Wheel bearing noise?

sanjaun2

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 4, 1999
Location
Sandia Park NM. usa
TDI
2004 Jetta TDI 2012 Passat TDI
I did a search for wheel bearing noise on the nms passat and nothing showed. Has anyone had a wheel bearing go out yet? I am getting a noise in the front end related to car speed and it gets slightly better in r/h turns and worse in l/h turns. Most noticeable from 20-50 mph. Its getting worse every day. Rotated tires yesterday and they look fine and did not change the sound. What is the warranty for such a thing? I am at 39K miles.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Yes - I had the right front wheel bearing go out on a cross-country trip (somewhere in Montana). The dealer in Bellingham, Washington ended up changing both front wheel bearings (they changed the wrong one at first).

The bearing assembly is right around $250 and is an easy job to replace. The whole assembly unbolts and the new one slides right in - nothing to press.

If your dealer gives you any sort of hassle with being out of warranty, just say screw it and do it yourself.
 
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nord

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2010
Location
Southern Tier NY
TDI
All turned back to VW. Now a 2017 Hundai Tuscon. Not a single squalk in 10k miles.
Jetta and Passat seem to enjoy tearing up right front bearings followed by right rear. Why? I can't say.

Oh... Bad bearing is usually opposite the direction of the turn where noise is most evident.

The good news? Probably warranty and really not a big deal if it isn't.
 

sanjaun2

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 4, 1999
Location
Sandia Park NM. usa
TDI
2004 Jetta TDI 2012 Passat TDI
Thanks for the help gentlemen. I cant believe the wheel bearing would go out so soon. My past two jettas were original bearings when I sold them at 150k each. Thanks Veedub, I will change it myself if its not covered by warranty. I guess if this is all the problems I have I dont have many...
 

sanjaun2

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 4, 1999
Location
Sandia Park NM. usa
TDI
2004 Jetta TDI 2012 Passat TDI
Any input on the FAG brand bearing from IDI? Oem must not be to good if it has gone bad already. Almost half the price
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
oilhammer told me that most wheel bearings are being made of inferior materials these days and they don't last nearly as long as they used to.

Mine went out in a construction zone when I crossed a rather violent rumble strip. Was their a catalyst for your failure, as well, or was it completely out of the blue?
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
I would personally stick with OEM products. I really don't trust the aftermarket suppliers, especially the ones who sell parts at half price.
 

sanjaun2

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 4, 1999
Location
Sandia Park NM. usa
TDI
2004 Jetta TDI 2012 Passat TDI
Mine went out in a construction zone when I crossed a rather violent rumble strip. Was their a catalyst for your failure, as well, or was it completely out of the blue?[/QUOTE]

Did not notice an event. It was making a very faint noise at first and then gradually worsening.
 

sanjaun2

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 4, 1999
Location
Sandia Park NM. usa
TDI
2004 Jetta TDI 2012 Passat TDI
"The bearing assembly is right around $250 and is an easy job to replace. The whole assembly unbolts and the new one slides right in - nothing to press."

If your dealer gives you any sort of hassle with being out of warranty, just say screw it and do it yourself.[/QUOTE]

The dealership said its out of warranty. So, I have ordered the part from Idi. Do I need to lube the new one or is it sealed?
 

scurvy

Good Ol' Boy
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
Chicago IL USA
TDI
2006 Golf
Bad bearing is usually opposite the direction of the turn where noise is most evident.
Bad advice that does not apply. VWs use double-row angular contact bearings; turning loads one set of races and unloads the other set in each bearing shell - it could be one bearing or both.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
It can be challenging to figure out which side is making noise (perhaps both are making noise, as scurvy mentioned). It may take a bit of driving around to determine where it's coming from. I'd also suggest having someone else drive while you ride in the passenger's seat, as that can offer a different perspective that may be useful in your troubleshooting.
 

compu_85

Gadget Guy
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
... None :S
I'd also try Scurvy's suggestion of lifting the front of the car off the ground and having the engine spin the wheels, then fell the strut tops.
 

sanjaun2

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 4, 1999
Location
Sandia Park NM. usa
TDI
2004 Jetta TDI 2012 Passat TDI
Thanks gentlemen. I wanted to make sure I didn't need to buy grease before I had it all apart. Perhaps I will have my son ride with me and maybe he can tell which one. I have been working on Jets for over thirty years and my hearing is not very good anymore..
 

TurboDieselPoint

Veteran Member
Joined
May 16, 2012
Location
N/A
TDI
2014 Passat TDI SE 6-Speed Manual
I have actually velcroed a cheap camera securely to the fenders of previous cars to find sounds like wheel bearing noise when I can't determine which side the noise is coming from. It works!
 

sanjaun2

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 4, 1999
Location
Sandia Park NM. usa
TDI
2004 Jetta TDI 2012 Passat TDI
wheel bearing problem

I attempted to change out my wheel bearing tonight. Simple easy job so I jumped on it after work but before dinner. I ran into a big snag. I can not get straight on access to the 4 bolts that hold the bearing in place. The axle boot is in the way of all four bolts. I partially stripped two of the bolts so I quit. I have been on this site for 14 years and still can not attach a picture to show you. I was taking pics as I went to do a how to. You don't want to follow me now. Any ideas? http://pics.tdiclub.com/showfull.php?photo=98833
 
Last edited:

compu_85

Gadget Guy
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
... None :S
I would think you need to remove the axle from the hub anyway to get it out... You should be able to just remove the nut on the end and wiggle it out with the knuckle turned perhaps?
 

sanjaun2

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 4, 1999
Location
Sandia Park NM. usa
TDI
2004 Jetta TDI 2012 Passat TDI
pics for wheel bearing change

I was able to go back in there and get it done today. Thanks for the help. I will try and post a few pics. I did strip out one of the mount bolts beyond use. I drilled the button head off the bolt. I did not have an easy out large enough for the job. Besides all the bolts were very tight and I worried about breaking off the easy out in the hole. http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/uploads//315/20130824_162533.jpg
This pic shows what I had to disconnect to separate the axle from the wheel bearing. http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/uploads//315/wheel_bearing_1.jpg
This is the old bearing out of the car.
http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/uploads//315/Old_wheel_bearing.jpg
Thanks again! She drives quiet and smooth again.
 

WolfPack

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 7, 2013
Location
Zebulon, NC
TDI
2013 Passat tdi
My step father had a wheel bearing start to go out before the warranty ran out. It was documented at the time of the last free service 30K. The dealer insisted that it wasn't that bad and sent the car on it's way. 15k later the bearing was toast and when notifying the dealer they wanted to charge 800$ (full cost) to repair it even with it being documented that it was faulty. Since they didn't want to subsidize the repair cost we performed the repair ourselves and did not buy OEM parts. A month after performing the repair the dealership contacted my step father insisting that he come in to have the car fixed(still with no discount) at that point we informed them that we used after market parts and would no longer be using them for maintenance on the vehicle.
 

sanjaun2

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 4, 1999
Location
Sandia Park NM. usa
TDI
2004 Jetta TDI 2012 Passat TDI
800 bucks for a wheel bearing job? Holy smokes! Its not as cheap or easy as it used to be when you just changed the little bearing and greased it. It is not a very difficult job when you figure out how to do it. My new bearing is working fine so far, and no others have failed since.
 

WolfPack

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 7, 2013
Location
Zebulon, NC
TDI
2013 Passat tdi
Yep, once we dug into the job it was relativley easy. His was a 2012 SE TDI 6MT and now has over 60,000+ miles. I hope mine (2013 SE TDI dsg) makes it longer than his, but feel comfortable knowing what to do if the situation arises.
 

johnnyrotten

Well-known member
Joined
May 22, 2007
Location
Arizona....... West Valley
TDI
2014 PASSAT TDI SEL
Yuup...2014 Passat TDI 66k miles front right wheel bearing went out! Dealership told me they diagnosed it by running car and feeling the strut! Thank God I took out the extended warranty!! -$0- copay!
 
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