Rear noise!

[littlebasher]

Ok, so first off apologies. I always dislike the posts from the 'new guy' asking questions, but needs must!

Just before Xmas, i bought an inexpensive 2010 IS220D off a friend. When i picked it up, it had no MOT and the front brakes were a crime - surprisingly though, a fast fit place passed its impromptu MOT with an advisory for those brakes.

New front discs and pads sourced from Halfords for £65(!) and dealt with. Then took it on a 400 mile round trip to see my folks

Anyway, back to the question....

From 50mph up and on left hand bends, I'm getting a drone and vibration from the rear of the car that increases with speed. As soon as the road straightens or right hand bends, silence!

Now I'm assuming that's a wheel bearing - is it common on the IS220? Pig of a job? Can it be done without removing the rear hub assembly, it looks quite crusty in there !

Also, my instinct tells me that its coming from the Nearside, but logically - on a left bend its the offside that's under load so you'd assume it was that side

Thanks for any advice !

[Mr Vlad]

The wheel bearings are pressed I to the hubs. Therefore new hubs unless you know what the bearings are and k ow a shop that'll press old out and new in.

Have you checked the exhaust heat shield? When they're loose all strange noises are heard.

[steve2006]

Hi Glyn and welcome to the LOC.

As Vlad says complete hub replacement is the way to go, if you want OEM try Amayama.com or aftermarket Rockauto.com.

As for which side I would have thought that any wobble would have been picked up during the MOT, you could jack up the rear and spin the wheels but the brake pads rubbing make it difficult to hear bearing whine.

The exhaust shield is another good suggestion, being aluminium the bolt hole corrodes allowing it to drop onto the exhaust box, a “penny washer” is the usual fix.

You’re welcome to post pictures of your new IS 😀

[littlebasher]

Thanks guys, appreciate you taking the time to reply

I suspect the bearing as its not just noise but a distinct vibration, the sort of thing visible in the rear view mirror depending on speed and how tight the curve is. My first thought was a dodgy tyre, but that doesn't fit with the left hand bend theme.

More annoying than a serious concern. The car owes me less than £800 now, but i'd rather get all the niggles ironed out.

Steve, thanks for the link. Can see the hub assembly now, i imagine that's a lot of fun to unbolt from the carrier assembly.

The car had been sat for many months before i picked it up, not sure that did it any favours either

[littlebasher]

Following up on this.

I checked both rear hubs thoroughly, removed the callipers etc and still there was no play or noise when spun by hand. Being how hard they were going to be to pull apart, I figured I would look for easier options first.

Rotated the tyres around in case one had gone sawtooth, didn't even realise they were staggered from to rear! Made no difference.

Picked up two used (genuine) front wheel bearings off eBay. My thinking was I could use them to eliminate these as a cause and they're a lot easier to change than the rears. Starting on the offside, with the brake calliper removed I could feel some roughness in the bearing. 20 minutes of beating the hell out of it, levering and an air hammer, I was eventually able to remove the bearing from the car and fit the replacement.

And the noise is gone!

 

Oh, and Steve - you were right about the exhaust heat shield. That's another noise dealt with!

Now just to deal with the vibration at 1800rpm, engine / gearbox mounts are definitely tired !

[Steven9233]

Just seen this ! I’ve got exact same issue as posted separately , two new wheel bearings on order for fronts . Have no  time at all so can’t do this job for weeks yet , but I’m very much hoping this fixes the noise . Never had a wheel bearing fail before and quite surprised at sub 60k . I’m convinced the bigger wheels play a part in premature failure can’t explain that logic but I know it affected older Hondas with larger wheel upgrades . Reassuring to read this