Rear wheel bearings failing regularly on 1999 Swift Kon Tiki

[RoundyAnne]

We have replaced the rear wheel bearings on our MH about 4 times since we had it (6 years). Both rear bearings have failed again after only 1100 miles. Has anybody else had or heard of this problem?

 

[Grummyb]

When you say they are failing do you mean they are collapsing, grinding or whining?

 

[stevewagner]

Could it be a weight issue?

 

[Macca1954]

Sounds like they haven’t been fitted properly or theoretical cheap and nasty make. What’s actually going wrong with them

 

[donkey]

That is quite ridiculous to be replacing hub bearings every 18 months.

Wrong bearings fitted.
Incorrect fitting of replacements
Severe abuse such as overloading

At least you will not be out of pocket as they will have been replaced under warranty.

Geoff

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[Derbyshire wanderer]

Assuming the same person has fitted them all I would say they have not done the job properly and most likely overtightened them.
Even cheap bearings should last several thousand miles

 

[donkey]

By the way the hub bearings on my International 414 are now 56 years old and still as good as new and they will have had far more abuse than yours could have had.
Geoff

 

[RoundyAnne]

No they haven’t collapsed, took it straight to the garage when we heard the familiar droning noise starting. One was noisy with no play the other no noise but some play. When they put the new bearing on it pushed straight into the hub instead of needing to be tapped in with a drift indicating hub wear, so new hubs as well needed. Our garage is very reliable so not worried about the standard of work. The MOT history of the van shows this has been a problem before. Its not run overweight either!

 

[tonyidle]

Are the bearings two per hub or one piece? If the former hub wear is possible but shouldn't happen; if the latter something very serious is going on. Either way I wouldn't fit another set until all relevant measurements of both hub and stub axle have been checked.

 

[RoundyAnne]

Are the bearings two per hub or one piece? If the former hub wear is possible but shouldn't happen; if the latter something very serious is going on. Either way I wouldn't fit another set until all relevant measurements of both hub and stub axle have been checked.

They are tapered roller bearings, not sealed and the garage have sourced the best they can get. They’re not cheap ones. Thanks everyone for your help, it is a very annoying problem as you can imagine!

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[Grummyb]

You would have to run seriously overweight for a long time to knacker the wheel bearings but I would be concerned that all of a sudden the bearings are flopping about in the hub the garage should have realised there was a problem when they put the last set of bearings in

 

[RoundyAnne]

You would have to run seriously overweight for a long time to knacker the wheel bearings but I would be concerned that all of a sudden the bearings are flopping about in the hub the garage should have realised there was a problem when they put the last set of bearings in

We’ve had new bearings put on in our local garage and they also went when we travelled up to Northants 4 years ago and a garage in Kettering replaced them then!

 

[pappajohn]

Taper bearing should never be tight..
They should be tightened until the hub is stiff to turn then backed off until just free.
You should be able to feel the slightest of movement when the wheel is held top and bottom or front and rear and rocked.

If, as you stated, one is tight and noisy but the other is slack and quiet that proves my point.

Oh yeah... No matter how much faith you have in your garage my advice is go elsewhere if they can't fit a simple bearing properly.

 

[Grummyb]

The bearings carrier needs to be tight in the hub and I think that's what the op was referring to hence the need for new hubs I would also start to look at wheels and tyres because it sounds to me likesomething is causing the bearings to run out of alignment and you wouldn't necessarily feel a slightly buckled wheel or ovaled tyre on the back of the van and they are fairly easy for your local tyre company to check

 

[RoundyAnne]

Thank you everyone for your advice and help....we are wondering if it’s a weight issue on the axle.

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[Grummyb]

You can run it over a weighbridge to see if it's overweight but as I said earlier I think you will need to be a lot overweight (like tonnes not just a few kilos) to cause the wheel bearing to go and they are more liable to collapse than start rumbling.
I have been around vehicles both car and heavy commercials for 30 odd years and i can't recall having worn hubs on anything unless it had a seized bearing a buckled wheel or wheel seriously out of balance.

 

[busbuddy]

Worn hubs can happen if you whack it up with a windy gun, people just dont know how to do wheel bearings anymore

 

[JJ]

This reminded me of when I was an apprentice mechanic at the Globe Works of Joseph Cockshoots in Belle Vue, Manchester in the 60's.

This brand new car kept coming back in for worn and noisy rear wheel bearings.

They fitted new ones, they re-greased them, they changed the hubs but it made no difference what they tried... after a few hundred miles the fault reappeared.

Then an observant mechanic noticed that there was no earth strap fitted to the axle.

Electricity had only one way to go to "earth"... through the rear wheel bearing causing arcing...

Fitted an earth strap... end of problem.

JJ

 

[Grummyb]

Which will cause the bearings to seize like what I said

 

[pappajohn]

I have been around vehicles both car and heavy commercials for 30 odd years and i can't recall having worn hubs on anything unless it had a seized bearing

Agreed, semi seized bearing with the outer race partially spinning in the hub.
Still maintain they've been over tightened to cause them to overheat and seize.

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[tonyidle]

They are tapered roller bearings, not sealed and the garage have sourced the best they can get. They’re not cheap ones. Thanks everyone for your help, it is a very annoying problem as you can imagine!

In my experience only two things kill taper rollers: water ingress or over-tightening (assuming the brakes aren't over-heating). What was the cause of failure when the bearings were examined?

 

[Googlebot]

I had a transit with taper bearings. Changed a noisy one at 130,000 miles and just tightened it then slacked off a bit. Manual specified an end float which required a run out gauge which I didn’t have.

Bearing lasted about 100 miles, got the gauge and did it again, no problems.

It does sound like the garage have it wrong?

 

[chaser]

This reminded me of when I was an apprentice mechanic at the Globe Works of Joseph Cockshoots in Belle Vue, Manchester in the 60's.

This brand new car kept coming back in for worn and noisy rear wheel bearings.

They fitted new ones, they re-greased them, they changed the hubs but it made no difference what they tried... after a few hundred miles the fault reappeared.

Then an observant mechanic noticed that there was no earth strap fitted to the axle.

Electricity had only one way to go to "earth"... through the rear wheel bearing causing arcing...

Fitted an earth strap... end of problem.

JJ

Had a similar thing happen on tractors, not hubs , but had them earthing through throttle cables and stop cables and that, then any little thing that happens in the electrics welds the cables up

 

[mitzimad]

I've seen the choke cable on a mini glowing like an electric fire

 

[jockaneezer]

Electricity had only one way to go to "earth"... through the rear wheel bearing causing arcing...



JJ

I watch videos on the "Pakistani Truck" channel on YouTube. They do some sterling (but sometimes "sketchy" ) work with limited equipment. My pet bugbear with them is whenever they weld an axle, hub or whatever in their lathe, they connect the earth lead somewhere near the tailstock end of the lathe (probably the only place the lead will reach to ?) meaning, as you pointed out, that all the electrons have to travel through the headstock bearings to get to the weld point, arcing the bearings to bits.

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[Landy Andy]

I understand missing earth causing problems. But can’t see it with a wheel bearing. The problem is caused when two items need to be joined and this is missing. Why would electrical supply wish to go to an insulated wheel?
Engine to chassis, or gearbox to body I can understand but not a wheel.

 

[ambulancekidd]

The trouble is that we have no idea of the nature of driving, either before or during current ownership.
What I'm getting at is that this vehicle may have something as simple as buckled wheels, either due to misuse or a manufacturing defect.

Lets face it, the wheel bearing on the rear of a Kon-tiki have very little work to do.
They don't need to cope with drive, steering & have very limited braking effect either, so what is going wrong? Weight should make little or no difference at all.

I'm still very dubious of a garage who just put more new bearings on, but a lot of people have blind faith in their garage & will do nothing which might upset that apple cart. I'd be livid if this was happening to me.