Wheel Bearing

HB Chris

HB Chris

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Front wheel has started making noise, thought it might be a sticking brake pad but noise doesnt change when applying brakes. Sounds like the vent fan is on, not a loud rumble. No obvious play in wheel. Am I on the right track, wheel bearing going out?
 
Raise

the front and spin the wheel(s) should reveal the problem. Shaking the wheel from a vertical axis should reveal if it's loose. But if it's noisey, it's going if not already.
 
Lateral play?

HB Chris said:
No change in sound, a constant drone, does not change with braking. No lateral play with wheel raised.
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Chris, "lateral" play is for checking steering components. Grab the tire top and bottom (12 O'Clock and 6 O'Clock) and give her a good shake to check wheel bearings.

But the fact that it doesn't change under accel/braking or cornering makes me thing it's something else. Could it just be your tire tread is getting thinner (and hence noisier)? Conti ExtremeContact tires tend to start "roaring" a bit as they go below 5/32ds (in my experience).
 
Didn't mean lateral literally, there is no wobble up/down or across. Tires are new with less than 6K miles.
 
Cupping

of tires can make noise as well. Meaning abnornal wear. Run your hand one way across the tire(s) the back the other way. If there are ridges in one direction that could be a noise factor.

Back to bearings- some make noise without play. The individual rollers, races, or spindle can wear. Unfortunately it means a close inspection.
 
Installed new bearings last week and found one piston was sticking a bit so I had both calipers rebuilt. Installed new reservoir and bled the brakes, so far so good. I still have a rubbing or slight droning sound that increases with speed, not rpm. I can see no rubbing of the driveshaft on anything, same with half shafts, now I am wondering about the center bearing. When they go out you get more of a clunking, similar to the guibo. When the underside was done they may have lowered the d/s to paint up in the tunnel but not sure, they are closed today so can't confirm. Want to make sure bearing is preloaded properly. Any other thoughts from our experts? Thanks.

Chris

(doing a long drive this week, see Targa California for info, don't want anything to spoil my fun)
 
Strange noise--

I would have a pro take a close look at your "mystery" sound. Good insurance in preparation for your upcoming drive.
 
Chris,

this is the problem with having cleaned the bottom of your car so well ... you can't go out and find the old location of the mounts, for comparison, from where the marks of dirt / undercoat used to be.

i agree with Murray - get a pro to find out whats going on.

HB Chris said:
Installed new bearings last week and found one piston was sticking a bit so I had both calipers rebuilt. Installed new reservoir and bled the brakes, so far so good. I still have a rubbing or slight droning sound that increases with speed, not rpm. I can see no rubbing of the driveshaft on anything, same with half shafts, now I am wondering about the center bearing. When they go out you get more of a clunking, similar to the guibo. When the underside was done they may have lowered the d/s to paint up in the tunnel but not sure, they are closed today so can't confirm. Want to make sure bearing is preloaded properly. Any other thoughts from our experts? Thanks.

Chris

(doing a long drive this week, see Targa California for info, don't want anything to spoil my fun)
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