On my Audi A4 I have got a wheel bearing noise from the front. The noise goes when I turn left and gets worse when I turn right. Does this mean it's the left or the right bearing?
Left - er probably
lift the car on axle stands
Grab the wheels at 12 and 6 o'clock and shake
repeat for 3 and 9 o'clock.
If there is excesive play, there is the guilty one.
I have had really bad experience with wheel bearings.
Ignore the advice about feeling for play, the best way is to support the car on axle stands and get someone to drive the car whilst listening at each wheel IF the fault doesn't show up by spinning the wheels
I'd say the right, most likely. The bearing will get noisier when unloaded.
Unless the hubs have been in bits, the case-hardening may have worn off. If they have been in bits, you'll find the offending side will stick as
you spin the wheel.
A few years ago, I caught a local tyre-bay removing the rear wheels whilst still bolted to the drums on a previous car, by removing removing the stake
nuts... 
You should've seen the ridges in the bearing faces after they put the wheels back on the same way! 
Curiously, they replaced the
bearings FOC when I threatened to sue...
I had a problem with my daughter's Corsa front wheel bearing rumbling. There was no play in it at all yet the noise it made when you spun the wheel was awful. When I took the hub off the outer was perfect but the inner looked like it had never turned it was gummed up solid.
Don't even bother trying to find which side - both have done exactly the same mileage, change them both.
quote:
Originally posted by Mark Allanson
Don't even bother trying to find which side - both have done exactly the same mileage, change them both.
Yes - on the bodyshop side!
quote:
Originally posted by Mark Allanson
Yes - on the bodyshop side!
quote:
Originally posted by Mark Allanson
Don't even bother trying to find which side - both have done exactly the same mileage, change them both.
I had a wheel bearing that
Was not noisy, didn't have any play in it but everytime i used to take a left and right hand corner, i used to listen to a tick, tick. This noise
was developed at 120K miles.
At the next service, while doing the brakes, we took the wheel bearings out which were in the car since new from the steallers and one of them was 3mm
sorter.
quote:
Originally posted by mediabloke
I'd say the right, most likely. The bearing will get noisier when unloaded.
After an hour with the car jacked up and alot of wheel turning I went for the left.
After another couple of hours to replace the bearing the noise had gone.
I am selling the car soon so I'll just replace that for now.
Thanks all for the help.