Blue Print has added new technical videos, to its Blue Print TV YouTube channel, including one that offers advice on failure, diagnosis and replacement of the front wheel bearing on a Mini.

The video shows how front wheel bearing failure is often associated with a droning or rumbling noise whilst driving, with the noise increasing under load, such as during cornering. In the video a warning lamp has been triggered and to further investigate a diagnostic tool is used to read trouble codes, such as ‘5D93 - Wheel speed sensor front left’. 

The likely cause is mechanical failure of the ‘active sensor’ type wheel bearing, resulting in an excessive air gap between the bearing and ABS sensor, and an inconsistent signal being received by the ABS ECU. To confirm this, all four wheels were individually rotated whilst watching the wheel speed sensor live data.

After establishing that no speed was recorded by the front left sensor, the wheel bearing is inspected for roughness of operation and excess play. This confirmed wheel bearing failure and also the cause of the warning lights, so a new bearing is required.

The video then takes the technician through the replacement process step by step, pointing out specific issues to be aware of and highlighting areas where special care is required. The video concludes with a road test to show that the job has been successful.

This is just one of many videos produced by the Blue Print technical team. You can view all videos by searching Blue Print Car Parts on YouTube.

More technical information and a complete online catalogue is available on Blue Print LIVE! at www.blue-print.com/blueprintlive.