Before I put my new wheel bearings into the knuckle is there a specific way round they need to go in?

I have read that some bearings are magnetic on one side and they need to be inserted so that the ABS sensor is in line with the magnetic side otherwise your ABS sensor will fail and you'll get the dreaded warning light.

I have original LR bearings and have tested them with some metal but they don't seem to be magnetic on either side.

I am a marine engineer and fitting bearings all the time, most bearings are not directional, only if for designed for specific fitting / purposes.
On the wheel bearing you will see makers markings / bearing number, I usually fit the bearing so these markings are on the outside so they can be seen if working on the car / machine.
The spare ones I have are made by FAG, other reputable makers are SKF etc. As long as the bearings are from a reputable maker there is no difference, JLR source their bearings from such makers. Do not buy Chinese bearings, note - Large bearing makers do have factories ALL over the world, as for Chinese bearings, the ones I have seen do not last long.

Also I have never seen or heard of magnetised bearings, the last thing a bearing needs is to be able to attract steel particles etc. Wheel bearings such as fitted to RR's are also sealed bearings so they come pre-loaded with the correct amount of grease inside the sealed bearing, no need to add grease, obviously for other applications this will differ, as some bearings are open race, for grease addition or oil lubrication. You can destroy a bearing with too little or too much grease. A 'little' bit of grease on he surfaces never hurts when pressing bearings in to the knuckle.

I would think that the ABS system on yours will be the same as my 2006 car, clamped onto the drive shaft where the drive shaft enters the knuckle will be a ring with teeth or holes regularly spaced. (Reluctor ring )This ring lines up with the ABS sensor which is screwed into the knuckle. The sensor effectively strobes the ring and will work as explained in the below quote -

Quote - An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is fitted as standard to all modern day cars as an additional safety measure. Under heavy braking, the force exerted on the brake discs can cause the wheels to lock, resulting in the car skidding along the road surface. This sudden loss of traction may cause the car to decelerate less resulting in possible impact.
ABS works by detecting wheel lock (based on a wheel suddenly stopping compared with what the car is actually doing). In order to do this, ABS rings are fitted behind each wheel which look like cogs. As they rotate, they 'strobe' past a sensor. If all four wheels are rotating at a similar rate then the controller will calculate that all is well. Should the speed measurement from one of these sensors suddenly fall to zero, then the wheel must no longer be rotating (i.e. locked up).

The magnet itself is the sensor as described in the below quote -
Quote - Wheel speed sensors are, in essence, a simple magnet which is encased in a coil of wire that is held static somewhere on the hub carrier of the wheel. On the rotating part of the wheel is a toothed ring (called a reluctor ring). As the raised part of the toothed ring ( or the solid part of the flat reluctor rings with holes )comes into proximity of the magnet it creates an electrical field this brief pulse of current gets sent to the ABS control unit. As there are many teeth (or holes ) on the reluctor ring, there are many pulses that get sent to the ABS control unit, with every revolution of the wheel and obviously the faster the wheel turns, the higher the number of pulses per second are sent.

Hope this helps explain things only saw the post because rain has suspended my car detailing session

PS - Sorry if my above post may sound like 'Teaching Granny to suck eggs' but members spannering / engineering experience varies to a great degree, so if it helps some one, then job done
Hope all goes well with the bearing change.

Thanks, appreciate the input.

My bearings are genuine LR ones and I do note they are marked as FAG bearings.

I did note there are a few forums who do rate FAG bearings/hubs when I researched the subject.

I want to avoid Chines parts as much as I can but have recently come across hub parts with "Germany" stamped on them (always renowned for their solid engineering) yet I discovered the company making them are actually based in China! You do need to be careful what you are buying these days.

I have actually bought the whole knuckles with the bearings & bushes factory installed for the rears. The fronts will need a bit more time and effort to assemble. I have four wheel hubs (LR009816) which I need to press into the bearings too and I am wondering if these get pressed in until they naturally stop or whether you have to calculate how far you press them in? Or do they get pressed in when the hub nut gets tightened?

I fitted a new bearing on my sons VW Golf yesterday and a little more straightforward as the whole unit has the bearing AND the wheel hubs already attached so you simply bolt it on and tighten the hub nut with a breakers bar (with a long scaffy pole added for more leverage)

Last edited by Buckie1967 on 14th May 2023 5:22pm. Edited 2 times in total

Cheers for the video, a wheel bearing incorporating a magnetic reluctor ring, a new one on me, well you don't stop learning till the day you die as the saying goes

Just for information, some bearings do have magnetic ring its for the abs sensor pick up it depends on car make.

I don't think so, but it would probably make sense to put on new ABS reluctor rings at the same time


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I got my ABS Reluctor Rings direct from UK Parts Direct Ltd in Westbury

SKU 309-1 Range Rover ABS Reluctor Ring (L322) Pro Coat V4, I bought two of them, which saved me 25% , so only £13.49 each, saving 25% , I want to do both sides anyway.

Fronts
https://www.ukpartsdirect.com/land-rover-r...at-v4.html

Rears
https://www.ukpartsdirect.com/land-rover-r...at-v4.html

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