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Wheel Bearing Change

anotero

anotero

Autocross Champion
Location
Hither and thither
Car(s)
Mk7 GTI
Has anyone changed out the front one?
Are there any special instructions to keep in mind?
Can I use the procedure for a mk6 as reference?
Do the bearing and hub come as one unit and do I just pull out the bad one and insert the new one?
 
J

jeffkro

Go Kart Champion
Location
United States
anotero said:
Has anyone changed out the front one?
Are there any special instructions to keep in mind?
Can I use the procedure for a mk6 as reference?
Do the bearing and hub come as one unit and do I just pull out the bad one and insert the new one?
Click to expand...

Not sure this is a good diy project. I believe you need a press and puller
 
G

GTI_Guy13

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Smyrna, GA
anotero said:
Has anyone changed out the front one?
Are there any special instructions to keep in mind?
Can I use the procedure for a mk6 as reference?
Do the bearing and hub come as one unit and do I just pull out the bad one and insert the new one?
Click to expand...

Can I ask what the cause is for a wheel bearing replacement? I hit a pothole last year, hard enough to bend a wheel, driver side front. Well now, about 10k miles later, I feel like I may have a wheel bearing going, but I'm not sure. Never diagnosed one on a FWD/AWD car before. While driving, at different speeds but usually over 65 you will get a slight hum/whine that is barely audible. I feel like I can feel it through the pedals more then actually hear it. I feel like it's a wheel bearing, but didn't know if you had any insight that may help.
 
anotero

anotero

Autocross Champion
Location
Hither and thither
Car(s)
Mk7 GTI
R_Time said:
Can I ask what the cause is for a wheel bearing replacement? I hit a pothole last year, hard enough to bend a wheel, driver side front. Well now, about 10k miles later, I feel like I may have a wheel bearing going, but I'm not sure. Never diagnosed one on a FWD/AWD car before. While driving, at different speeds but usually over 65 you will get a slight hum/whine that is barely audible. I feel like I can feel it through the pedals more then actually hear it. I feel like it's a wheel bearing, but didn't know if you had any insight that may help.
Click to expand...
The cause is super simple: shitty southern California roads. ATROCIOUS. While you may encounter an occasional pothole in Cobb county, the roads in SoCal are reminiscent of a tank battlefield on the Eastern front in 1943. I'm amazed my wheels haven't fallen off after 60k miles over these roads.

PS
I lived in ATL for 6 years (Georgia Tech alum), used to go to Adventure Outdoors in Smyrna to shoot.
 
anotero

anotero

Autocross Champion
Location
Hither and thither
Car(s)
Mk7 GTI
R_Time said:
Can I ask what the cause is for a wheel bearing replacement? I hit a pothole last year, hard enough to bend a wheel, driver side front. Well now, about 10k miles later, I feel like I may have a wheel bearing going, but I'm not sure. Never diagnosed one on a FWD/AWD car before. While driving, at different speeds but usually over 65 you will get a slight hum/whine that is barely audible. I feel like I can feel it through the pedals more then actually hear it. I feel like it's a wheel bearing, but didn't know if you had any insight that may help.
Click to expand...
Lift up your front wheels off the ground, put in N, and turn them with your hands. If you hear a rustling sound, that's the balls inside the wheel bearing. You can also jack up the front, put car in gear, raise the revs, let go of accelerator, let wheels spin on their own, and listen. Ideally they should be quiet.
I also get a grinding feeling when driving, vibrations in steering wheel above 45mph, and chassis vibrations, as well a drone in the pedals. Check out another thread "Braking Vibrations -- I'm at a loss."
 
Last edited:
G

GTI_Guy13

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Smyrna, GA
anotero said:
The cause is super simple: shitty southern California roads. ATROCIOUS. While you may encounter an occasional pothole in Cobb county, the roads in SoCal are reminiscent of a tank battlefield on the Eastern front in 1943. I'm amazed my wheels haven't fallen off after 60k miles over these roads.

PS
I lived in ATL for 6 years (Georgia Tech alum), used to go to Adventure Outdoors in Smyrna to shoot.
Click to expand...

I feel your pain on shitty roads, I'm from Pennsylvania originally and the roads there are just as you described, a battle field. I should ad that my bent wheel was a 19", downsized to 18" after that and the ride quality improved slightly.

Ahh, that explains how you identified Cobb County. I hope the west coast is treating you well! Adventure Outdoors is one of my favorite local places to shoot.
 
G

GTI_Guy13

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Smyrna, GA
anotero said:
Lift up your front wheels off the ground, put in N, and turn them with your hands. If you hear a rustling sound, that's the balls inside the wheel bearing. You can also jack up the front, put car in gear, raise the revs, let go of accelerator, let wheels spin on their own, and listen. Ideally they should be quiet.
I also get a grinding feeling when driving, vibrations in steering wheel above 45mph, and chassis vibrations, as well a drone in the pedals. Check out another thread "Braking Vibrations -- I'm at a loss."
Click to expand...

Great insight here, thank you!! I'll be looking into it this coming weekend. I was planning to do my brakes this spring, but I'm fairly confident that its not related to the brakes. I won't be able to do the in gear trick as I only have 2 jack stands and that could be problematic with an R :D But just spinning the wheels in Neutral should give me a good baseline for trouble shooting.

I'll definitely be checking that thread, sounds very similar to what I'm experiencing.
 
G

GTI_Guy13

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Smyrna, GA
D

DiscusInferno

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Kalifornia
anotero said:
The cause is super simple: shitty southern California roads. ATROCIOUS. While you may encounter an occasional pothole in Cobb county, the roads in SoCal are reminiscent of a tank battlefield on the Eastern front in 1943. I'm amazed my wheels haven't fallen off after 60k miles over these roads.
Click to expand...

I disagree. SoCal roads are a dream compared to roads in the Rust belt. People that claim gas tax and registration price increases are needed to fix the roads never driven in states that have snow and see damage from salt and plowing.

Driving route 395 in SoCal... crumbling roads? What crumbling roads? It starts to deteriorate when you hit Mammoth lakes, and still those roads aren't that bad.



BTW... if you look at the part, it tells you how to replace them.


VW has been using this design since the MK5's.
 
anotero

anotero

Autocross Champion
Location
Hither and thither
Car(s)
Mk7 GTI
R_Time said:
Great insight here, thank you!! I'll be looking into it this coming weekend. I was planning to do my brakes this spring, but I'm fairly confident that its not related to the brakes. I won't be able to do the in gear trick as I only have 2 jack stands and that could be problematic with an R :D But just spinning the wheels in Neutral should give me a good baseline for trouble shooting.

I'll definitely be checking that thread, sounds very similar to what I'm experiencing.
Click to expand...
I've noticed that if i just spin the wheels by hand, i can't hear the bearings, BUT at speed what i used to think was tire noise, actually sounds very much like bearing grinding. Also, if you raise the wheels in question and put the car in N, and then spin the wheels back and forth a tiny bit, you'll hear the bearing balls rolling back and forth. If your symptoms are similar to mine and to what us described online, i most certainly guarantee it's not the brakes.
I will have my car checked out tomorrow (want the mechanic to check all the CV joints). I already ordered bearings for both front wheels, expecting to install next week. I'll keep you posted.

The West coast is not my thing. I'm planning on moving either back to GA, or to FL or TX. The farthest west I'm willing to live is AZ. Screw CA, its roads are ruining my GTI :)

The only advantage CA has is the ability to shoot on BLM land. Find yourself a spot 150 yds from the nearest road/house, and fire away. Other than that -- F it :)
 
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