Hi.

I recently replaced struts and axles on my '07 V50 with 110K. All had been fine for about 5K miles. Then I started to get the classic bad bearing noise like a WWII fighter plane coming in for a landing. With a right turn it gets louder and less so with a left turn. This led me to replace the front passenger side bearing. This did not fix the problem. Since against my better judgement, I purchased a made-in-China right front axle, I wonder if it could be the carrier bearing. Would that change in sound with right/left turns though? Likewise, could it be a rear bearing even though it sounds like it's coming from the front?

Thanks and any insight/assistance.

 

That is usually a sign the left front bearing is bad.

 

yep, agree with ES6T. the idea is, when you turn to the right, the left outside tire gets a greater share of the load, thus putting more pressure on the wheel bearing = more noise. With that said, noisy bearing can be hard to trace out. You can try jacking both front wheels and spin the tires by hand feeling the strut for any grinding. I've never had any luck pushing/pulling a tire like on some youtube vids... Last time I did a bearing on my 850 it didn't make that much noise turning/left or right so I wound up having the front on stands and let the engine idle in gear and I could hear it better that way... In my experience axles sound different - more of a click sound. Another thing to inspect is torque rods/motor mounts. Does the sound change when coasting vs transmission engaged?

 

Thanks to you both. I guess I was thinking wrong as I thought that the side opposite the turn would lift up representing less of a load on the wheels. Kind of like tipping a three-wheeled Reliant Robin. The sound is the same when coasting. Might as well try the other bearing - I rather enjoy doing it anyway. Thanks.

 

Left bearing was bad and all is fixed. Live and learn. The best part is I can now remove and install a steering knuckle in 15-minutes while blindfolded!

Thanks.

 

ah you should have done a training video!