Bad bearing (?) which one?

[acole1]

Over the last month or so I have had a humming noise coming from somewhere. The pitch of the hum correlates directly to the speed I am traveling. The car is an '01 HA with 182K miles.

Several months ago I hit a crack in the concrete going over a railroad track, and it bent the lip of my low profile rims. I figured that the tire was now bulging out into that lip and this was causing the vibration, because the noise *seems* to be coming from the rear driver side wheel.

I replaced my rims and tires (I still had my stock rims), but the problem remains. The only other thing I can think of, is that it's a bad wheel bearing.

One possible clue as to which is the bad wheel is that when I take a right curved ramp on the highway, the noise stops. I don't know enough to be sure what this means though. Left side (enough sideways G's), or right side (takes the weight off the wheel)? It also fades slightly when going over bumps.

The part from the auto parts store is only about $60, so if I get the wrong wheel it's not the end of the world. Also it's the whole bearing assembly, so I think it should be relatively easy to replace.

Does it sound like this is a bearing problem? What is the best way to detect which wheel is the bad one?

 

[Lotheron]

Yes it sounds like it could be. However, if you decide that's the way you want to go you should change both at the same time. 182K miles is probably enough for both assuming they've never been changed

 

[helpme]

You can raise up the car (or each corner at a time), and check for play. Grab the wheel and check for play in each direction. However, your turning test is also a good one, as bad bearings may not have much if any noticable play unless they are really bad.

Have you inspected the area to see if something else is rubbing? If it is the rear there isn't much other than the brakes that could be causing the noise.

If it is one of the rear corners it won't be a big deal to replace the hub/bearing.

 

[BW86]

As stated above, you can jack the car up and wiggle each wheel. If the bearing is bad, the wheel will have play all over, not just top to bottom/side to side like your testing for a bad balljoint/TRE. Another test is to put load on the bad bearing. So if you have a bad front/right wheel bearing take a hard left turn and it should get louder - take a hard right turn and it should get quieter.

 

[Lotheron]

You can raise up the car (or each corner at a time), and check for play. Grab the wheel and check for play in each direction. However, your turning test is also a good one, as bad bearings may not have much if any noticable play unless they are really bad.

Have you inspected the area to see if something else is rubbing? If it is the rear there isn't much other than the brakes that could be causing the noise.

If it is one of the rear corners it won't be a big deal to replace the hub/bearing.

As I said above at 182K suspension/steering/wheel assembly parts are past the beginning of the "they need replaced" stage. It could be any all of the above.

The good thing is most of them are fairly inexpensive and rather easy to replace. You will see a world of difference once replaced.

EDIT: oops, rear end.. no tie rod there

 

[acole1]

I'll probably go ahead and replace the left rear one then. If that doesn't fix it I'll go to the other ones. Thanks!

 

[brblx]

put the car in the air, put a hand on the coil spring next to the offending wheel, and spin the wheel. if the bearing is bad (even if not bad enough to have play), most of the time you will feel the vibration in the spring.

it's a good trick to know. saves you from having to test drive the car with a helper or break out the chassis ears.

 

[StageLeft]

Probably not brakes but I had a rubbing on some rear brakes once that would manifest itself worst when taking a left corner, because of lean. But brakes are easier to diagnose because you can hit the brakes while these sounds are being made and get increase/decrease in sounds.

 

[SooperDave]

Alot of times you can hear the bad bearing just spinning the wheel. Times used to be you could check the race and the rollers visually. These sealed bearings may be easier to replace but you can't inspect them, repack them, or replace just a seal. They don't seem to last as long either and have a much higher cost. Better for the shops tho. Less labor cleaning and repacking during a brake job and the tech doesn't wind up with a palm full of bearing grease.

 

[exdeath]

If it were my car with 182K miles and nothing had ever been replaced on it, I'd be doing all 4 at the same time. It's what, $20-40 a wheel per bearing (little more if you have to buy integrated hubs) and if you have a press it doesn't take more than 15 mins a wheel tops.

Get new tires first if you are due for them. Sometimes tires can make noises/vibrations that feel similar to a bearing; bearings have to be pretty bad to be unmistakable.

 

[exdeath]

Does it sound like this is a bearing problem? What is the best way to detect which wheel is the bad one?

The wheel on the side of the direction you are turning has weight taken off it, the opposite site has more weight. If you turn left, and the sound goes away, it's the left bearing. If you turn left and the sound gets worse, it's the right bearing.

 

[Kalvin00]

The wheel on the side of the direction you are turning has weight taken off it, the opposite site has more weight. If you turn left, and the sound goes away, it's the left bearing. If you turn left and the sound gets worse, it's the right bearing.

This. The bad bearing is on the right side. Don't waste time replacing the left ones! (At least, I wouldn't bother. Why change them if they're still ok..)

And a bad bearing doesn't necessarily have noticeable play..I just replaced a front one in my mom's Nissan Altima that didn't have play, but made a grinding sound like a mofo at 35-55 mph.

 

[Kacey Chiddister]

I have a 2004 Toyota Corolla LE. 1.8. 30,000 miles.One day I started hearing this humming noise, but when i swerved right the noise stopped, unsure of what it was I started looking online. Everyone kept saying it was the bearing on passenger side. So finally I jacked it up today and sure enough it was the passenger rear wheel bearing. I replaced that and finally the noise has stopped....