Hey guys, has anyone changed the front wheelbearing on a 2003 w211 e500. This is my brothers car and he took it to the dealer and they wanted over 500 just to change this. I have done this kinda of job on an Accord both front (that they were compressed in) and the rear (which were not) can someone let me know if its compressed or not. Is it straight forward. thanks

 

Autohausaz.com for the bearings,you need to do both sides.WIS on alldatadiy.com or get a one day subscription to star tech info
http://www.startekinfo.com/StarTek/
for the factory wis.Easy diy if you have done any involved diy work.Work clean.

 

I would just add.
Why have they failed? Have they failed?
VERY high mileage? Over tightened? Water/dirt ingress?

The "tightness" of taper roller front bearings is EXTREMELY important. Usually finger tight then 1/4 turn back (looser) or similar.
MB use a complicated device to ensure the loose nut doesn't come off!
IMHO they last indefinitely UNLESS they have been "messed with"

Stuart

 

Thanks for the info Stuart.

I went to the dealer to have my SRS light replaced when I did the turn signal switch stalk. (when i took off the airbags the light must of came on, now they couldnt take it out. its still there agghhh) So while i was there, I told them that i heard a sound of wov wov wov when starting and when i go faster it starts to speed up as well and told them to look at the same time. They said two thing the front left wheel bearing is a bit loose and they said the lower ball joint needs to be replace. But I had the dealer replace the lower ball joint like almost two years ago (they did both front right and left under warranty) Do you think that it went out in two years? 30k miles doesnt sound right. Also, do you think that cupping tires are caused by the wheel bearing of the lower ball joint cause that is what they said the tire was doing. if you can let me know what you think that would be great much appreciated

 

Hi,

I'm not sure that the garage that you took the car to are providing you with good feedback.

The SRS light would come on if you disconnected the airbag and turned the ignition on at some point with the airbag disconnected.
In order to reset this you need a scanner that can communicate with the SRS system.
Notall garages have such a scanner.
Certainly MB garages do.
A reset is a few minutes work however MB are "creative" in their pricing for such jobs.
Agree up front how much it will cost!

Now before I add further to my wheel bearing response I see you have added that the front tyres are "cupped".
Cupped tyres are (if I understand your term) indicative of something wrong with your front suspension.
Usual cause is incorrect tracking.
Cars are set in the factory using extremely sophisticated equipment (on a rolling road i.e. dynamically) and any attempt to reset this once in service is more likely to end up with the track incorrect rather than correct and such a procedure is best avoided if possible.
However IF the vehicle has been heavily kerbed or similar, you have no choice.
Now I guess your car has been tracked and if so I am prepared to bet that the track is incorrect.
Since you had the bottom ball joints done technically the car needed to have the track checked.
The ball joints are sufficiently precision made that changing them shouldn't have altered the factory track setting but a cross check would have been prudent.
However IF the readings showed that the track was incorrect CARE should have be exercised BEFORE resetting to establish why the track was wrong!

However "cupping" could be caused by other faults. Worn bushes etc and especially track rod ends.
Are the tyres OE pattern or some winter after market special?

Now to the wheel bearings.
As I stated previously these should have a tad of play in them. This amount is set by the tightening procedure. Finger tight (not hand tight with a spanner!) and then back a 1/4 turn or flat or whatever.
Many garages tighten up the wheel bearings in order to offset wear that has occurred elsewhere like the ball joints, trackrods etc. or alternatively that they are unaware that taper rollers require play. taper rollers are not like old fashioned ball or thrust races. Bearing failure and noise are usually due to running tight although at VERY high mileages the race surfaces can become "metallurgically challenged" (hammer hardening) and the surfaces break up..

WRT your "bearing" noise I suggest that the noise is more likely coming from the tyres due to the cupping UNLESS somebody has already "fiddled" with the wheel bearings at an earlier date.

Way forward.

Check out all suspension joints for wear and replace as necessary. 100k miles should be no problem unless the roads in the USA are worse than ours in the UK which I find hard to believe.
Check out the shocks. Does you e have Airmatic on the front. I think not.
Check tracking. Ensure the garage follows the MB procedure. MB's are sensitive to tracking and small points like the sills have to parallel to the ground when checking are very important due to the suspension design. Most garages are unaware of this!

Change tyres or if the rears are not "cupped" swap front to rear (this may not work). Even when fitted to the rear these tyres will still emit a frequency which may continue to give give the problem. However the change may work and this COULD save some money and it is possible that the tyres could return to a good pattern once again.

Hope all of this helps.

Stuart,