Rear axle bearing noise?

[Rapidrob]

Right rear axle seems to have a bearing noise? At first I thought it may be the new disk brake but it does not go away or change sound when the brakes are applied.
I also checked the parking brake. Not that either.
There is no sound if the wheel is jacked off of the ground and spun. Only with weight on it and at speeds faster than 20 MPH.

All the wheels have new sets of bearings.
I tried tightening/loosening the axle nut but that does not seem to help.
The bearing turns freely in the race ( I think it is the inner bearing) and feels just like the left side.
I do not know who made the bearings. I got them from lAutohausAZ last summer.

The sound is a low pulsing and can be heard with the windows up on my 96 TDI Wagon.
The bearing and disk does not get hot after a long drive,just this disturbing sound.
The axle shows no wear at all as I have always kept the bearing greased and adjusted.
I ordered a new set of FAG bearings to see if that helps with the sound.
Any ideas that you may have had happen and found a cure?

 

[BigAndy]

Right rear axle seems to have a bearing noise? At first I thought it may be the new disk brake but it does not go away or change sound when the brakes are applied.
I also checked the parking brake. Not that either.
There is no sound if the wheel is jacked off of the ground and spun. Only with weight on it and at speeds faster than 20 MPH.

All the wheels have new sets of bearings.
I tried tightening/loosening the axle nut but that does not seem to help.
The bearing turns freely in the race ( I think it is the inner bearing) and feels just like the left side.
I do not know who made the bearings. I got them from lAutohausAZ last summer.

The sound is a low pulsing and can be heard with the windows up on my 96 TDI Wagon.
The bearing and disk does not get hot after a long drive,just this disturbing sound.
The axle shows no wear at all as I have always kept the bearing greased and adjusted.
I ordered a new set of FAG bearings to see if that helps with the sound.
Any ideas that you may have had happen and found a cure?

I do gentle swerves at 30-40 mph to load up one side and the other side -- if the sound gets worse in these 'swerves' the side to the outside of the swerve is likely a bearing.

Bearings that are installed incorrectly can fail quickly - too much preload, or not enough. The front hubs can be tricky to press on properly if done in a rush -- the rears, if they are overtightened can also lead to quick failure.

I just did all four corners in my Jetta - the car makes no noise now after being a full on 'growl' and 'howl' show (rears failing, front failing).

 

[Rapidrob]

I replaced the bearings. That solved the problem. Now at any speed the axle is nice and quite.

The "bad" set was not even a year old with less than 1,000 miles on them.
Just crap CHI-COM made bearings. The inboard larger bearing would just make a noise at 25 + MPH for no apparent reason. Spinning the wheel off of the ground made no noise at all,as it should.

Never again, FAG or Timken bearings only.