Volvo AWD 850 Forum

INDEX FOR 10/2025(CURRENT) INDEX FOR 8/2011 850 INDEX

[<<]  [>>]


THREADED THREADED EXPANDED FLAT PRINT ALL
MESSAGES IN THIS THREAD




  REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

Wheel Bearings...... 850 1995 T-5R

posted by  someone claiming to be Alex on  Thu Mar 29 17:56 CST 2001 [RELATED]

Do wheel bearings often go bad?

Anyone had a problem with these?

My local repair shop says I might need new ones but it sounds awfully expensive. There's a fast intermittent scraping sound coming from the driver's side front wheel.

Alex







  •   REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

    Re: Wheel Bearings...... 850 1995 T-5R

    posted by  someone claiming to be John H on  Fri Mar 30 09:16 CST 2001 [RELATED]

    My left front wheel bearing started making noise at about 60,000 miles. Was a low-pitched noise that got louder in a left turn. The whole front hub had to be changed as the bearings are not replacable. Don't remember the cost, but it was expensive.







  •   REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

    Re: Wheel Bearings...... 850 1995 T-5R

    posted by  someone claiming to be Jot Bond on  Fri Mar 30 08:45 CST 2001 [RELATED]

    Does the scraping sound like a helicopter landing on the car? does the sound come and go? Is the rotor hot in comparison to the other front wheel?If so I would replace the brake caliper, this solved my problem.I went with a rebuilt from auto zone about $60.00.







    •   REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

      Re: Wheel Bearings...... 850 1995 T-5R

      posted by  someone claiming to be Stan on  Fri Mar 30 12:03 CST 2001 [RELATED]

      I just replaced the left front wheel bearing/hub on my 96 850 GLT with 75,000 miles on it. I first noticed the noise as I was coming to a stop and thought it was the brake at first but when I let off the brakes the sound continued. It was like a squeaking sound. With the car off and out of gear I pushed and pulled the car and could hear it close up. Over not too long of a time it became louder and when driving down the road I could turn the wheel one direction and the noise would go away-I guess I was unloading the bearing. This was at 40 MPH or so and at slow speed turning more sharply I could hear the noise both ways. I jacked the car up and when I rotated the wheel it did not make noise-might be one way of ruling out the caliper. Without the weight on the wheel the bearing did not make noise but it seems a caliper still would.

      Anyway if you go to alloemvolvoparts.com they sell the wheel hub assembly kit (bolts and all included) for $138 or so and it is a project you can do yourself. Shoot me a note if you rule out all the other cheaper fixes and I can give you more details on my experience if you plan on doing it yourself.

      Hope its something cheaper and sorry for the long response! Good Luck!







      •   REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

        Re: Wheel Bearings...... 850 1995 T-5R

        posted by  someone claiming to be Alex on  Fri Mar 30 15:47 CST 2001 [RELATED]

        Wow, great website. THat's the best volvo parts vendor I've seen yet. My 850 is at the shop right now and if my mechanic does determine that it is the hub/bearing unit that is bad and not the caliper, I probably will attempt to fix it myself. Was it incredibly difficult? I'm pretty handy but do not have much experience. I do all my own work on my MG and mercedes diesel but haven't done much more than brake pads/rotors and a thermostat on my volvo. Thanks for all the help.

        Alex







        •   REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

          Re: Wheel Bearings...... 850 1995 T-5R

          posted by  someone claiming to be Stan on  Sat Mar 31 01:07 CST 2001 [RELATED]

          Alex,

          No it was not terribly difficult. You will want to have a torque wrench. The torque ranges are 14 ft/lbs to 88 ft/lbs. I didn't have one at the time but had been wanting one so this is where my "labor" money went. If you don't have one I would suggest checking out a Kobalt 3/8 drive from Lowes. It has a range of 10-100 ft/lbs which will cover all the torques I know of on the car, costs about $90, is made in the USA if that matters and Kobalt is a division of Snap-On. Also a floor jack and jack stands. I used a Haynes manual.

          I had never done anything like this either so I asked around to make sure it was something that I could do. One shop told me it was fairly difficult and the Volvo dealer reccomended that I consider having it done professionally because the hub assembly can come apart on you and can be almost impossible to get back together they said. So I decided to try it on my own.... I did not find it too difficult and since it was my $140 bucks I was careful with the assembly and had no problems. I don't believe you would either if you are mechanically handy. Let us know if its the wheel bearing and I will post how I did it! Good Luck.







          •   REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

            Re: Wheel Bearings...... 850 1995 T-5R

            posted by  someone claiming to be Alex on  Tue Apr 3 16:02 CST 2001 [RELATED]

            Well, it is indeed the wheel bearings. My mechanic says that it would probably take him two hours to do the job which amounts to $130 in labor costs plus the $140 for the hub unit. Any tips for the job? Should I do it myself or should I just have my mechanic do it? Thanks for the advice.

            Alex







            •   REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

              Re: Wheel Bearings...... 850 1995 T-5R

              posted by  someone claiming to be Stan on  Wed Apr 4 05:03 CST 2001 [RELATED]

              Alex,

              This is a job you can do as long as you have mechanical experience. Some considerations. It will take a few days to get the part if you order it although your mechanic may be able to get it for you close to the $140. Depends if you have more time than money or vice versa-I have the former! Volvo quoted me $175 I believe. I will give you some details of when I did it and you can decide from there!

              Tools needed:

              *Torque Wrench with a range of at least 33 to 88 ft/lbs. (There is a first stage torque of 14 ft/lbs but can probably get away with your torque elbow if you don't have one that goes that low)

              *1/2 inch breaker bar-may need a pipe on the end to get more leverage depending where you stand in the iron man list (I rank low).

              *36 mm axle nut socket-I understand some of the earlier 850's might be smaller but don't know. My 850 is a 1996. You can go to Auto Zone and they have a loan-a-tool program. You pay them $15 and they give you the socket and when you return it they give you your money back in full. They have a bunch of tools under this program like pickle forks, etc.

              *Pry bar or pickle fork for separating ball joint from the steering knuckle.

              *15 mm 6-point socket for caliper bolts.

              *E-14 FEMALE Torx/Star socket for the hub mounting bolts. I borrowed mine but I think you can order them individually through your auto parts store if you don't have them. Two or three bucks.

              *Torque Angle Guage or protractor to measure an angle torque. I bought a cheap one and was a waste of money. You can probably measure the angle just as easily with a protractor and mark.

              *Haynes Manual for 850 from Advance for 12.99 I believe.

              The hub kit includes an axle nut, hub assembly, 4 hub mounting bolts, and 2 caliper mounting bolts.

              I will assume you have the Haynes manual and just make a few comments in addition. Procedure is in Chapter 10. Go to other chapters for additional pictures for rotors, calipers, etc.

              10-2 preface says drive axle nut is 22 mm. This is a mistake and disregard. It is 36 mm.

              Step 7 removing the caliper bolts-I found my 12 point socket was trying to round them off. !5 mm 6 point socket gave a good grip. You get new bolts to install. I used a rubber bungee slid through the caliper and hung on the spring out of the way. Be careful of your brake line.

              Between Step 8 and 9 remove the black dust shield that was behind the rotor. Don't forget to put it back on-like I did... :(

              Step 10 seperating ball joint from steering knuckle. This gave me the most trouble. I used a long pry bar and was very nervous of damaging the ball joint dust cover. I am sure there is a better way than the grunting and cursing that I did for an hour or so. If someone can comment on abetter way that would be nice. A pickle fork may do better. I have never used one. Just be careful of the ball joint cover.

              Step 11 says withdraw the hub assembly from the steering knuckle. Mine was not about to come out for anything. If yours does not want to "withdraw" either this is what I did. Remove the Suspension-to-Steering Knuckle retaining bolts. This will allow you to rotate the steering knuckle toward the rear of the car. Support it with a jack or such so you don't put stress on the tie rod-this will make more sense when you have it apart. Now the back of the steering knuckle and hub assembly will be laying flat in front of you and you can tap out the hub assembly. Now you can insert the new hub assembly and torque the bolts as it will be easier in this position. Now reattach steering knuckle. Probably should use new bolts.

              Be careful with the hub assembly. It comes in three parts pressed together and have heard if it comes apart it is hard to get back together-probably if you dropped it or something like that. I was careful with it and had no problems.

              Good luck and if anyone has anything else to add it would be great!

              Hope this helps!







  •   REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE    PRINT   SAVE 

    Re: Wheel Bearings...... 850 1995 T-5R

    posted by  someone claiming to be BOU BOU on  Fri Mar 30 05:48 CST 2001 [RELATED]

    Alex: Wheels bearings seldom go bad, and almost always with high miles. Don't believe the repair shop. Bad wheel bearings will not make a scraping sound; they usually cause a low rumbling/humming sound. Sounds like one of your brake calipers isn't retracting completely, causing the brake pads to scrape the rotors - hence the scraping sound.

    Good luck,

    Bou Bou






<< < > >>



©Jarrod Stenberg 1997-2022. All material except where indicated.


All participants agree to these terms.

Brickboard.com is not affiliated with nor sponsored by AB Volvo, Volvo Car Corporation, Volvo Cars of North America, Inc. or Ford Motor Company. Brickboard.com is a Volvo owner/enthusiast site, similar to a club, and does not intend to pose as an official Volvo site. The official Volvo site can be found here.