Morris Minor Owners Club

When im driving straight or to the left, all is well. But if i start to steer right (even fractionally) theres a whirry grinding sound coming from the nearside front of the car. Any ideas anyone...wheel bearing maybe?

I have to drive to goodwood via chichester on saturday and winchester on monday so I's really like to sort it.

1) Any signs of scrubbing on the outer edge of the tyre ?
2) Hope its not but could it be wear on the fulcrum pin which passes through the lower trunnion ? If turning right the front nearside wheel takes quite a bit of force & if the fulcrum pin is worn this could change the steering geometry . I would jack up that side and check for free play .

It sounds rather wheel bearing like but the usually start of with a hum and trying to track down which one is causing the problem is not so easy when one of mine did it last year 1st check for play none apparent so tried to work out which side and with a pal confirmed 100% it was the drivers side, well of course it turned out to be the passenger side , but if yours is noisy it should be easier to track down and spinning the wheels may reveal a roughness to let you know which side it is.

i know its the nearside from the sound, but its nnot really that noisy until about 20mph!

The tyre doesn't have any signs of scrubbing, will chack for free play tomorrow. Would it be worth repacking the wheel bearings with grease?

If the bearings are grinding I'd think grease will only muffle the sound for a while, of at all But it could be a miniscule amout of play in the bearing coupled with a stone trapped between drum and backplate maybe?

I'd imagine Minor bearings are about as much fun to do as Mini ones, but they should be simple and cheap enough, just lots of swearing and time unless you've got a press. I try to use my local agri place for anything that needs pressing out now, well worth a couple of quid rather than me with an assortment of sockets to use as drifts, and a hammer!

Hmm, i really don't know what to expect. I once changed a bearing while on work experience with one of the mechanics on a discovery but i cant remember any of it! I hope its just a stone! But surely that wouldn't be affected by the steering?

Sounds like excessive play in the bearing which is allowing the brake drum to touch something (usually the backplate) that it shouldn't. I have had this problem time and again on different cars. Some (like my 1997 Rover estate) had no play at all and rotated fine, but when cornering and weight transferred to that side the noise was there. After I replaced the bearing the problem was gone.

Minor bearings are dead easy to do. If you have a stout screwdriver, medium sized hammer and a vice they are a doddle to drift in and out of the hub.

The bearing is almost certainly going to have a very very tiny amount of play in it, ever so slightly more as it wears. So there is a small chance it really is something as simple as a foreign body trapped between drum and backplate that clears by the slightest margin when straight ahead, but fouls when cornering. Certainly worth checking

Minor bearings are dead easy to do. If you have a stout screwdriver, medium sized hammer and a vice they are a doddle to drift in and out of the hub.

Depending on your definition of doddle! I don't really enjoy getting grease all over me, and tapping a fraction at a time on each side to work the bearings out, and I like fitting the new ones even less. And ball bearings annoy me more than tapered roller ones...

On a side note, I believe a car I borrowed a couple of years ago has finally been diagnosed as having a worn front left bearing. Something I mentioned to the owner a long time ago after hearing a grinding metal on metal noise when driving it, similar to the Rover described. It passed 2 MOTs since then!

When my bearing started going it caused loads of vibration in the steering column when i was braking (a bit like when your wheels are badly balanced but worse). That, aparently, is a clue.

Hmm ill have a look tomorrow and see what turns up, thanks for the advice.

Packedup wrote:Depending on your definition of doddle! I don't really enjoy getting grease all over me, and tapping a fraction at a time on each side to work the bearings out, and I like fitting the new ones even less. And ball bearings annoy me more than tapered roller ones...

Well, after mucking about with changing engines and gearboxes and completely stripping a gearbox down today to find out what was wrong then a wheel bearing is a doddle. Of course it does mean getting COVERED and I mean COVERED in grease/oil etc through to your underwear, but that's all part of the fun!

I find ball-bearings a bit more 'friendly' than the taper ones that don't torque up to a particular setting. Mini ones and Midget ones I seem to remember being straight forward too.

On a side note, I believe a car I borrowed a couple of years ago has finally been diagnosed as having a worn front left bearing. Something I mentioned to the owner a long time ago after hearing a grinding metal on metal noise when driving it, similar to the Rover described. It passed 2 MOTs since then!

Yes, mine would have easily have passed an MoT, but I was doing a lot of mileage and loading the car up too so I thought it best to change it over when I had the chance.

I had to change my front nearside wheel bearing last year because of noise, going straight, slight noise Turing right increased, turning left nothing, Found the front bearings easy enough to change.

It will be the hub bearings. Get some spares in stock quick ! They are very easy to change. If you have a complete spare hub it's even easier - one off, one on - car back on road in a very few minutes.