The recent winter weather here in NC has exposed some issues with my 745 that I previously thought were transmission/ driveline issues. I've been able to isolate the noises to the front passenger wheel area. It sounds like dry gears at times, whizzing, and high pitch whirring noises that now continue from initial cold takeoff up through 50-60 mph. This happens for the first 15 min. of driving the car after it has sat overnight. Seems to pretty much go away after gets warmed up, although I have a little hum and some light steering wheel vibration that I thought was tire related. This noise has existed for about 6-9 months now happening more frequently and for longer duration as time goes on. It seems to be nonexistent on warm days, but I believe it's getting quickly worse over the last weeks. Does this sound like wheel bearing hub assy. to anyone, or has anybody here had this same issue? Thanks much for any good input!! Oh yeah, could I pack this with grease and get a couple more weeks/a month out of it? How easy/ tough are these to replace?

Hi Matt,
The front bearing can be had from FCP Euro, IPDUSA, or Ebay quite reasonably in cost.
it doesn't take a lot of tools, a 36mm socket and a breaker bar, since you will have to break 74ft.lbs of torque.
Jack the car up off the ground, using the standard precautions. Take the tire off of course. The brake calipers will have to be removed also. You will need a 10mm allen wrench or a 15mm socket or box wrench to get the caliper housing off, and use caution when moving the housing around so as not to damage the hoses. Once the bearing is removed, inspect and clean the stub shaft. Clean it well. Inspect the threads of the stub shaft. Clean them and make sure they are not damaged. If they are then you will need to file the threads to where you can get the nut on easily.
Then apply liberal wheel grease and put the new bearing on, (it will be in one unit already greased inside the bearing). Reinstall everything else you removed remember to torque the bearing nut to 74 ft. lbs (look at the specs) for your car) and you will be good to go. Before you lower the car, rotate the wheel several times taking a listen for any noise (shouldn't be any) or wobble.
Vovlosenior (art)
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89-740 GLE;91-940 Sedan ;98-V90 Wagon ___ all running well

I'm getting more noises too in this winter weather. However, I doubt it's the front hubs because I recently replaced them. If the hubs are bad you'll get an increase of noise when turning. Replacing them is an easy job. You need a 36mm socket, johnson bar and a pipe and a torque wrench to tighten the nuts. The torque is 74 lb-ft plus 45 degrees. I had to replace mine because I coudn't remove the rusted rotors.
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1992 745, >500k km

I don't have a lot to offer in the way of experiences with the front wheel bearing assemblies on the 7/9 series. The FAQ's have some information:
http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/FrontSuspension.htm#FrontWheelBearingandTwoPartHubRebuild

Good luck,
Randy