Keep an eye on those wheel bearings! £700 was the cost to repair damage caused by a failure !

[scotjimland]

That was the cost of repairing the damage a wheel bearing failure caused ..

On journey home from France, we stayed at Calais for a night and caught LeShuttle home.. from Folkestone to home is only around a three hour drive, so no stops or comfort breaks

On a trip at every stop for fuel or break, I always check tyres and wheel hubs for overheating , but had no reason to stop on the last leg home.

Almost home, about 12 miles to go, the ABS warning lamp came on.. with hindsight , if I had stopped and checked I would have found the rear offside wheel bearing was hot.. but I didn't, thinking it wasn't dangerous to carry on.. brakes seemed ok.

When we got home I saw the wheel was covered in black grease and when I touched it was red hot !!

I called the garage and booked it in for repair and an MOT.

The garage called back and told me there was a lot of heat damage to brakes and hand brake cable and a melted ABS sensor, and would cost circa £700 to repair.


The bill for the wheel bearing repair was as follows


1. Wheel bearing £52.36
2. Handbrake Shoes £70.36
3. Fitting Kit £9.56
4. Handbrake Cable £32.38
5. ABS Sensor £73.94
6. Brake Discs, rear set £112.74
7. Brake Pads rear set £32.38
8. Labour 4 hrs @ £75 = £300

Total £683.72
Plus
Courtesy car hire £10
MOT £54.85


I'm now paranoid, to say the least, about wheel bearings overheating, Im checking all the time, even on the shortest trip..

Am now fitting wheel nut indicators that not only show if a nut is coming loose but also melt if they get too hot..
Amazon product ASIN B0BZ54RNLM

 

[Jim]

Ever since I saw a truck driver using one years ago I carry a tiny £20 Laser Thermometer in the door pocket. It can check the temperatures easy and from a distance.

I do check the van wheels now and again, but mostly its for when I'm towing. The first stop after a few miles and can check the temperature of four trailer wheels in just a few seconds.

It's also great for finding out how hot stuff is in the Spanish sun. How hot do you think your Solar panels get or that rock on your pitch in direct sun. How cold is your beer? Gotta love a gadget

https://amzn.to/3RfI3ic

Amazon product ASIN B01AT9TON0

 

[scotjimland]

Nice one Jim.. will order now..

 

[bigwood]

Sorry to hear about your unplanned garage bill for repairs. We had a similar problem when I was working on the buses. One of our Volvo coaches did a run to Derbyshire and back with an ABS light on. Like yours the damage was a lot more than just a sensor. The driver was shocked by the pile of bits we had to replace. I never saw the bill but the company accounts can’t have been too happy.

 

[Larrynwin]

Tyrepal would probably indicate and warn of the temperature increase.

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[tonyidle]

A couple of years ago I drove from Thirsk to Newark-on-Trent with my trailer handbrake on. That didn't go well either .

 

[L' Hobo]

That was the cost of repairing the damage a wheel bearing failure caused ..

On journey home from France, we stayed at Calais for a night and caught LeShuttle home.. from Folkestone to home is only around a three hour drive, so no stops or comfort breaks

On a trip at every stop for fuel or break, I always check tyres and wheel hubs for overheating , but had no reason to stop on the last leg home.

Almost home, about 12 miles to go, the ABS warning lamp came on.. with hindsight , if I had stopped and checked I would have found the rear offside wheel bearing was hot.. but I didn't, thinking it wasn't dangerous to carry on.. brakes seemed ok.

When we got home I saw the wheel was covered in black grease and when I touched it was red hot !!

I called the garage and booked it in for repair and an MOT.

The garage called back and told me there was a lot of heat damage to brakes and hand brake cable and a melted ABS sensor, and would cost circa £700 to repair.


The bill for the wheel bearing repair was as follows


1. Wheel bearing £52.36
2. Handbrake Shoes £70.36
3. Fitting Kit £9.56
4. Handbrake Cable £32.38
5. ABS Sensor £73.94
6. Brake Discs, rear set £112.74
7. Brake Pads rear set £32.38
8. Labour 4 hrs @ £75 = £300

Total £683.72
Plus
Courtesy car hire £10
MOT £54.85


I'm now paranoid, to say the least, about wheel bearings overheating, Im checking all the time, even on the shortest trip..

Am now fitting wheel nut indicators that not only show if a nut is coming loose but also melt if they get too hot..
Amazon product ASIN B0BZ54RNLM

I have to ask, why are you checking your bearings every time you stop, were you expecting problems?
By all means, check but 'every time you stop' seems a little excessive.

 

[Threeracers]

I had a nearside front bearing let go once on a 110 Landrover just as I was overtaking a lorry on the motorway. It basically melted everything, seized up, wore through the tyre within seconds and luckily skidded to a halt on the hard shoulder narrowly missing the lorry I was trying to pass. Everything had to be cut away and replaced. Including my underwear.......

 

[scotjimland]

I have to ask, why are you checking your bearings every time you stop, were you expecting problems?
By all means, check but 'every time you stop' seems a little excessive.

Every time we stop on a trip.. perhaps that would every two hours or so.. just habit, been doing it all my life , an overheating tyre can blow out .. better safe than sorry..

are you saying you never check tyres and hubs when you stop on a long trip ?

 

[L' Hobo]

Every time we stop on a trip.. perhaps that would every two hours or so.. just habit, been doing it all my life , an overheating tyre can blow out .. better safe than sorry..

are you saying you never check when you stop on a long trip ?

No, I'm not saying that, as I said in my post, check by all means but, to me, ever two hours or so, seems excessive in normal circumstances but that's better than not at all, so carry on!

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[Mzracer]

are you saying you never check tyres and hubs when you stop on a long trip ?

Never have done, I am sat at around 3/4 million miles of driving now, all in private vehicles, never ever done what you are doing, not saying it is wrong though.

I did have the ABS light come on about 6 months ago, a spring had jumped out of position in the hand brake drum (Fiat X250) and it knarled up the ABS ring. So the ABS light often tells a bigger story.

I did have a blow out once on a MH but I was only about 45 minutes up the road.

 

[Orion]

Any indication of what caused the failure? I once had a handbrake cable on one side partially seize, which I luckily caught before it caused too much damage, and that made the whole hub assembly heat up so that it was too hot to go near. The handbrake warning light didn’t come on because the main cable was otherwise releasing okay.

 

[scotjimland]

Any indication of what caused the failure?

Nope,
van was serviced shortly before the trip.. had new front discs and pads fitted ..back brakes and bearings were checked, as was handbrake ..

 

[scotjimland]

, I am sat at around 3/4 million miles of driving now, all in private vehicles, never ever done what you are doing, not saying it is wrong though.

I've been driving since 1967.. so 56 years at a conservative estimate of say 10k a year .. over 1/2 million miles , never had a wheel bearing fail ..until this one

I once had a caravan wheel bearing overheat in France.. caught it before any damage was done and changed it myself... but other than that , nada

 

[Sandancers]

I am surprised you didn't smell the heat from the affected bearing. Very distinctive smell.

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[steve69]

I thought wheel bearings made a continuous noise when approaching the end of their life. An audible warning if you like.
Was this not the case?

 

[Flairy]

I have had tyre pal for years replaced it with the later one shows temp of all 6 at a glance .

 

[scotjimland]

I have had tyre pal for years replaced it with the later one shows temp of all 6 at a glance .

tyres yes, but would it show a hot wheel bearing ?

 

[scotjimland]

I thought wheel bearings made a continuous noise when approaching the end of their life. An audible warning if you like.
Was this not the case?

If I had heard anything I would have stopped.. it was only apparent something was amiss when we drove into the drive at home and I heard a squeaking noise..

 

[DavidG58]

1. Wheel bearing £52.36
2. Handbrake Shoes £70.36
3. Fitting Kit £9.56
4. Handbrake Cable £32.38
5. ABS Sensor £73.94
6. Brake Discs, rear set £112.74
7. Brake Pads rear set £32.38
8. Labour 4 hrs @ £75 = £300

Total £683.72

Sadly I think it will all be + VAT as well

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[Mzracer]

Sadly I think it will all be + VAT as well

Lucky they were not Fiat original parts, how do I know? The price is too fair !!

 

[scotjimland]

Sadly I think it will all be + VAT as well

that was vat inc

 

[DavidG58]

that was vat inc

£75 + vat