Have noticed when turning right and braking there is a squeel and I hear a very faint noise when braking that I think could be the sound of a bearing on the way out. Obvisouly this requires further investigation, but I'm doing a bit of homework on wheel bearings first.

I looked in the factory manual and they show many special tools to press a new bearing in the hub and press the drive shaft out. Are these tools nessacerry to do the job? Do you really need to press the driveshaft out to get the hub off the car? Can't you just give it whack with a brass dolly?

At work we have a large press and various bits and peices for mounting work, is it possible to use this to press a new bearing in without all the special tools? Or am I just better off getting a complete hub/knuckle and changing it over?

I have a Kincrome ball joint seperator. Will this be the only specal tool I need to get the knuckle off? http://www.myshopping.com.au/ZM--1230397746_Kincrome_Tie_Rod_End_Pitman_Arm_Puller_ Automotive_8081

that squeal, is it a metallic or like a tire squeal?
Might be a good idea to check the brake pads first.

A wheel bearing noise is usually a rumble that will get louder with road speed.
And the rumble change if you swerve to the left or right.
In one direction the bearing will load up and get noisier. Less noisy in the opposite in the direction.



Make sure there are no cops around. :)

I think your brakes have just gone metal to metal.
If so replace them ASAP so you don't do too much damage to the disc.

It's definetley a brake squeel as it stops if I lift off the brakes. The pads and rotors were replaced earlier this year so there is no way they are worn out yet as the last set went for 100,000km+

Brake squeal has nothing to do with wear, more to do with the pads being able to move about - check that the shims have been reinstalled (either the originals or shims that came with the new pads).

You can use some anti-squeal stuff to get rid of the noise.

I finally got around to taking the wheel off today. There was a small gap (like 0.01mm) between one pad and the rotor, not sure if this is normal. The guide pins are free as I cleaned them up when I replaced the pads earlier in the year. The pads slide into the caliper easy enough. I gave the pads a going over with emery cloth to remove any glaze and put a chamfer on the edges. The bearing didn't seem to have any play in it and it spins nicely so hopefully it is not that. Will take it for a drive in the next few days and see if the squeel is still there.

I have got some of that anti-squeel goo but didn't use it since there are shims on the front pads and they have been fine since I did them 9 months ago, unlike the back brakes where I had to use every trick in the book to stop them squeeling. They are QFM HPX pads.

The car has done 186,000 km, how long do wheel bearings normally last on a Magna?

What do you mean by a 0.1mm gap between one pad and the rotor?


I've just replaced a rear bearing on a TR, 185000kms.
About to replace a front bearing but I think it was damaged by being overtightened with a rattle gun.
The next time you have the brakes apart, use copper compound on the shiny metal parts of the pad backing plate. i.e. the part that fits into the caliper.

That gap is normal.

Max, are you talking of gap between the pad and disc?
Disc runout?

Max, are you talking of gap between the pad and disc?
Disc runout?

Yep, gap between pad and disc is the topic.
Nope, not disc runout.
Foot presses brake.
Pistons in calipers move out.
Moving pistons distort seal at outer edge of caliper bore.
Foot off brake.
Seal returns to normal shape and retracts piston.
Disc knocks back pad.
If caliper slides are lubed, gap will be evident on the other pad too.


Not rocket science. lol
(Gee, don't you guys know how disc calipers work? lol)

:) Yeh it's not rocket science.
You used a term that I've never taken into consideration before.
Of course there will be a slight gap between pad and disc, the runout in the disc will throw the pad out.
If it didn't , you'd wear the pads out in no time.
The real test in this case is to turn the disc by hand. If it turns everything is OK.

"Seal returns to normal shape and retracts piston."
Now that is the most fanciful statement I've ever heard!
:) :)

:) "Seal returns to normal shape and retracts piston."


It is a square section seal, unfortunately it relies on everything else being in perfect shape. If you have some rust on the piston because the outer boot doesn't seal properly, or you have a buildup of rubber wear material from the master cylinder cups or that square section seal sitting in the brake fluid at the bottom of the caliper bore, then the pads can stay in contact with the rotor.
My test is to feel the calipers for differences in temperature after a drive - if you have spoked alloy wheels that's easy to do, but don't burn yourself, also easy to do. lol
Another test I do is to park on level ground, car in neutral and engine off, then give the car a push. You soon learn if the pads are still in contact with the discs.
If there is a problem, lube pins, pop pistons and clean out, polish pistons and bore if needed, reassemble with clean fluid, bleed, brakes as good as new. Pads last longer, use less fuel. Win-win.

I've done this a number of times with different Mitsus, usually at around 200,000 km. Never fails to improve brake feel. Strangely enough I've never needed to put a new rubber kit in, but I do if I overhaul a master cylinder. (Haven't done one for years though.)

Each to his own I spose.

Although to me it seems like the long way around.
You only need to get the wheel off the ground and spin it by hand to see if the bakes are staying on.

40yrs in the trade and I have never heard of anybody bothering to measure the gap between disc and pad.
Ever.

Each to his own I spose.

Although to me it seems like the long way around.
You only need to get the wheel off the ground and spin it by hand to see if the bakes are staying on.

40yrs in the trade and I have never heard of anybody bothering to measure the gap between disc and pad.
Ever.

Tried spinning the front wheels of a front wheel drive? Lots of drag there. lol Not a good way to test your bakes. errr . . . brakes.

Well I drove it to work today since it was too wet for the push bike. There is still a squeel just before coming to a complete stop, but it has stopped when going around corners. Will have to do the same treatment to the drivers side next month when the brake fluid change and tyre rotation is due. Happy motoring for now.

Anyone got a quick guide to doing the front wheel bearings?
I have never had to fronts on a FWD before, and the last time I did bearings was on a twenty something year old corolla!

Is it as simple as unbolting the hub assembly, slipping the old bearings out, packing the new bearings and refitting?
If so, what's the torque setting for the hub nut?
If not, what's a good workshop manual for the 2000 Verada?

Anyone got a quick guide to doing the front wheel bearings?
I have never had to fronts on a FWD before, and the last time I did bearings was on a twenty something year old corolla!

Is it as simple as unbolting the hub assembly, slipping the old bearings out, packing the new bearings and refitting?
If so, what's the torque setting for the hub nut?
If not, what's a good workshop manual for the 2000 Verada?

Download for 3rd gen factory manual, extract zip file , double click setup and install. Just downloaded myself to another laptop, been years since last download, perfect.

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95825&highlight=workshop

They don't use tapered rollers any more.
The use a double ball bearing that needs to be pressed out of the hub.
First time I came upon these bearings was in the late '80's when BMW started fitting them.
You also have to press the axle flange out as well.
So you will need access to a press.

I'm waiting at the moment to do this job on my own car.
The manual will tell you to use special tools to set the hub up in the press but I think it might be possible without them.

I have to tee it up for when the mate's shop has a quiet spot.

I had to take my wife's TF to our friendly mechanic to do our front wheel bearings. There was a grinding type of noise which was definitely wheel speed related and after a lot of investigation, I decided it must be the wheel bearings. Cannot remember the cost, but they were quite expensive. When I finally got a cheaper price, I decided to order 2 bearings because I could not be certain as to which wheel was making the noise. Ultimately it turned out to be the tyres (Michelins) which were out of round and as they wore, the noise got worse. They were replaced under warranty no problems after 40000 km.

Anyway, back to the story. The bearing is a double row ball bearing which is pressed in. We had to use a 20 ton press and it was working very hard. When we got the bearing out, the grease had hardened up quite badly. This was probably because most of the car's running had been straight open road at 100 km/h and the brakes were rarely used (when we sold the car it had 253000 km on it and the brakes were original). Because the brakes were rarely used, very little heat got into the hub and the grease had packed up very solidly. The bearings were still OK, and in fact the noise was still there after repalcing the bearings. That was when I focussed on the tyres which I had been discounting as the cause of the noise.

To press the new bearings in, we had no mandrel that size, so I spent a lot of time grinding the outer ring of the old bearing down slightly and used this. It is not a difficult job, but you need heavy equipment to do it.

Bugger, that is not what I wanted to hear!
I think I can gain access to a press, but that pushes the job into the realm of "CBF. Pay money"
Will have to figure out just how much dicking around this is actually going to entail...

I decided it must be the wheel bearings.

Ultimately it turned out to be the tyres



There's something to be said for accurate fault finding and not jumping to conclusions. lol

The double row ball bearings on both the front and back tend to be very reliable and trouble free, unlike the taper roller bearings used in the past on rear wheel drives.

Have half a million Kay's up on my 2000 Verada, and have the typical symptoms of wheel bearings.
Growling/road noise when loading the right side, silence when loading the left.

Got to do the heater core, and the air con doesn't work. Throw in leaking rocker covers and a suspect ICS and the $500 I paid seems quite reasonable!