Wheel Bearing Cost

[Janebat]

Hi All, we have recently bought a W203 55 plate 2.1 C200Sport .. last week the front lower arms had to be replaced and now we are being told ball joints need fixing as there is some movement... how much is this going to cost? The arms cost £186
Many thanks in advance

 

[OneForTheRoad]

sorry ? whats the question .

 

[Janebat]

Sorry it's the cost of replacing front bearings ?

 

[selphy]

You're not being very clear about which parts need replacing.

Do you mean wheel bearings or bottom ball joints. Wheel bearings seldom need replacing on Mercedes cars but bottom balljoints often do. The balljoints could be anything between £25 per side if you DIY with aftermarket parts up to a couple of hundred quid per side at a main dealer. Usual advice is to find a decent independent mercedes specialist and ask them to use genuine parts.

 

[OneForTheRoad]

if there is movement but no noise , id recommend a grease repack and a tighten of the hub firstly.

 

[Auto-mobile]

if there is movement but no noise , id recommend a grease repack and a tighten of the hub firstly.

As above, so many "garages" say they need to replace the front wheel bearings on a mercedes not knowing they are adjustable.

 

[Janebat]

Sorry I didn't make it clear and can't seem to edit the thread, the ball joints were replaced last week, when they fixed them they said that the bearings need doing too (front) ...there is slight noise from driver side..but not passenger side...

 

[OneForTheRoad]

you can either try whats been said , a re-grease and an adjust , buy a wheel bearing kit from around £ 27 and have them fit that , sometimes more chew than its worth,but do able , locate a second hand unit from a breakers , or buy a complete assembly from mb at £ 189 each .

 

[selphy]

It would be unusual for the front wheel bearings to need to be replaced unless you've got a mega mileage car or it's been running with them adjusted badly for a long time. If they do need replacing it could cost about £200 per side if the garage replaces the hub assembly (£140 for the part, £5 for grease, 40 minutes labour). Alternatively a good garage could replace the actual bearings within your existing hub (£40 for the parts, £5 for grease and probably 90 minutes labour) but there are a few risks to doing it this way so in the long run it may not be worth the garage trying to save a few quid. Either way I'd recommend you ask them to use original MB parts.

As someone else said, the front wheel bearings can normally be repacked with fresh grease and re-adjusted rather than replaced and this is standard procedure on these cars. Any competent garage can do this and I would guess it would take maybe 30 minutes per side so that should give you an idea of cost. The mechanic would need a dial test indicator to adjust the bearings so that rules out most of the fast-fit places. They should also use the correct MB wheel bearing grease.

Strange that the garage who replaced your balljoints didn't just sort out your wheel bearings whilst they had the wheels off. Time to find another garage who knows about Mercedes cars I'd say. If you tell us where you are located someone here will have an independent garage recommendation.

 

[Janebat]

The cars only got 67900 on the clock... we are here in Stoke On Trent, maybe it's worth us going elsewhere then...

 

[OneForTheRoad]

my passenger side bearing was shot to bits at 72k , water had gotten in and ruined the bearings . so don't assume mileage as a factor . £ 140 for a hub assembly ? id be interested to know who supplies them at that price.

 

[selphy]

£ 140 for a hub assembly ? id be interested to know who supplies them at that price.

Not sure if you think £140 is too cheap or too expensive?

MB Newcastle list them via their ebay shop for £140 Genuine Mercedes-Benz W203 C-Class CLK Front Wheel Hub With Bearing A2093300325. Their are aftermarket ones for less if you check the Febi catalogue.

 

[OneForTheRoad]

£ 50 margin between an e class and a c class hub assembly , and basically the same thing , i didn't realise they were different

 

[Auto-mobile]

I would put money on the tyre being noisey more than the wheel bearing.

 

[Janebat]

Had it checked again today, and def movement in the bearings....

 

[LTD]

Nothing to lose repacking the grease and nipping them up for the short term.

You never know, you might get a pleasant surprise.

They adjust for a reason .......

 

[millo777]

If you re pack the bearings, remember to buy new rear seals when you buy the grease. I've never found a way of removing the rear seals without destroying them in the process.

 

[Janebat]

Won't be able to do them ourselves, my Husband has recently had back surgery so there's no chance ...

 

[David404]

I would put money on the tyre being noisey more than the wheel bearing.

Have the wheels been swapped around in the course of maintenance/service? Side to side or front to rear. This can make tyre noise suddenly appear.

Does the noise get noticeably louder as you slow down the last few miles per hour when coming to a stop?

Above would point to tyres.

 

[Janebat]

Have the wheels been swapped around in the course of maintenance/service? Side to side or front to rear. This can make tyre noise suddenly appear.

Does the noise get noticeably louder as you slow down the last few miles per hour when coming to a stop?

Above would point to tyres.

As far as I know no the tyres haven't been changed at all... the bearings after all didn't need a change, they were greased and repacked but there is still a click noise from somewhere near side... at a loss with it tbh and not having anyone that could just have a good look at the car for us isn't on our side