[finrock]

First, I want to thank everyone here who have helped me here. Because of you guys I was able to replace my Idle Speed Control, an alternator or four, and the resistor that caused my A/C fan to only run on max. You guys are truly awesome.

Now, here is my latest problem. I have a '99 MTX 2.5 with 125k miles. In the last few months I have noticed a grinding noise, which gets faster as speed increases. It has gotten progressively worse in the last ten days. It seems to be coming from the rear passenger side of the car, however, everything I read here about bearings indicated front bearings going bad.

Before I go and get ripped off at my local shop, is there anything I can look for or do myself? I'd rather go in and say "I need ..." rather than "What is wrong?".

Should I jack the car up and spin the wheel? Would I be able to hear anything? Could it be the rear wheel?

Once again, thank you so much. I only hope I can return the favor sometime.

 

[finrock]

Update: I jacked the rear end up and spun the wheel, the noise is definitely coming from that wheel. Now, upon closer inspection I noticed that the wheel spins, then sticks, then spins again, which leads me to believe it might be a warped rotor. Could this be? If so, why would one warp and not the other three?

It also doesn't seem to be any different whether or not I am using the brakes or not... so does that mean bearing?

Let me know what you guys think. Once again, thank you!

 

[Moraki]

Ya at 125k miles IF these are the original rotors, they could be worn down to the point they are more likely to warp. Even a new rotor can warp though.

This probably isnt the case, but once working on Phantoms cougar we had something like this happening. We tracked it down to some rust residue had gotten behind the rotor while working on it, and once we tightened everything down it basicly shimmed the rotor off by about a degree or 2 and caused similar problems. This was realy wierd and i doubt its your problem but might as well try and look.

Another thing have you had any brake work done recently? IF these are the original rotors and some one tried to take them off.... they can tend to sieze in place. Once siezed you pretty much got a 50 / 50 chance of warping them getting them off....

If your fairly good with tools you could order your own brake rotors (maybe pads) and try and put them on. Theres how to's for that i think....

 

[finrock]

Thanks Moraki! I replaced the breaks about... 90k I think, they are in pretty good shape, but they are the original rotors. So, I will search for the How-tos on that and see if I should try putting them on myself or having the shop do it.

I assume if I'm gonna have one done I should probably do both rear ones, right?

Once again, thank you very much!

 

[finrock]

Ok... two more questions!

1. I replaced the rotors - no help, so the bearing must be bad. However, it was really hard getting the brake assembly back on the rotor when I was done. It was very tight and I could barely spin the rotor by hand when I was done. Is this ok? Will the brakes adjust once I drive it?

2. I'm looking at Hub Assemblies for the rear wheel... is this easy enough to replace myself? I assume its just a little more involved than what I did today (rotors) - or do I have to press the bearings in? There is a "TIMKEN WHEEL BEARING/HUB ASSEMBLY - REAR" at Autozone... is that the whole thing, or would I have to get that pressed in too?

Once again, I truly appreciate any help you guys can offer!

 

[Moraki]

I dont have any exp replacing the bearings on our car, so im not sure if that inclueds the bearing or not, but 35bucks sounds cheap to have a bearing in it.

as for "However, it was really hard getting the brake assembly back on the rotor when I was done. It was very tight and I could barely spin the rotor by hand when I was done. Is this ok? Will the brakes adjust once I drive it?" ..... Did you twist the piston back down on the caliper? I use needle noose to turn them inward... squeezin the rear piston doesnt do much of anything. This shouldnt hurt your driving if thats all it is. Also did you have the E Brake off when you were trying to spin it? If so ya id say something is shot with that bearing.

 

[sonza68]

I had to replace one of my rears a few months back. It was pretty easy. Youll need to remove the brakes, then take the hub cover off (just pops out with a sharp edged tool) and then remove the hub rataining nut (big sucker, more than 1", I think it's 1 1/16"). The hub/bearing assembly should just slide right off. The new one may take a few hits with a rubber mallet to slide on, but it shouldn't be too hard.

 

[finrock]

Moraki, thanks for the info on turning piston back down. I had not done that. So I did it this morning and it works great now.

Sonza, I just decided to have my local shop do it for me. They gave me a reasonable price and a decent warranty. I feel stupid for not just doing that in the first place. At least I know the ins-and-outs of rear brakes now.

Thank you both for the help, I truly appreciate it!

 

[miknne]

Sorry, I had to add this...
I have had to replace the wheel bearings on my car about 5 times now...
The fastest way to tell if the bearing is going out (or is bad...) is to jack the car up.. spin the wheel.. and most important..... try to "shake" or "rock" the wheel back and forth, in and out, (almost like your trying to take the wheel off without taking off the nuts).. if the wheel moves.. the bearing is bad!...:beer: