Wheel bearing risk

Russinating

Russinating

Russinating

Soldato
Joined
27 Dec 2005
Posts
17,316
Location
Bristol
So my rear passenger side wheel bearing is duffed on my S reg Clio. It starts making a noise almost instantly and then very loud around 70mph (then gets quieter after). A garage jacked it up today and you can very clearly hear it grrr along when spinned.

I'm due to take it to the garage tomorrow morning and have it repaired, however I *must* have my car back by Thursday. This would be fine, but I'm worried about my back drums. A few weeks ago Kwik Fit did a free brake inspection and rang me to say they couldn't get the rear drums off without breaking them/the seal, which I'd have to pay for, so I told them to leave it. They also get stuck every so often and when I start my car up and move they go "clunk" and release.

Basically I'm just worried the garage are going to rip them off and then say "ohhhh noooo - £400 please, and it won't be fixed by Thurs". So my questions are twofold:

  1. What's the danger of a duffed rear wheelbearing? Do I risk death travelling 300+ miles from Thursday to Sunday?
  2. What's the worst case scenario of a rear brake/drum? ie If everything turns to dust, what's the likely rough (very rough) cost and would it need a lot of time to fix?

I know my questions are pretty vague but hopefully someone can give me a rough idea, better than my non-existent one at least. Thanks :)
 
Russinating said:
What's the danger of a duffed rear wheelbearing? Do I risk death travelling 300+ miles from Thursday to Sunday?
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The risk is loosing a wheel at speed, not joking.

What's the worst case scenario of a rear brake/drum? ie If everything turns to dust, what's the likely rough (very rough) cost and would it need a lot of time to fix?
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The worst case scenario is you let quickfit touch it ever again.

Have someone competent replace the bearing and service the rear brakes, £300 maximum from a good indi, or maybe (bur rarely) a cheaper dealer.
 
mine went on my leon and i didn't notice it at first. i drove a few hundred miles on split boot as i needed it for work, and in the end the outer bearing just crumbled and cost me a fortune.

it's not worth the risk, as you could need the inner bearing replacing too
my wheel shook so violently at random times it was undriveable. not nice
 
I've driven for months with a moaning wheel bearing, but it isn't best practice.

As far as the drums go, there is no "seal" to break when you take the drum cover off?
 
my brother had a noisy bearing on the back of a clio. im not sure how mechanical you are, but he was broke, i took the bearing off the car. cleaned it through and regreased it and it was silent for the following year, then he sold the car
 
I think you are worrying about nothing; in the absolute worst case of needing new drums and brakes shoes, the Clio is hardly a rare car. I would expect these kind of parts to be stocked by almost any motor factor and they won't be very expensive, probably ~£30 for a drum and maybe £20-£25 for a set of shoes. The drums have to come off to replace the hub/bearing anyway, so there will be little difference in labour charge.
 
IIRC the clio bearing is pressed into the hub. You could get a bearing for £30 and find someone to press the old one out and the new one in, you then have to buy a locking hub nut (36mm?) Its the one that deforms to lock it into place.
 
mejinks said:
IIRC the clio bearing is pressed into the hub. You could get a bearing for £30 and find someone to press the old one out and the new one in, you then have to buy a locking hub nut (36mm?) Its the one that deforms to lock it into place.
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thats presuming he can get the brake drum off, its not unusual for the extra heat of a failing bearing to make the drum/bearing sieze with the stub shaft.
 
mejinks said:
IIRC the clio bearing is pressed into the hub. You could get a bearing for £30 and find someone to press the old one out and the new one in, you then have to buy a locking hub nut (36mm?) Its the one that deforms to lock it into place.
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Nearly all rear wheel bearings are pressed into a hub. In the case of the Clio (and lots of other cars) you tend to buy the complete hub with bearings already installed which makes changing them very easy.
 
dalin80 said:
thats presuming he can get the brake drum off, its not unusual for the extra heat of a failing bearing to make the drum/bearing sieze with the stub shaft.
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i wish i still had pics of the bearings i took off the rear of the golf. the "grease" poured out like ink, seriously burnt

the bearing and stub axle was tinged blue and the rollers were heavily pitted, ie had been trying to fuse with the outter races :D
 
And if your car isn't fixed by Thursday just get a hire car..............
 
amigafan2003 said:
And if your car isn't fixed by Thursday just get a hire car..............
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As if the expense of a car repair isn't enough, I don't particularly want to hire a car for 5 days to fill to the brim and take to an exhibition :rolleyes:.

Anyway, just back from the garage. Stayed around for a bit and watched him remove the back drums - damn, they were stiff. Took about 15 minutes with some serious reverse hammer action to get them off. Both drums were worn in by about 3mm from the shoes and the driver's side unit was preettyy screwed. The shoes snapped in half when you touched the underside with a screwdriver.

The painful end result - new rear wheel bearings, rear drums and rear shoes. Estimated cost inc. labour around £370. Still, better than dying.
 
That is shocking.

I paid £90 INCLUDING parts and labour to have my rear shoes and wheel cylinders replaced. Drums would have added £50 to that cost.
 
Oh dears!

Rough breakdown off the top of my head:

Drums = £30 x2
Shoes = £40 x2
Wheelbearings = £30 x2
Total parts = £200
Labour = 3 hours @ £50/hr = £150

The £370 was 'worst case' based on the most expensive part quotes being the only ones in stock that day. The labour's mainly to de-rust the... not sure what they're called - the part of the drum that remains once you take the outer casing off. Basically looked like the first time they'd been opened or touched since the car was new ('99, 60k miles). Was also with him for 30 mins this morning while he removed the drums and got quotes for parts.

Think I've still been shafted? How much would you expect to pay, bearing in mind realistic prices (ie no "You can buy that off ebay for half the price" etc)?

Edit: I'm paying/collecting the car tomorrow, so any advice would be appreciated :).
 
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The bit of the drum that remains is called the backplate - they are always lightly corroded but even on my 20 year old Manta it isn't excessive - a quick once over with a wire brush is all that is needed. Certainly not the best part of 3hrs labour.
The prices for the drums themselves isn't insane - although I'm sure GSF or ECP could have provided them cheaper and probably on the same day. £40 is an awful lot for shoes for any car. No idea what bearings for these cost.
 
Hmmm ok. Bear in mind the 3 hours is inclusive of actually removing/replacing said parts too, not just cleaning the back plate.

So really about £160 plus £100 (2 hours labour) you'd say would be fair/understandable?
 
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