Front wheel bearing noise cured.

[gmc15]

I posted last year on previous forum about my front wheel bearing growling. I had it replaced but after a couple of months a slight noise could still be heard when driving on smooth roads. Before my trip to France this year I had the car serviced and the garage could not really hear any noise from the front wheels.
600 miles down France I was getting more noise from the front, but not when turning but when driving in a straight line. Many miles later things got worse and it was growling whenever I drove it
I made it back home and put the car in to my indy for repair. The problems were a worn bearing flange on the same side as the replaced wheel bearing, and a worn bearing flange and wheel bearing on the other side. So 2 bearing flanges later and 2 wheel bearings later it is now quiet again
Just thought anyone who has a growling noise from the front wheels may need to consider the bearing flanges as well as the bearings themselves.

Graeme.

[x555]

Thanks for sharing some good info there.

[divelab]

hmm maybe i've got the same problem... last month or two I've been hearing some noise from the front left and now front right wheels- i thought it had something to do with uneven break pads coming into contact with the inner wheel at each rotation... sounds like a soft scratching.. is that similar to the bearing growling you have been hearing?

[gmc15]

The failing wheel bearing noise was a growling whenever the car was turning slightly one way. Front right bearing growled when turning left. The other noise was noticable when driving in a straight line and again it was a low growling noise, which did go through a phase of a dull squeak as it got worse. Only really noticable over about 30mph at first, then all the time. The noise did not sound like something catching.
Bit difficuly to describe sounds though

Graeme.

[divelab]

thanks. wish there was an archive of bmw x5 sounds somewhere that users could link a fault to. in my head the problem sounds like a low clipping/clicking noise that speeds up with a faster rotation of the front wheels. i found this potential explanation... guess I just need to bring it in for a check if i can't see anything obvious.

http://www.2carpros.com/car_sounds/clicking.htm
Loose Brake Caliper or Brake Pads: The brake pads and calipers are designed to slow the vehicle when applied. The brake caliper holds these brake pads that are applied to the brake rotor. If the caliper is loose or if the brake pads are not fitted properly they will make a clicking noise. To check for this condition inspect the brake caliper mounting bolts and brake pad mounting. The brake pads should not move vertically. If so the brake pad shims could have fallen out or the wrong brake pads are installed.