Rear bearing noise

[Vic Mayer]

The question I have I how do you determine if the rear bearings are bad ? I have a 94 325Is with 145000 miles. I here some sort of growling noise from the rear of the car when I come to a normal stop. I have done ft.& rear brakes & rotors (Cross drilled) I even checked backing plates to see if they are rubbing .I changed Trans & diff. fluid with Red line, Old fluid was clean. I changed Ft. wheel bearings. The noise is still there It is not getting louder. How do you get to carrier Brg. to check if it is bad. Any info would be great Thanks Vic

[stupenal]

when my rear wheel bearings were shot, it sounded like I had a defective tire. It was this loud vibrational humming tghat only got louder and faster the faster I went. I switched multiple rims and tires and realized it wasnt the wheel/tire problem. It gets worse and worse until finally there was so much play in the rear wheel I was almost fishtailing while driving. Cost $300 to replace both of them. At 150k miles, you're looking to replace it.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

One of the "tells" for bad bearings is that the noise is worse when turning to one side than the other. The outside wheel is more heavily-loaded than the inside one, and that will make a bad bearing make more noise.

CV joints can make noises that act in a similar fashion.

If yours only makes noise when coming to a stop, I'd still suspect something in the brake system.

--DD

[Vic Mayer]

Dave Do cross drilled rotors make noise when brakes are applied.
I checked caliper mounts they seem to be Ok .No big play.I will check for bearing noise next. Thanks for the help.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I don't know on the cross-drilled brakes. I am not a big fan of them myself for street cars, but don't have enough direct experience to tell if they make noise.

I might try a different brand of rear brake pads just to see if that helps.

--DD

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

Could also be a warped rotor....

[Wayne 962]

I have found that parking brake shoes that are not adjusted, or are worn out can do this. Check these links out:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/techarticles/E36-Ebrake_Adjustment/E36-Ebrake_Adjustment.htm

Also, might have problems with the center driveshaft bearing:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/techarticles/E36-Driveshaft_Bearing/E36-Driveshaft_Bearing.htm

-Wayne