$330 for a front wheel bearing repack? - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Chas H · #31 01-08-2009, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangofox007

My 300D had a bad wheel bearing when I bought it. It was 10 years old and had 43k miles on it. The life expectancy of the wheel bearing grease had clearly been exceeded.

Then someone likely packed the bearing with the wrong grease or misadjusted it.

Chas H · #32 01-08-2009, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clm

Only seen one case of bearing failure? In my ten years of exprience of mercedes repair,I have had: 3-4 123's, 2 210,s , 1 140 and 1 107 car.I know thats not a lot compaired to the hundreds of cars I have worked on,but dont make it sounds like it never happens.ou mush have worked at a light duty shop or something.
And yes, I have had 2 catastrophic wheel bearings happen to me personally (not m.b.'s though)
310 bucks Is not too far off at dealership prices- I am sure they are 100 bucks an hour. They charged 2.8 hours to just replace the disks- Plus removing the hub, replacing the seals and packing the bearings . Its simple work, but it does take time and know how to do. Just depends if you want to get your hands dirty

Most cases of wheel bearing failure are do to improper service methods or the wrong grease being used.
I have changed bad wheel bearings, but none had failed; which is the paranoia being posted by others.

rrgrassi · #33 01-08-2009, 03:57 PM

I have had bearings fail also. A Dodge dealership did not grease the bearings or something. Either way when the truck was parked, the bearings cooled and fused to the spindle.

Wheels can fall off. It is not a frequent thing, but can still happen. People that have experienced it personally can be a paranoid. Once bitten, twice shy.

winmutt · #34 01-08-2009, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sethyboy85

Also if you press against the top of the tire with your shoe and feel too much inward movement with a clunk, that means they are shot. It's true if you start to hear noises from them it's too late.

That could be an indication of a few other things than bearings.....

barry123400 · #35 01-08-2009, 06:29 PM

I think earlier on this thread someone mentioned they were driving with a suspect wheel bearing. Not a good ideal to let it go to a later time as you mentioned months away. You can land up damaging your spindal.

tangofox007 · #36 01-09-2009, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chas H

Have you had a wheel lock up due to a catastrophic bearing failure?
In over 45 years of driving I have not.
In the 30+ years I was in the auto repair business I witnessed one case of a failed bearing...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chas H

Most cases of wheel bearing failure are do to improper service methods or the wrong grease being used.

Did you come to that conclusion on the basis of your single observation? Or are you quoting the results of a study that has at least some basis in good science?

Chas H · #37 01-09-2009, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangofox007

Did you come to that conclusion on the basis of your single observation? Or are you quoting the results of a study that has at least some basis in good science?

Both.
On what do you bias your opinion?

clm · #38 01-09-2009, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chas H

Most cases of wheel bearing failure are do to improper service methods or the wrong grease being used.
I have changed bad wheel bearings, but none had failed; which is the paranoia being posted by others.

A bad wheel bearing not taken care of Will result in failure. For real man! The 140 I repaired had 90 k on it and the bearing seized on to the spindle and had to be cut off with a tourch. It was the original owner and had never had them touched. (original grease still in the other side- what was left of it).
Most people, and it appears that you Chas have the "Americanized" mentality when it comes to mantinance. Use it and throw it away. Well these cars were designed to be maintained and to last for very long periods of time. Its disgusting to me the way average people treat there cars and especially M.B.'s .
I am not meaning to be disrespectfull to you sir, but I am thankfull I never had someone like you working on my car.

I have have NEVER seen some ones car break down from being over maintained. LOL

tangofox007 · #39 01-09-2009, 01:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chas H

I'm not aware of any parts of a Benz with a lifetime guarantee.

Excellent point, Chas. Would it not follow, then, that grease should be renewed periodically if it has a limited service life?

Chas H · #40 01-09-2009, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clm

A bad wheel bearing not taken care of Will result in failure. For real man! The 140 I repaired had 90 k on it and the bearing seized on to the spindle and had to be cut off with a tourch. It was the original owner and had never had them touched. (original grease still in the other side- what was left of it).
Most people, and it appears that you Chas have the "Americanized" mentality when it comes to mantinance. Use it and throw it away. Well these cars were designed to be maintained and to last for very long periods of time. Its disgusting to me the way average people treat there cars and especially M.B.'s .
I am not meaning to be disrespectfull to you sir, but I am thankfull I never had someone like you working on my car.

I have have NEVER seen some ones car break down from being over maintained. LOL

I never claimed a bad wheel bearing should be not repaired.
I have seen cars breakdown, even ruined, from being mismaintained. And apparently so have you. Certainly a Benz will go 90K without a wheel bearing problem.
What is the factory recommended service interval for wheel bearings? Look it up in your owners manual.
As far as me working on your car, I likely would tell you I wasn't interested. But surely in a more colorful way.

clm · #41 01-09-2009, 01:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chas H

I never claimed a bad wheel bearing should be not repaired.
I have seen cars breakdown, even ruined, from being mismaintained. And apparently so have you. Certainly a Benz will go 90K without a wheel bearing problem.
What is the factory recommended service interval for wheel bearings? Look it up in your owners manual.
As far as me working on your car, I likely would tell you I wasn't interested. But surely in a more colorful way.

A service interval isnt relivent and it is not what this post is about. A mercedes benz tech looked at his car and found the wheel bearings in need of attention. They dont show a service interval for motor mounts do they? No . Interval for say- bushings -brakes- heck for even tires? Yet I have had to repair, replace hundreds of these items. The point I am tring to hit home is that when there is a problem, it should not be ignored because there isnt a service interval for it.
And for the record, the thing about working on my car is a loaded statment -as I dont think I have had any one in my entire life work on one of my cars.

Again sir, I was not intending to be disrespectful, just differences of opinion

curtludwig · #42 01-09-2009, 11:03 AM

I haven't had a wheel lock up but I've had 2 wheel bearings fail, both times I was going nowhere fast...

I dunno what that says about anything but I'm a lot more interested in the condition of the bearings now...

BTW the 150gram tubes of grease from Mercedes are ALMOST enough to do 3 wheels... Supposed to be 60 grams per wheel. If you're messy like me its a perfect amount for 2 wheels. This is a very easy job.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chas H

Have you had a wheel lock up due to a catastrophic bearing failure?
In over 45 years of driving I have not.
In the 30+ years I was in the auto repair business I witnessed one case of a failed bearing-because the mechanic adjusted the bearing too tight and the bearing failed while the customer was driving home.
Re-packing the bearings when replacing a rotor is fairly standard. But the OP wasn't having the rotors replaced.

tangofox007 · #43 01-09-2009, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chas H

What is the factory recommended service interval for wheel bearings? Look it up in your owners manual.

Tell us, Chas, during your 30 years of unspecified involvement in "the auto repair business," did you limit your service to only those procedures and service intervals that happened to be specified in an owner's manual?

Bio300TDTdriver · #44 03-10-2009, 10:02 PM

So it seems the consensus is to repack my wheel bearings. So I need to do my brake pads this weekend and that seems like the time to do it. So I've searched and can't find much on how to do it. Can anyone describe the process. Do I need any special tools?

Thanks

Matt L · #45 03-10-2009, 10:10 PM

You can buy a bearing repacker, or you can do it by hand by putting grease in your palm and massaging it into the edge of the roller carrier.

Before you put new grease in, you must clean off all traces of old grease and any dirt. Dry the solvent off completely, but NEVER spin the bearing with compressed air to dry it (not only is it easy to damage the bearing, it's possible to lose an eye).