How long should replaced wheel bearings last?

Gloomendoom

Lizzyste wrote: »

Hi

I wonder if anybody can help. I have got a Seat Ibiza T Reg. My car has just failed its MOT with wheel bearing problems. My car failed on exactly the same thing last year and I paid £80 to have them replaced. Firstly, I am wondering if they should need fixing again so soon and secondly, if I have paid to have them replaced last year how long would this work be expected to last and should it have been guaranteed?

Mrs G has a T reg SEAT Ibiza. I have genuinely lost count of the of times I have replaced the rear wheel bearings. On two occasions they were replaced by a SEAT dealer and once by an independent garage. After that I just did it myself as the costs were getting silly. The car has done just over 140k.

Edit: DIY cost for replacement with decent OEM bearings is £10-£15.

garethgas

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Mrs G has a T reg SEAT Ibiza. I have genuinely lost count of the of times I have replaced the rear wheel bearings. On two occasions they were replaced by a SEAT dealer and once by an independent garage. After that I just did it myself as the costs were getting silly. The car has done just over 140k.

Edit: DIY cost for replacement with decent OEM bearings is £10-£15.

That sounds excessive to me but as I said, I'm not a mechanic so am only speaking from an owners point of view and by no means an authority on the matter.
It might be the case that some cars are more prone to bearing failure than others for some reason.

epninety

I think we'd all agree that replaced bearings should last longer than 12 months, but there is quite a range of quality in aftermarket parts.
Some parts are as good as original parts (or better even), but some will frankly struggle to get from the box to the car without wearing out.

I had a car previously that ate one wheel bearing repeatedly. Previous owner clipped a curb and bent the suspension - it drove perfectly well, and didn't even wear tyres excessively, but it always knocked out the same bearing every 10k or so. Must have changed that bearing 3 or 4 times.

balletshoes

maybe its a different wheel bearing(s) that needs replacing this time compared with last year?

Gloomendoom

garethgas wrote: »

It might be the case that some cars are more prone to bearing failure than others for some reason.

They are. I think Renault Clios have the same Achilles heal.

EdGasket

£80 seems too cheap for a proper job on the wheel bearings. Maybe they were never done? Also if the hub nut is torqued up incorrectly they will wear out; maybe the garage just used an impact wrench to do them up to any old torque instead of doing it properly with a torque wrench.

only_mee

Bearings generally need pressing in and out (especially the fronts)

atrixblue.-MFR-.

i would be looking for a underlying problem thats causing the bearings to wear rather than asking how long they should last. bent hub, wrong torque on hub retaining bolt, enough grease in the bearing itself, were the bearings fitting in correctly (if previously replaced last year), is anything amplifying lateral force, worn bushes, linkages, brakes, balancing, suspension camber.

Hammyman

jim22 wrote: »

Could a brand new spring rust and snap clean in half in a year.

Yes. A spring can snap for a number of reasons. They can get surface rust on them quite quickly as well as aftermarket ones get just a quick dust over of paint that gets rotted off in the first winter. Once that happens, surface rust quickly forms but does no harm. Hitting a pothole hard enough can snap a spring.

Hammyman

garethgas wrote: »

However, at £80 for replacement, it sounds like a DIY job to me.

Not really. You can buy wheelbearings for anything from £10-£150 depending on the type and the car. Its an hour labour at tops to fit the hard ones or a 20 minute job for taper bearings.

£80 sounds typical for what I've paid when I've had garages do them.