Is this noise a wheel bearing issue?

[Jamesie]

Hi guys - grateful for views - I have a noise coming from the wheel(s) in my 1995 W202 C180 - which sounds like this:
https://youtu.be/o7UpHcFAqe0

Only really prevalent at slow speeds. Do I need a replacement wheel bearing or does it sound like something else?

Thanks!

Jamesie

 

[dozypillock]

Hi guys - grateful for views - I have a noise coming from the wheel(s) in my 1995 W202 C180 - which sounds like this:
https://youtu.be/o7UpHcFAqe0

Only really prevalent at slow speeds. Do I need a replacement wheel bearing or does it sound like something else?

Thanks!

Jamesie

Does not sound like wheel bearing to me. More like something stuck in the disc, or similar. Bearings tend to cause a constant grumble noise.

Neil

 

[mirras]

My w221 had a similar noise. Turned out to be the spring clip that holds in the rear brake pads. It was bent and lightly touching the hub. The hub was ever so slightly oval ( microns ) but enough to only rub on part of the revolution, hence the chirp chirp noise it made. Sounds like something in the wheel area rubbing.

 

[Oxonmb]

Can't listen to the clip at the moment, but if it is not any of the above consider your tyres as a possibility. I was convinced i had a wheel bearing needing replacing but turned out to be uneven tyre wear, changed the tyres and lovely and quiet, mind you it was not just at low speeds.

 

[Wheelsnuts]

I had a similar problem with uneven tyre wear but the noise tended to vary with different types of road surface.

 

[camerafodder]

Check your brake pads

 

[callahan]

That is so strange. I just took my c32 out for a drive earlier and noticed exactly the same noise...
I took the wheel off and checked everything I could see, but nothing was obvious.
It sounded like something was stuck in the heat shield behind the disc, but nothing to be seen. After fiddling about for a bit I put it back together and moved it back to the driveway. This time it sounded different, more of a light grinding noise, but not as bad.
Makes me think it's either something rubbing, or possibly the pads, as they do look near the end of their lives, as do the discs.
Any thoughts from anyone would be handy, as well as suggestions for brake replacements too.
Thanks

 

[camerafodder]

That is so strange. I just took my c32 out for a drive earlier and noticed exactly the same noise...
I took the wheel off and checked everything I could see, but nothing was obvious.
It sounded like something was stuck in the heat shield behind the disc, but nothing to be seen. After fiddling about for a bit I put it back together and moved it back to the driveway. This time it sounded different, more of a light grinding noise, but not as bad.
Makes me think it's either something rubbing, or possibly the pads, as they do look near the end of their lives, as do the discs.
Any thoughts from anyone would be handy, as well as suggestions for brake replacements too.
Thanks

Does the noise change if you gently apply the parking brake? It may be worth taking the rear disks off and checking the parking brake assembly which uses the disk boss as a drum for the tiny little parking brake pads.

 

[callahan]

Does the noise change if you gently apply the parking brake? It may be worth taking the rear disks off and checking the parking brake assembly which uses the disk boss as a drum for the tiny little parking brake pads.

Just tried it and brakes / hand brake make no difference.
It is speed dependant, sounds like a bike with a playing card in the spokes!
A friend runs a local tyre place so will take it to him tomorrow to check. I need new rears anyway as they are down to 2mm, which may be a regular occurance with this car....

 

[Jamesie]

Thanks everyone for your feedback - it went away for a while but seemed to return pretty badly today - so much so that I made a call for roadside assistance - the mechanic indicated it was likely caused by corrosion on the rear brake discs; granted, they were pretty rusted. I'll take it into my usual mechanic this week and report back.

 

[callahan]

Funnily enough I spoke to a mechanic friend of mine last night and he suggested exactly the same thing, so I'll be getting my brakes looked at too.

 

[Jamesie]

Just to let you know this was indeed caused by heavily corroded rear discs. For replacement of the rear discs, pads and handbrake I paid £209.10 GBP in total inclusive of parts and labour to my local independent mechanic. Quite happy with that, particularly as I had a 200 mile round trip this weekend for a wedding!

 

[tjamesbo]

were they corroded because the pistons were stuck ? I had this recently on my our W202 C240 , got the caliper refurbed at Big Red Calipers
unless your corrosion was all on the Disc edge not the face