Failed wheel bearing or something else?
Discussion
On the way to my mum's for my weekly visit this morning and there was a sudden thud from the left rear, followed by a lot of knocking, banging and crunching. Typically I'd associate this type of noise with a broken spring, but this was much louder and the rear of the car started fishtailing like the wheel wasn't on properly.
I was on a dual carriageway at the time though, mercifully, only doing around 20mph as there was a load of slow moving traffic caused by unusual congestion at the next roundabout where the dual carriageway ends. Usually it's a clear run along there at that time on a Sunday morning. It started on a bridge over a river with no more than some rather perfunctory railings to stop out-of-control vehicles leave the carriageway and plunging into the river some distance below.
Anyway, I pulled up when I was off the roundabout and waited for the congestion to clear before sheepishly moving away slowly. I manged to limp the remaining mile to my mum's with the knocking, banging, crunching and fishtailing continuing all the way, stopping several times to let cars behind overtake.
At my mum's my brother came round and watched while I moved the car back and forth on the driveway. He said the wheel looked like it was trying to turn.
Would this be a wheel bearing failure? I thought they became noisy before failing but there was no warning at all, so what else might have the same symptoms?
Car is a 1999 E36 BMW 318iS Coupé with just over 70k miles on it.
The bridge from underneath, for anyone curious as to how far I'd have dropped...
I was on a dual carriageway at the time though, mercifully, only doing around 20mph as there was a load of slow moving traffic caused by unusual congestion at the next roundabout where the dual carriageway ends. Usually it's a clear run along there at that time on a Sunday morning. It started on a bridge over a river with no more than some rather perfunctory railings to stop out-of-control vehicles leave the carriageway and plunging into the river some distance below.
Anyway, I pulled up when I was off the roundabout and waited for the congestion to clear before sheepishly moving away slowly. I manged to limp the remaining mile to my mum's with the knocking, banging, crunching and fishtailing continuing all the way, stopping several times to let cars behind overtake.
At my mum's my brother came round and watched while I moved the car back and forth on the driveway. He said the wheel looked like it was trying to turn.
Would this be a wheel bearing failure? I thought they became noisy before failing but there was no warning at all, so what else might have the same symptoms?
Car is a 1999 E36 BMW 318iS Coupé with just over 70k miles on it.
The bridge from underneath, for anyone curious as to how far I'd have dropped...
stevieturbo said:
A picture or video of the wheel/bearing/hub might have been more useful than the bridge.
Not sure how I'd get such a picture. I'm not a home-spannerer so I'm not taking it to bits myself to reveal what's broken and I'm now at home with the car still at my mum's so nothing else will be revealed until it's been recovered to the garage.The bridge was purely an illustration of where I might have gone had I been travelling at the usual speed. A Discovery fell off there a few years ago after going out of control and making light work of the fence that's supposed to contain cars withinin the footprint of the carriageway!
Edited by MitchT on Sunday 7th January 16:07
Had the car recovered. Turns out a rear trailing arm bush had disintegrated! Have to say, the noise and the "wobbling" caused by the play in the wheel made it feel like any attempt to drive it would have been foolhardy in the extreme, but the revovery guy said it could have been driven to the garage!
Further update!
Recovery guy had said it was a disintegrated RTAB, which it was. But, the garage guy has said that the suspension arm has been ripped out of the chassis due to corrosion, which means the car is as good as dead.
He did say he could fit the strengthening panels used on track cars, but that if the corrosion was bad enough to cause this then there could be issues elsewhere which might arrive soon and create another huge bill or even cause an accident.
The only way to save this car, or at least some of it, would be to buy a replacement shell and transfer everything to it, but I've no idea what that would cost!
Recovery guy had said it was a disintegrated RTAB, which it was. But, the garage guy has said that the suspension arm has been ripped out of the chassis due to corrosion, which means the car is as good as dead.
He did say he could fit the strengthening panels used on track cars, but that if the corrosion was bad enough to cause this then there could be issues elsewhere which might arrive soon and create another huge bill or even cause an accident.
The only way to save this car, or at least some of it, would be to buy a replacement shell and transfer everything to it, but I've no idea what that would cost!
Kawasicki said:
Can you take some photos and post them.
Not at the moment. The car is at the garage and I won't be able to get to it until at least Thursday. I'm going to ask if there's a way that I can get it home so I can make arrangements to sell it for parts... unless I can find somewhere to mothball it on the offchance that I win the lottery and can have a complete restoration done... which I would as I've owned it for almost 25 years from new and its sentimental value far outweighs the cost of restoring it.If this is the rear floor/subframe area, it's well renowned for being very rotten
I think there are repair kits available to strengthen the area, but it needs part of the boot floor cutting out to get access to do the repair, then you'd weld the floor back in.
On an old car like that, would be hard to imagine it being remotely worth it
I think there are repair kits available to strengthen the area, but it needs part of the boot floor cutting out to get access to do the repair, then you'd weld the floor back in.
On an old car like that, would be hard to imagine it being remotely worth it
PositronicRay said:
Most garages employ mechanics, you need a welder.
He does welding. He restored his own Porsche.stevieturbo said:
If this is the rear floor/subframe area, it's well renowned for being very rotten
I think there are repair kits available to strengthen the area, but it needs part of the boot floor cutting out to get access to do the repair, then you'd weld the floor back in.
On an old car like that, would be hard to imagine it being remotely worth it
He suggested the strengthening kit that people buy for track cars, but the cost of the work and the fact that it might be just as rotten elsewhere makes it too much of a risk unless I win the lottery!I think there are repair kits available to strengthen the area, but it needs part of the boot floor cutting out to get access to do the repair, then you'd weld the floor back in.
On an old car like that, would be hard to imagine it being remotely worth it
Bit more detail... It's a rear trailing arm pocket that has failed. If it were to be repaired I'd get both done. However, there are many more points on the underfloor of an E36 where various components attach and if some of those are just as knackered then the car could be a danger to use. Short of having a comprehensive restoration job done, the cost of which I can't really justify, I feel I'd be throwing good money after bad.
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