A4 Wheel Bearings

[audiminor]

Has anyone had experience of worn front wheel bearings? Mine have just been replaced at 64k miles at the main dealers (£ouch). My driving style is 'sedate' (no front brake pads replaced yet!) so no Lewis Hamilton cornering. Perhaps I am unlucky with these, but in my experience wheel bearings usually last pretty much 'forever' unless you go rallying at the weekend.:mad:

[paul b]

Has anyone had experience of worn front wheel bearings? Mine have just been replaced at 64k miles at the main dealers (£ouch). My driving style is 'sedate' (no front brake pads replaced yet!) so no Lewis Hamilton cornering. Perhaps I am unlucky with these, but in my experience wheel bearings usually last pretty much 'forever' unless you go rallying at the weekend.:mad:
Lewis who?
I'm a Michael Schumacher fan. I was sorry to see him retire. I am bracing myself for some stick from members of this forum then...
Paul

[audiminor]

I personally think Kimi Raikkonen will do well with Ferrari this year and possibly take the championship. However, this does not do much for my wheel bearings where 'Driving Miss Daisy' was a more appropriate description of my driving. I guess your 50,000 mile A6 has not had such problems?

[paul b]

Sorry to be a bit off topic. But fortunately I haven't ran into such problems with mine yet. Wifey drives it most of the time, and she's really sedate too, so I'm hoping I won't have this problem just yet. I'll ask a mate, who has an A4, and see what he thinks.
Best of luck.
Paul

[audipersempre]

Not sure if it is an urban myth but I thought out of balance wheels / tyres could knock out wheel bearings over a long period of time / miles?

[paul b]

Has anyone had experience of worn front wheel bearings? Mine have just been replaced at 64k miles at the main dealers (£ouch). My driving style is 'sedate' (no front brake pads replaced yet!) so no Lewis Hamilton cornering. Perhaps I am unlucky with these, but in my experience wheel bearings usually last pretty much 'forever' unless you go rallying at the weekend.:mad:
Do you mean they have failed again? They should last a long time but if your brakes are very worn and keep getting very hot then that can cause it. If you are on your brake pedal all day then it would be best to ease off a bit.
Paul

[audiminor]

This is the first new set of wheel bearings, I have owned the car from new (55 reg) and most of the 64k miles has been on the motorway network - so not much cornering. The transmission is Multitronic which seems to do most of the braking for you when you ease off - so no new front pads yet (they are still good for a few more thousands!). It is all sorted now but I was just intrigued since the lady in the local main dealer's voice went up an octave to deny it when I asked if it was a common problem with these cars. Thanks. (PS I recently had a rumbling wheel bearing on my wifes 57 Morris Minor which was a fair cop after 31 years!)

[John140]

Not sure if it is an urban myth but I thought out of balance wheels / tyres could knock out wheel bearings over a long period of time / miles?
I cant see that this is a myth at all. The induced vibration from 1000's of miles with unbalanced wheels is bound to take its toll on wheel bearings.

[John140]

My B6 TDI 130 had a wheel bearing go at about 35K miles in France on holiday of all places.

[rhencullen1989]

I know the earlier A4's had an issue with front wheel bearings, i believe Audi beefed them up by upping the diameter from (i think) 52mm to 56mm. I have replaced 2 near side bearings and 1 off side bearing. I have also been told that pattern bearings can lack grease so its best to pull the shell apart to get some more lube in there, or spend 3 times more on a genuine part (probably worth it really). Only press in on the outside diameter and then on the inner race with the hub below to press the hub onto the bearing, failing this will see the bearings last less than 20K. P.s anyone doing the job themselves will need use of a hydraulic press and range of spacers dollies.