Rear Wheel bearings !

[Robin G]

Anyone got any idea on the cost of replacing rear wheel bearings, could this be done as a D.I.Y job ?? I know to replace them on my old MKIV was a nightmare !! Any info would be great thanks..........

[Colinv]

Hi mate there not too bad to do, you will need a breaker bar for definite though as the hub nuts are so tight. There a good bit easier than the mk4. It's been a while since I done one at work but from what I remember, they were ok to do. Just need to watch you don't damage the abs sensor

[Colinv]

Meant to say that the bearings are built into the hub and can't be replaced seperately. Once the brakes are out the road, it's either a 30mm bolt/nut or an 18mm spline bolt from what I remember.

[Robin G]

Thanks colin for the info..... great help just need to decide if I should tackle it or not ! Do you know how much it would be to get them done in the garage ?? Thanks again.

[Colinv]

At my work (VW) I think we would roughly charge an hours labour per side plus parts, roughly anything between £75-£100 labour per side. If you were closer I'd help you out lol. If your confident enough to strip the brakes down you can't really go wrong from there providing you have the right tools

[Colinv]

Is it definitely a bearing away? We get a bit of bother with uneven tyre wear on the rear of mk5 golfs sometimes and a lot of passats that throwns you into thinking it's a bearing that's away.

[Robin G]

ehhhhhh I couldnt really say 100%, but there is definately a noise from the rear passenger side, it is louder since i bought the car several months ago.... when i bought the car there was a slight noise but really hard to place, checked for movement in the wheels, but everything seemed tight! now like i said the noise is slightly louder, most of all its f*&^in annoying.

 I have heard of uneven tyre wear looking at them they look ok maybe to the trained eye they would be different?. When you say the bearings are hub does this mean they dont need to be pressed out ? do you just replace the housing or hub or what ever you call it ? lol

[Colinv]

Just looking at the tyre with the eye won't tell you if there is uneven wear. It's hard to describe but jack up passenger side rear and spin the wheel with your hand as fast as you can. Whilst it's spinning place your hand on the tread just enough that the wheel still spins under it and see if it feels quite lumpy. Either that or swap that wheel with a front wheel and drive it to see if the noise is still there at the back corner. If it is a bearing though, you don't need to press anything out. The bearing comes supplied new withing the hub and it's that full unit you replace so not to bad a job to do

[Robin G]

Thank you I will try changing the wheels over !. there isnt any knocking just a whirring kind of noise, noise changes with speed. How much would these hub units cost ?? Thanks again for your help its been ace !

[Colinv]

Trying changing the wheel over first failing that, I'd go with a bearing. It would surprise you though how easily an uneven tyre would throw you towards a wheel bearing. Off hand I couldn't even guess as to how much a bearing would cost you. You don't tend to get any knocking through a bearing, just a droning noise at speed. Swap the wheel over and let me know how you get on mate