Just like the subject says. Known bad bearing as a result of the wheel making sweet love to a curb.

I learned yesterday that the S5 spindle is different with ABS as opposed to non ABS. There's extra cast metal with a hole and mounting point for the ABS wheel speed sensor.

Would there be any luck in pursuing swapping hubs/bearings from a good (the non ABS hub, swapping over the ABS ring "gear")?

 

I would say it's possible for the spindle to be good, but I'd surely inspected it very closely before putting it back together. Match it up (angle wise) with the non ABS spindle. Hopefully the spindle wasn't damaged from the bearing inner race when it was destroyed. I would make certain the lower control arm and tie rod end is in satisfactory condition also.

 

I wouldn't use it.

Most likly if all the grease went out due to a bad seal, you drove it for a little while with no grease. It created lots and lots of heat thru friction. And more than likely it got your spindle red hot, or close to it, and if it did, then that spindle has now become very brittle, and will break, under stress.

I wouldn't chance something like that, just get a new one, or a used one from a junk yard. Unless you were sitting in your driveway and the seal just went poop. or you caught it very fast going down the road....

 

I'd like to add. If the spindle did get exceptionally hot due to lack of grease, I wouldn't think the hub/bearing assembly would come apart easily. Usually if the bearing assembly gets that hot, the inner races will "weld" themselves to the spindle, therefore necessitating a replacement.

 

He said the bearing is bad from the wheel hitting the curb, not from lack of grease.

I've seen bearings get cracked from wheels hitting the curb and the spindle is fine. If the bearings outer race were to rotate, then its more likely that damage can occur to other parts.

 

That's my theory atleast, there should be no lack of grease. There's just an annoying bearing noise starting at ~40mph.

Think a slightly bent rim (not to exclude any possibility) could cause a vibration/movement to the hub that would exert more pressures onto the bearing causing a premature failure? I do have the option of using the 91 coupes wheels which are in perfect shape...