Wheel Bearings 318i 2002 E46

[Steve_carr]

Hi, new to this forum so I'm hoping I'm doing this correctly. I've got a slight issue with my motor. When driving I get a medium pitch (kind of like tire noise) sound coming from the front passenger side. I'm 95% sure that it's a wheel bearing fault. The question I have is should I attempt to fix it myself as all I've done before is the usual servicing type stuff or pay a mechanic? And how much is a backyard mechanic gonna charge me in labour approximately?

Cheers guys for any help you can throw my way

[andy-mcq]

always worth a go yourself , if you can do oil service etc cant see it being a problem.

do you have a haynes manual? if not get one, first thing i buy for any car now :D

il have a look in mine later and see what it says

[andy-mcq]

welcome to the forum to B)

[andy-mcq]

doesnt seem to say anything about changing them, just shows how to tell if there gone! which is wierd, il keep looking.

its most likly me, im not awake yet :huh:

[andy-mcq]

hope this works, just found this

Tools needed

Jack and jackstands

10mm deep socket

16mm socket

17mm deep socket

32 or 36mm socket

46mm socket

3/8 and 1/2 ratchet - long handles help

1/2 impact wrench (not necessary tho.. otherwise 1/2 long breaker bar)

6mm hex

deadblow hammer

hand impact driver (not necessary but helps with rusted brake retainer bolt)

prybar or large screwdriver

long centering punch or the like

3/8 and 1/2 drive torque wrenches or ones to cover 10 lb ft to well over 200 lb ft

1 Jack car up and place on jackstands

2 using impact wrench and 17mm socket remove front wheel

3 using 3/8 long ratchet and 16mm short socket remove caliper retaining bolts

4 remove brake caliper and suspend with wire from strut being careful to not bend the brake hose

5 grab hand impact driver with hex and remove brake disc retaining bolt

6 use prybar/punch or screwdriver to gently pry off hub cover

7 take center punch or screwdriver and use small hammer to tap out the pressed in portion of the hub nut

8 when done pushing out the pressed in portion it should look like this

9 use 1/2 impact and 46mm socket to remove hub nut - alternatively you could use 18 inch or larger 1/2 ratchet or breaker bar and still easily get this nut off

10 once you get the large hub nut off it looks like this

11 grab a slide hammer or wheel hub press tool and start building your hub removal tool

12 I like to use a slide hammer so it looks like this...

or if you want to use a hub press removal tool with a wrench to press it out it might look something like this

13 one nice whack with the slide hammer and you should get off the hub and bearing which might just leave the inner race

and you will also see this view of the spindle

14 use a dremel or long and thin two jaw puller to get off the inner race

I used a two jaw puller so it looked like this

15 all thats left is the spindle, rear seal cover and brake disc cover so use a punch or something thin to press/gently tap out the inner seal cover to clean it and also the surrounds of the spindle assembly (not required but we all want to do this right)

16 use a 10mm deep socket to remove the 3 bolts holding the rear brake cover in order to clean it and remove any accumulated junk that might be held in the assembly near the abs sensor and rear seal cover

17 clean up the spindle and get ready to get on to the install

18 grab your new front wheel bearing and using a 32 or 36mm socket gently press/tap on the new wheel bearing - I used a 36mm socket and gently tapped it on with a deadblow. You might get lucky and be able to slide on the new bearing by hand. Be careful not to separate the front and rear inner races while installing as you might introduce grit into the new bearing and that might cause an early demise.

19 after you have it tapped on far enough you should be looking at something like this

20 now you can install and torque the hub nut to specs - check Bentley for your model. Mine was 214 lb ft.

21 now using a punch or like dent in the outer portion of the hub nut as a safety precaution

22 I like to use anti seize on the hub and surround so that brake discs are easy to remove so I lightly coat the hub

23 reinstall the brake disc and torque the retaining bolt to 12 lb ft or per Bentley for your model and then reinstall caliper and torque the caliper to the spindle per Bentley (81 lb ft for my 01 325)

24 clean the hub cover and apply light coat of anti seize on the lip and then gently tap it on with a deadblow

hope this helps some how, it seems you need a bmw tool for it but looks like you can make one fairly easy

[andy-mcq]

sorry i couldnt get the pics to work

[Steve_carr]

sorry i couldnt get the pics to work

I seen a video on YouTube showing it step by step and it looks handy enough as long as you already own all the tools. See that's what I was also trying to weigh up, that added expense of purchasing all the tools versus getting a mechanic to do it. Thanks for all your hard work and advice Andy, very much appreciated. I'm taking the car to the garage to get a diagnostic done on it as the engine management light has come on recently, so I will ask them how much they'll sting me to replace the hub and bearing. Or lend me their tool box ha ha

[Greeney2k1]

GET A GARAGE TO DO IT!

Problem is you have to press the bearings out of the hub and its almost impossible to do properly without the correct tools!

Any old grease monkey place can do this I wouldn't recommend BMW as it will cost at least 3 x more for the same simple ish job.

[Steve_carr]

GET A GARAGE TO DO IT!

Problem is you have to press the bearings out of the hub and its almost impossible to do properly without the correct tools!

Any old grease monkey place can do this I wouldn't recommend BMW as it will cost at least 3 x more for the same simple ish job.

Aye I think you may well be right, it could end up an expensive repair job if I get it wrong. Thanks Greeney

[G4VHD]

Welcom to the club mate,

As greeney said, get a garage to do it, They might charg £40 pre hour but it shouldnt take that long.

Been as they have to be pressed that would be the only option for me.

[Steve_carr]

Welcom to the club mate,

As greeney said, get a garage to do it, They might charg £40 pre hour but it shouldnt take that long.

Been as they have to be pressed that would be the only option for me.

Thanks Gav. That does sound the best option.

PS £40 an hour? I'm in the wrong job ha ha

[G4VHD]

Thanks Gav. That does sound the best option.

PS £40 an hour? I'm in the wrong job ha ha

Your telling me :lol:

[Luke]

yes i agree before my beemer i had an escort gti and i replaced a wheel bearing on that and thought i did it all ok as i followed the Haynes manual but 20 miles later it was f***ed again so i took it to a garage and they charged 57 quid. ended up worse off lol :(

[Steve_carr]

I was in my local BMW dealership today for a diagnostic test to be carried out as my EML came on, turned out it was a false error thrown up claiming a problem with the air intake. While I was there I got a quote for replacing the wheel bearings and hub. They wanted £139 for the part and £100 labour. Not on your nelly am I forking out that much. My usual mechanic is getting the job and I'll purchase the parts myself to avoid that extra sting.

[G4VHD]

They wanted £139 for the part and £100 labour.

WHAT???

[andy-mcq]

ouch! thats steep!

[Steve_carr]

When you think about it that's a £1000 ish for all four which is roughly a quarter of the price of the car.

[andy-mcq]

When you think about it that's a £1000 ish for all four which is roughly a quarter of the price of the car.

not my car!

but then i did get mine at the auctions :lol: