In the last week or so my front end started to hum when I got up to 20 mph and above. I experienced this problem before with the wheel bearings going bad but have recently replaced both of them in the front. The sound is coming from the front passenger side wheel. I replaced the caliper, brakes, bearing, and had the rotors cut and it still hums. I got fed up and took it to a garage to have it looked at. The guy took it for a ride and came back and said that it sounds like the front wheel assembly is bad. Could this be the problem?? What else should I check for??
Front Wheel Assembly Problem?
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Front tires are pretty new still. About 10,000 on the front tires. When I put the car on stands, took both tires off, and put it in gear you could hear the noise in the wheelwell area. Its hard to say exactly where is coming from though.
There doesn't seem to be any play in the bearing at all. I also think the nut was torqued on but I'm not totally sure. I'm gonna have to take the caliper and rotor off today and see what is what. I really don't know what else to look for. I really can't see the bearing going bad that fast but who knows. The garage told me to check the front wheel assembly so I guess I'll take a look in there.
Did you replace the bearing or the entire hub? And what year of car do you have?
h34r:[/b][/quote]I replaced the bearing and the lower ball joint pretty much all at the same time. I did not replace the entire hub though. My car is a 96' GL.
Did you replace the bearing or the entire hub? And what year of car do you have?
h34r:[/b][/quote]I replaced the bearing and the lower ball joint pretty much all at the same time. I did not replace the entire hub though. My car is a 96' GL.
Well I took the wheel apart again and found out that it is not the wheel bearing. It is still solid and has no play in it what so ever. I guess it could be the wheel assembly although it sounds like its coming from closer to the transmission.
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I had a similar problem about 18 months ago on my Honda. It was an incredibly awful whining noise. Apparently, a small, but hard, piece of wood (about 1/2" long) was picked up on the freeway, while I was going about 65 miles per hour, and lodged itself between the brake disc and the splash guard on the front right wheel. It stayed there for several days and drove me nuts. When I turned the wheel and backed up the noise changed from a whine to a screatch.
Jack the car up on an appropriate lift. Start the car, put it in reverse, and rotate the wheel to the right. If something is lodged, you will hear it. After the hub was removed, a piece of stiff wire was used to dislodge the item.
If the above does not sound like your situation, you might find out the specs for "seating" the wheel bearing with a torque wrench and how much it needs to be backed off afterwards, if any. It might be that you tightened it too much. Overtightened bearings can fail in a hurry. Wheel bearings can handle load but they are not good at withstanding lateral forces. Another possibility is to check the condition of your CV joints. The passenger side normally goes first. They aren't that big a deal to repack yourself.
Jack the car up on an appropriate lift. Start the car, put it in reverse, and rotate the wheel to the right. If something is lodged, you will hear it. After the hub was removed, a piece of stiff wire was used to dislodge the item.
If the above does not sound like your situation, you might find out the specs for "seating" the wheel bearing with a torque wrench and how much it needs to be backed off afterwards, if any. It might be that you tightened it too much. Overtightened bearings can fail in a hurry. Wheel bearings can handle load but they are not good at withstanding lateral forces. Another possibility is to check the condition of your CV joints. The passenger side normally goes first. They aren't that big a deal to repack yourself.
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