Premature Wheel Bearings Failure

Mar 10, 2008
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Hi

Has anyone experienced wheel bearings failing prematurely ?

Our caravan a (Swift Group) Sterling twin axle 07 model, is just 2 years old. purchased Nov 06. We've just put it to the Main Dealer for its second service,and been informed that it requires the two Offside wheel berings replaced !.

Now allthough we've used the caravan every month, Mainley local Rallies and CLs, plus two longish trips, Scotland, and Norfolk, nothing adventurours (We can't get longer than a weeks holidays together, this and fuel costs stopped our continental trips) Making less than 1800 towed miles in the 12 months since its first sevrvice. The total towed milage for the two years is less than 3500.

The dealer has told us that its just fair wear and tear !

I contacted ALKO and they said the wheel Bearings have a life expectancy of 100,000 miles !

We towed a previous caravan over 20,000 miles in seven years and never had to have the wheel bearings replaced !

The only differance with the New caravan is that we use the ALKO wheel/hud Lockes, which require you to jack the Near sde wheels so they can be rotated, to enable the Locks to be fitted. This means the caravan has been jacked up more than 30+ times this year, which may put strain on the Offside wheel bearings, Our Dealer say not. If this were my car, I would mean that the wheel bearings would need replacing every 6 to 7 weeks, driving 1000 miles per month, it can't be fair wear and tear !

Phillip
 

JTS

Jan 16, 2007
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Hi Phillip,

I put my 07 Swift, collected Oct 06, in for sevice last October and had to have a wheel bearing changed (Engineers words it has collapsed). It was done under warranty. My van has done about the same mileage but fewer journeys, Spain/France twice. Your bearings were not fair wear and tear, take it up with Swift.

Good luck. JTS.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Alko say 100k so it's not fair wear and tear, three possibles spring to mind.

1, Faulty bearings fitted to two axles on the same side and then to the same caravan.

2, You've hit a pot hole or the like at speed, I would have thought though you would have more damage than just the bearings?.

3, Incorrect adjustment of brakes or handbrake not fully off, this causing friction and the bearing to overheat.
 
Mar 10, 2008
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Hi Phillip,

I put my 07 Swift, collected Oct 06, in for sevice last October and had to have a wheel bearing changed (Engineers words it has collapsed). It was done under warranty. My van has done about the same mileage but fewer journeys, Spain/France twice. Your bearings were not fair wear and tear, take it up with Swift.

Good luck. JTS.
Thanks for that JTS,

The service managers just rang, they're taking it up with both Swift and ALKO,in the meantime I have to foot the bill
 
Mar 10, 2008
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Alko say 100k so it's not fair wear and tear, three possibles spring to mind.

1, Faulty bearings fitted to two axles on the same side and then to the same caravan.

2, You've hit a pot hole or the like at speed, I would have thought though you would have more damage than just the bearings?.

3, Incorrect adjustment of brakes or handbrake not fully off, this causing friction and the bearing to overheat.
Hi Gary

Theirs no sign of any other damage, wheels/tyres axle etc, and the the brakes are fine, Bearings have not overheated.

Phillip
 
Jan 18, 2008
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Hi PHIL

I Have a new Coachman and very pleased with the quality etc, however as I am a Mechanical Engineer I always have my wheels balanced. I found my ally wheels were 200 gram out of balanced and did recommend Coachman check their wheels from the suppliers. They basically said you dont need to balance them, I say if you dont check them how do they know the wheels are not oval. I also think this could cause premature wheel bearing failure.

2 Tips I can say with any new van, balance the wheels and fit shocks, it makes for a better tow, I did this 12 years ago with my last Coachman and some manufacturers have just started to do the same.

Best Regards

Alan
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Hello Phillip

Wheel bearing failure at only 3500m seems pretty unreasonable, and strongly points to faulty bearings of some other problem with the wheel alignment.

Assuming that you have not clouted the kerb or done any other damage that might affect the bearings, I think you have a clear case of faulty goods. (not fit for purpose)

Under UK law that is the responsibility of the SELLER through the Sale of Goods Act. (the seller is the person or organisation that takes your money so it might be a finance house).
 
Mar 14, 2005
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The caravan in question is a 2007 model so presumably a service has been carried out on it in the meantime. It is possible that the wheel bearings were badly adjusted (too tight) during this service, thus causing bearing failure. It may subsequently be difficult to prove whether this or a an already existing material defect was responsible.
 

JTQ

May 7, 2005
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With a 2007 van surely the bearings are the cartridge type with pre-set loading so cant be "badly adjusted (too tight) during this service". Certainly there is the potential for abuse during a service but not the facility to "adjust" them.

My brothers Al-Ko equipped van was found to have "rough" bearings on both road wheels during its second service requiring replacement. The dealer said it was a "wear" item not covered by the warranty.

I much prefer that these "sealed for life" bearings are not disturbed. In 30 plus years of working on my own vans, trailers, motorbikes and cars I have found no real need to do any work within the drum, certainly in sub 30K miles of use. They get dusty but not in a way that is detrimental to the functioning and the re greasing of the pivot points only needs doing if they are disturbed. Its possible but not too easy to check the highest wear spot of Al-ko's brake linings without removing the drum and Al-Ko sell the bearing unit as a sealed for life product.

I suspect the root problem lies in the incorrect fitting, removal and re assembly, and just as is the case with car bearings they are best left alone. I cant see any benefit for disturbing our units until they have covered some considerable miles.
 

Reg

Jan 12, 2008
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In my humble opinion the damage was probably done by the dealership who serviced the van. The Alko service manual clearly states that the hubs do not require removal as the bearings are sealed for life. The dealerships insist on removing the hubs against this advice probably just to crank up the price. The cosmetic damage done both internally and externally to my van, on the one and only service I had done, proved to me that they are incapable of carrying out the work. Goodness knows what damage they did mechanically. It's yet to surface!

I WOULDN'T LET THEM NEAR MY VAN AGAIN!
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Theirs no sign of any other damage, wheels/tyres axle etc, and the the brakes are fine, Bearings have not overheated.

Does seems to point to faulty bearings and perhaps wheel balance, as Alan says, may have caused it?

The other day, a dealer was talking to me generally and about a Bessacarr with a lot of niggley warranty problems, to me they all pointed to vibration and most likely caused by out of balance wheels.

So in all cases it's certainly worth getting the wheels balanced and if those two are way out, it would suggest another possible reason why the bearings failed

Like the Bessacarr though, you would think other problems would be present?
 
Sep 25, 2008
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in my experience and with the information provided, i would say the bearings were faulty. generally theses bearings dont fail. the only time these sealed bearing fail is usually down to overheating or major impact. the fact there are no other signs of damage points to the bearings.

the problem then sits directly on alko`s door, but knowing alko they will not admitt anything and will say its wear and tear and therefore nothing to do with them.

in my opinion the dealer should be argueing with the manufacture ie swift to foot the bill, afterall the dealer bought the caravan from swift. it would then be down to swift to argue with alko.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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If the wheel bearings are faulty, then it is up to the seller to replace or repair them. The fact that other people in the supply chain may not accept liability has absolutely nothing to do with the end users claim against the seller.

The sale of goods act places an absolute duty on the seller to ensure the products they are selling are fit for purpose, and free from defect. It does not say the seller can defer the decision about liability to any other party (except the courts), so regardless of any statement from the manufacture, the sellers liability still stands. This is a risk that all sellers must accept, and when it goes against them, they shouldn't whinge.

If the wheel bearings have been dismantled contrary to the manufactures instructions, and they then fail prematurely, then who ever dismantled them may be responsible.

Customers are all too often fobbed off with excuses, and are deflected from following through with a legitimate claim against a seller. We should all be standing up for our rights, and then perhaps sellers will begin to take their responsibilities seriously.
 
Jul 15, 2008
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Phillip....Your caravan wheel bearings did not fail.

Your dealer told you they needed to be replaced.... Not the same thing in my opinion.

You could have asked to be shown what was wrong with them, especially in view of Alko's predicted life expectancy.
 

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