Febi Bilstein wheel bearings...any good ?

[vijilants]

Hi Folks,

Does anyone know how good Febi Bilstein wheel bearings are ?

I need to get a front wheel bearing and I nearly always go with genuine parts - the only non oem part i've fitted is my condenser, but I was wandering what these were like and they are £19 in comparison to £52 from MB.

Thanks

 

[kth286]

Is that the complete kit of two bearings and the grease seal - don't forget the grease also (by weight).

 

[jaymanek]

They are OEM Suppliers.. I am fitting Febi Bilstein subframe bushes to my W123 and they look/feel identical to genuine MB items.

 

[vijilants]

Is that the complete kit of two bearings and the grease seal - don't forget the grease also (by weight).

It's a complete kit for one side.

 

[Will]

Hi Vij,

What's the issue with the bearing? I assume it doesn't just need adjusting then?

Will

 

[franey]

I sell these, from Germany, top Quality.

Mercedes Front Wheel Bearing Kit C E Class CLK SLK OEQ on eBay (end time 04-Oct-09 20:31:33 BST)

 

[vijilants]

Hi Vij,

What's the issue with the bearing? I assume it doesn't just need adjusting then?

Will

Hi Will,

Apparently there is a bit of play on it. That was according to MB ...I havnt had the chance to check it myself. Im going to see if I can adjust it, but just incase it is a bit more terminal, I was looking to see the best replacement options .....seems a bit premature to fail at 71,000miles though.

 

[lynall]

Had to change one on wifes 2001 320 and that had done 75k, got it from nick at euromerc genuine kit new everthing £24.
Try to adjust it but if it feels wrong just change it.



Lynall

 

[Will]

Hi Will,

Apparently there is a bit of play on it. That was according to MB ...I havnt had the chance to check it myself. Im going to see if I can adjust it, but just incase it is a bit more terminal, I was looking to see the best replacement options .....seems a bit premature to fail at 71,000miles though.

It probably just needs slight adjustment (unless it's groaning badly?) - have had similar on other 202s/208s.

Ideally you should use a dial gauge to correctly set the free play, but if you don't have access to one you can easily get it 95% correct by feel. Just take your time Certainly many times better than how it is now if there is noticable play.

A 15 minute job if you can get the grease cap off easily

Will

 

[grober]

Unless its making a noise there's probably nothing wrong with it. Jack the front of the car up grasp the top and bottom of the wheel and try to rock it in and out. You should be able to detect the slightest of movement nothing more. If it feels there's distinct movement then it may only require tweaking up. Try the other "good" bearing side for comparison.

 

[Number_Cruncher]

I'm firmly of the view that it is worth using a dial gauge - it's just about impossible to obtain the correct clearance by any other "rule of thumb" method.

Too tight, and the bearing will fail quickly.

Too loose, and brake pedal feel will suffer.

Dial gauges aren't expensive, difficult to obtain, or difficult to use.

 

[harveymoo]

iv tried to get the front drivers bearing changed twice at sevice intivals at MB but both times they have just adjusted it up! so as said unless its rummbling no need to change

 

[skymastor]

With that mileage I would assume it would just need a slight adjustment. When I was at college learning motor vehicle engineering to become a vehicle mechanic, although you can use a gauge for adjustment, we were also taught the good old fashion method of tightening the bearing up then turning back a quart or so turn to place the bearing to the right setting! Works every time for me

For piece of mind though, I bought new Febi front bearings wheel bearings for my W203 from "franey" above and they were top banana...:bannana: As it was for me, it is worth doing if you are planning to keep the vehicle for some time and to put the miles on.. Just my thoughts....

 

[Number_Cruncher]

>>we were also taught the good old fashion

Yes, as was I.

However, the MB specification is way beyond what any such old fashioned rules of thumb can acheive. 0.01 to 0.02mm is the spec - it's truly tiny!

The big problem with rules of thumb approaches is that everyone will do it slightly differently - the dial gauge method actually takes the need for skill and feel out of the job.

 

[grober]

>>we were also taught the good old fashion

Yes, as was I.

However, the MB specification is way beyond what any such old fashioned rules of thumb can acheive. 0.01 to 0.02mm is the spec - it's truly tiny!

The big problem with rules of thumb approaches is that everyone will do it slightly differently - the dial gauge method actually takes the need for skill and feel out of the job.

I agree with you 100% ---however I have a question --- If the MB workshop found there "was a bit of play on it" how did they determine that? ----I would be highly surprised if a dial gauge figured in that scenario. If they did use a dial gauge-- why didn't they adjust the end float while they were at it? -- if that wasn't possible then surely they should have stated the bearing was worn beyond normal adjustment and should be replaced? My guess is they gave it a bit of a wiggle and found what they thought was discernible play- but I'm just guessing

 

[vijilants]

I agree with you 100% ---however I have a question --- If the MB workshop found there "was a bit of play on it" how did they determine that? ----I would be highly surprised if a dial gauge figured in that scenario. If they did use a dial gauge-- why didn't they adjust the end float while they were at it? -- if that wasn't possible then surely they should have stated the bearing was worn beyond normal adjustment and should be replaced? My guess is they gave it a bit of a wiggle and found what they thought was discernible play- but I'm just guessing

Thats exactly what they did...gave it a wiggle.

 

[Number_Cruncher]

>>surely they should have stated the bearing was worn beyond normal adjustment and should be replaced?

I don't quite follow your question Graeme.

If you can feel any significant play on these bearings, by wiggling the wheel, they are loose. You don't need a dial gauge for that part of the work.

Looseness in itself is not in itself a valid failure criterion for the bearing - it could simply be that some oaf has used a rule of thumb method to adjust it previously!

If you feel roughness in the bearing, yes, it needs replacing. However, this is difficult to detect with the wheel on, as the inertia of the rotating assembly can mask roughness very effectively. It's much more sensitive to feel the bearing without the wheel, or disc being in place.

EDIT: There is one case where movement felt at the wheel rim cannot be adjusted out, where a bearing inner race has spun and worn the spindle.

 

[Will]

I think the point being made here is this:

In an ideal world, a dial guage is available for measuring and adjusting the free play on the bearing.

If the bearing is significantly loose that the free play can be detected by hand, you could at least adjust the bearing to the point where it's not excessively loose. Perhaps not down to 0.01mm or something, but obviously significantly better than it was originally. Perhaps as a temporary measure until such equipment is available, or the next service

I think Grober's point is that they detected that the bearing in question was loose by rocking the wheel (as could anyone). The other bearings on the other side *could* have been loose outside the service spec (by a few 0.01mms), but how would they know without checking with a dial guage, which MB themselves didn't use...

So the other side could be outside spec, but they didn't bother to check it and no-one is any the wiser. In reality, if you can't detect significant free play, it's not going to cause too much bother.

Will

 

[grober]

>>surely they should have stated the bearing was worn beyond normal adjustment and should be replaced?

I don't quite follow your question Graeme.

If you can feel any significant play on these bearings, by wiggling the wheel, they are loose. You don't need a dial gauge for that part of the work.

Looseness in itself is not in itself a valid failure criterion for the bearing - it could simply be that some oaf has used a rule of thumb method to adjust it previously!

If you feel roughness in the bearing, yes, it needs replacing. However, this is difficult to detect with the wheel on, as the inertia of the rotating assembly can mask roughness very effectively. It's much more sensitive to feel the bearing without the wheel, or disc being in place.

WHAT I was trying to say was that the MB dealer reported " a bit of play on the bearing" presumably by feel only. This statement/report was vague enough to panic the poster sufficiently to think that the bearing needed replacement rather than simple adjustment. What I was suggesting was he try the "feel test" on the suspect bearing and compare it to the good side. This might reassure him enough that the situation wasn't so bad that the bearing needed replacement. What the MB dealer should have done was, having discovered some play, investigate the problem a bit further by checking the bearing for rough running in the way you recommended and adjust the end float with a dial gauge instead coming out with some vague statement. They are supposed to be the highly trained, fully equipped "professionals" after all. It just seemed to me to be poor communication between the service desk and the owner as to the possible nature of the fault?

 

[lynall]

Bet the mb techs dont use a dial gauge
Also think you will find a 1/4 turn back is to much ie it will be to loose.




Lynall