for a couple days. No more that 8 hours later I got a call that my tire was flat. The story I got was that he a pothole. Cracked my Carlsson 1/6 EVO right through the barrel & everything.
Luckily these cars are quite easy to work on! Replacing the spindle and hub unit would be maybe an hour or so job. Two hours for a first timer. I am glad that you were not injured when it decided to lock up!
I just replaced both of my front wheel hubs - search my build thread. When you remove the hubs you will be able to visually inspect the spindle on the shaft. I think two new hubs ran me around $260 off Amazon - I went with Febi brand and was pleased with the quality (Part #28384). If you can do your own brakes you can do the wheel hubs. I personally suggest skipping a rebuild kit and buying an entirely new hub with bearings.
Your are a lucky son of a B nothing worse happened!
Yeah!!
I bought Geunine Mercedes hubs - Packed with grease and everything from ECStuning, $210 each.
I'll post pics of the work on this thread, waiting for the hubs to arrive.
Probably a good idea to repack and adjust the bearings for play every 60k.
I learned the hard way. I didn't do it before due to :
1- The dealer checked for play before doing an alignment but found nothing, this was 5000km ago.
2- A Mercedes indy did my Transmission service, checked the bearings but said everything is good.
3- I had a 1992 W124, my father is the first owner and until today no bearing service has been done with almost 200,000km.
4- I didn't hear any noise before, it seized immediately.
I have some theories for this sudden failure:
1- The weather lately has been Extremely cold, while I was in Toronto the car was parked outside for almost two weeks.
2-Toronto Roads are the worst, I've never seen anything like it. it's like they have no budget!
3- Maybe the long road trip(during a snow storm) which was three weeks ago killed the bearing
Cheers
Faiz
Last edited by Solo wing; Jan 17, 2015 at 08:10 PM.
Pulled out of the driveway and about an 1/8 mile down the street, it made a grinding noise against my rotor. I assume the bearing had been frozen for a decent amount of time before making an audible noise. Unfortunately, if I had caught it sooner, I most likely wouldn't have needed to replace the spindle.
Btw this was caused by a friend who I lent the car to for a couple days. No more that 8 hours later I got a call that my tire was flat. The story I got was that he a pothole. Cracked my Carlsson 1/6 EVO right through the barrel & everything.
Jeez! sorry to hear that mate.
I never lend my car to anyone, sometimes even my father
I thought the main reason for bearing failure/lock-up is insufficient greasing or over tightening.
Luckily these cars are quite easy to work on! Replacing the spindle and hub unit would be maybe an hour or so job. Two hours for a first timer. I am glad that you were not injured when it decided to lock up!
Thanks a lot !
I'm really glad to hear that
I believe I will need an alignment after replacing the knuckle. Also, can I re-use the balljoint? it's still new.
Pulled out of the driveway and about an 1/8 mile down the street, it made a grinding noise against my rotor. I assume the bearing had been frozen for a decent amount of time before making an audible noise. Unfortunately, if I had caught it sooner, I most likely wouldn't have needed to replace the spindle.
Btw this was caused by a friend who I lent the car to for a couple days. No more that 8 hours later I got a call that my tire was flat. The story I got was that he a pothole. Cracked my Carlsson 1/6 EVO right through the barrel & everything.
Human nature, whatever property youre using isnt yours, less care is exercised.
Dont care what anybody says, never lend out your car!
Today I removed the old hub, and guess what? the outer bearing welded it self into the spindle, the inner bearing is still in decent shape. I will change the whole hub assembly.
As for the knuckle, the dealer quoted me ~$680 for the knuckle, and delivery is one-month from Germany.
I started calling around to search for a used one, I'll keep you updated.
Today I removed the old hub, and guess what? the outer bearing welded it self into the spindle, the inner bearing is still in decent shape. I will change the whole hub assembly. As for the knuckle, the dealer quoted me ~$680 for the knuckle, and delivery is one-month from Germany. I started calling around to search for a used one, I'll keep you updated.
Wow! Having just replaced my front hubs that looks familiar but thankfully no fusion on mine! Good luck finding the correct part - did you check pelican parts?
Wow! Having just replaced my front hubs that looks familiar but thankfully no fusion on mine! Good luck finding the correct part - did you check pelican parts?
I did, Pelican parts and ECStuning. Problem is Delivery will take some time, and this is my DD.
I found a used knuckle, Installed it.
ALSO, The front right hub started to seize on the spindle. when I removed it, the bearing was completely broken/destroyed!
So finally I installed two new hubs, and the car never felt better!
My droning issues are gone- I thought it was the exhaust.
The car feels light, smooth and more comfortable. The handling is EPIC.
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