Little Micra is whining

radarcomp

radarcomp

Hey guys,

Been a while since I last posted on here. The woes with my little car which the wife refers to as 'bertie' have started again. The problem is when I reach 40mph there is an awful whine coming from the passenger side of the car, if I take the car out of gear and freewheel the whine is still there. It doesn't increase if I rev the engine when freewheeling, it does however decrease as the car slows down. It also doesn't whine when the car is stationary and idling or if I rev the engine when I'm stationary.

My father in law seems to think it could be to do with the cv joint or the u-joint, I'm not entirely convinced so I thought I'd ask on here and gauge the opinion of other Micra owners.

The car is a 1.0l 2003 Tempest.

Anyway if anybody has any thoughts I'd be most grateful.
 
I must be honest alpina the thought of the problem being the wheel bearings didnt ocurr to me. Mainly because I thought they rumbled more than whine. My worry was that the problem lay with the gearbox as it happens at 40 mph and above.
 
--alpina-- said:
Well frank I had a whine at the front and changed the bearings and was all sorted! So by my experiences with the noise was similar! I've always practised if changing one bearing then do both, thats just me!

J
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i dont doubt your diagnosis J, just the "change both" policy
may as well change the front/rear ones too then eh :)
 
frank said:
i dont doubt your diagnosis J, just the "change both" policy
may as well change the front/rear ones too then eh :)
Click to expand...
Thanks for your opinions guys. I have ordered new bearings in the hope that it sorts the problem. Is it possible that the cv joint could be the cause also?

A second thing I wondered is it common with the micra to sound strange when you touch the gearstick? Almost like a light grinding noise
 
frank said:
i dont doubt your diagnosis J, just the "change both" policy
may as well change the front/rear ones too then eh :)
Click to expand...

as said frank as an ex-bmw technician we always used to change both rather than one which is what we were told whilst training in germany,, as for the rears if there not whining then its left alone, we always changed as a pair,thats simply how ive always done things,people do things differently in there way.frank.

j
 
frank can i alert you and everyone else again :) the water here passes through everyone a few time then sent to london :)
 
r-reg-sr said:
frank can i alert you and everyone else again :) the water here passes through everyone a few time then sent to london :)
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aye the £60/hour london labour charges are a killer if you take your car in for a wheel bearing and then they hit you with a 2 x bill for doing both sides zed.
discs/tyres/roadsprings etc should be fitted in pairs to avoid weird steering or whatever, but wheel bearings too ?
 
--alpina-- said:
Hahahahaha yeah I know, I think they call it German efficiency :)

J
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Efficient taking as much of the customers hard earned cash as possible? Changing two wheel bearings and if the noise is still there, the customer is going to be very dissatisfied and will be lost to your business. A competent person, with reference to a Haynes manual, could do their own inspection test and save money.

1. Manual inspection check and test assess each wheel bearing in situ is more cost efficient customer service.

2. Jack-up front wheels free and test run assess for differential final drive and front wheel bearings each running silent/noise source. Lock each front wheel in turn and run the other in gear to assess its noise and differential noise in each case. Use your ears and long screwdriver test.

3. Much cheaper and quicker than changing parts willy-nilly unnecessarily. It’s a very old car and is expected to whine shake, rattle and roll willy-nilly.
 
Last edited:
aye diagnosis is the key :) a worn bearing will hum louder when loaded (steering right on a worn lefthand bearing) and will be quieter when steering left.
or else jack the wheel up and run it up to 50mph (then compare it with the other side), or else hold the strut with 1 hand and spin the wheel with the other (sensing vibration through the strut) :)
 
frank said:
aye diagnosis is the key :) a worn bearing will hum louder when loaded (steering right on a worn lefthand bearing) and will be quieter when steering left.
or else jack the wheel up and run it up to 50mph (then compare it with the other side), or else hold the strut with 1 hand and spin the wheel with the other (sensing vibration through the strut) :)
Click to expand...
Yes I second that. Test inspect diagnose and do only the right work. Not random willy-nilly parts changing uneconomic guesswork!
 
Update ---- Well afterbeing away from home for a while without my micra I've returned and its time to fix the car. My friend who is a mechanic albeit one that repairs HGV's has agreed to fix my car even though he hates working on cars. The wheel bearing on the nearside is the cause of the whining sound apparently but also the cv joint is absolutely dry of grease because of a poorly fitted cv boot. Would anyone advise changing the cv joint because there is a definite knocking sound when turning?I have heard that cv joints for a 1.0l on an 03 plate so effectively a 2002 model are the same size as a 1.3, is that correct? if so how many splines should the cv joint have?
 

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