Bad wheel bearing??

[Rachel s40]

I've had a bearing noise for a few weeks now and 3 different mechanics told me it was the front passenger side..... so I got this done and the noise is still there? The same mechanic is going to do the other front one with the old bearing as the bearing doesn't look old and I actually looked through the previous owners invoices for work done and it was only done last year. Can anyone tell me is it could be the rear wheel bearing or something else. Thank you in advance

[Dippydog]

i.m.e. a worn wheel bearing will make a noise which will get louder the faster you go,also in most cases when you take a left hand bend at reasonable speed then the right hand wheel bearing[if it's at fault]will make more noise than when driving in a straight line due to the transfer of weight of the car.Similarly if taking a right hand bend then the left hand wheel bearing[if at fault] would become louder,this at least should help pin down which side[if indeed it is a wheel bearing]is faulty.

[Rachel s40]

Thank you for your reply. If I take a left hand bend it goes quiet which would make it the passenger side wouldn't it and not the drivers side. Would a back bearing do or sound the same as the front? Thanks

[cheshired5]

Originally Posted by Rachel s40

The same mechanic is going to do the other front one with the old bearing as the bearing doesn't look old

How old the bearing looks has nothing to do with how it is performing.
If I were you, I'd take it to a different garage and preferably one that does MOTs as finding worn bearings is bread and butter for an MOT tester.
You should then get an accurate diagnosis and not waste any more of your time.

Diagnosing via a forum is not really any good for wheel bearings.

[Ian21401]

Have reliable MOT tester examine them. We had a Ford Orion many years ago. Front wheel drive. The bearing noise increased when steering right, so we presumed that the left bearing was the cause as it was the one taking the cornering load so we replaced the front left bearing. Same noise was still there so we replaced the front right bearing. That cured it. Our initial diagnoses had been wrong. It was the right bearing which became noisier when it was unloaded. I don’t know why but that was the case.

[60041]

Your description of the symptoms does suggest a wheel bearing and, yes a rear bearing will make a very similar noise to the front.
However, before spending any more money, it might be worth swapping your wheels around as some tyres can become extremely noisy when worn and can produce a noise that is very similar to bearing noise.

[Rachel s40]

Thank you for your replies. I'm getting the other front wheel bearing done on Saturday so hopefully that will be the cure. I appreciate your advice