UMD_MaxSE

iTrader: (1)

I think I may have a bad wheel bearing. I get a slight pulsating hum around 35-40 mph that is present up to highway speeds. It kind of goes away at speeds higher than 65, but that could be because it just gets masked by other noises. I am suspecting that it's the front driver side wheel bearing, but I am not 100% sure. The strange thing is that the noise doesn't go away when I turn the wheel to the right or left. Also, I tried driving slowly in a circle with the wheels turned as far as they can go in both directions to see if that would help me figure out the noise, but I don't hear anything then either. It could also be the tires, but I'm not sure. I am going to rotate them this weekend and see what happens. Any other ideas on what it could be? Thanks...

Dawgs AE

Last time I heard something like you are describing, it was just a bad tire. I would think if it was a bearing, you would be hearing it when you are turning. Is there any vibration at all?

UMD_MaxSE

iTrader: (1)

not really any vibration... maybe very slight steering wheel vibration at high speeds, but the wheel balance may be slightly off. I am going to rotate the tires to see if the noise goes away before I tear into the wheel hubs.

jjs

I had a similar problem with my Ram...not sure if it is even possible to happen with the Max layout, but you might want to check to make sure the pads are secure in the caliper and not 'flapping' around in its place causing intermittent 'flutter'.

Dawgs AE

This is a good point. Check the brakes over really good. On my other car I had a bolt come out of a caliper and it caused a noise like this. Good luck. Hope it is nothing too bad.

steelymatt

iTrader: (1)

I had a bad wheel bearing. It sounded like a jet engine above about 50 mph. They replaced it under warranty.

Matt

ajahearn

iTrader: (3)

I had a bad bearing on my 89. You could hear the grinding at very slow speeds. I suspect as the bearing gets worse you would hear it at higher speeds. The pulsating you experience sounds more like a tire issue than a bearing. Hope this helps.

UMD_MaxSE

iTrader: (1)

a jet engine? ok, mine really isn't that bad. I guess it probably isn't the bearings then... I'll check out the brakes and calipers as well. If it is a tire issue, rotating them should help flush that out. Thanks for the suggestions!

fletcher

I too am experiencing a similar problem. Anything above 40mph and the car starts to howl (car is a lot louder then it ever was before). I have rotated the tires and checked for loose parts but the problem is still there. I think I can feel a slight vibration coming from the front right wheel. I too think it might be a wheel bearing. The noise seems to go away at 70mph and above but I think that it's being masked by other noise. Driving behavior doesn't seem to be affected even when turning. I live in Germany and do not want to bring the car in until I have a really good idea as to the problem. I brought the car here from Canada and don't want the dealer to overcharge me.

UMD_MaxSE

iTrader: (1)

I rotated my tires and went for a spin... the noise seems to be gone for the most part. I guess I just have a noisy tire. Brakes all checked out as well. I guess I'll just live with it... it's no big deal. I doubt someone else other than me would notice anything anyways

Weasel

iTrader: (2)

That's exactly what my wheel bearing sounded like when it was going bad... good luck.

Y2KevSE

iTrader: (13)

Do the wheel bearing test. Hold the wheel at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock. Pull/push back and forth... there should be no give at all. If there's give, you have a screwed up wheel bearing.

acMAX

when i had a bad wheel bearing my car got pretty loud too.

If it is your wheel bearing causing the noise the sound will grow steadily worse (or louder)

i wouldn't rule out the wheel bearing just yet.

Try putting your car up on jackstands and remove the wheel from the side you think the humming is coming from. Try rotating the wheel bearing and listen for scraping or any abnormal noise. You should also check to see if the wheel bearing is firmly in place and not able to be shaken. (see y2kevse's post above)

The guy who replaced my wheel bearing did this as I watched and was easily able to diagnose that it was in fact the wheel bearing that needed replacing.

good luck

Conrad283

iTrader: (2)

hi alex, long time no see

acMAX

UMD_MaxSE

iTrader: (1)

already did that... no play at all. But I would imagine that the wheel bearing would be in pretty bad shape if there was any play...

I'll keep an eye on it for now...

Sir. Max

Does anyone know how much it'll cost to replace a wheel bearing?
I think I might have the same problem. When i'm moving at low speeds, I hear like a whinning sound coming from the front left wheel. No matter if I turn left, right or step on the brakes, the noise is still there. So what's the damage to repair something like this?

condor9382

$50 bucks for a bearing from DAVE B!

I too had a similiar noise recently from my front passanger side tire. I had hit some pot hole or something on the road and it started to make a humming/viration noise between 45 - 65mph. Turns out, I broke a belt in my tire and that's what the noise was all about. Check your tire first (inside, look at belts) and if you rule that out, than it could be a bearing issue.

I did purchase a bearing from DAVE B, but ended up not needing it. I still have it to return to him. If anyone needs it, I guess they can get it from me, if they contact me before I ship it back. Otherwise, contact Dave B.

mike1g

I think I might have the same issue. That is why I ran a search on "bearing" and came across this post. My problems sounds very similar to some of these descriptions. At about 25-30mph, I get a sound that seems like it's coming from some giant truck tires. It also sounds like a stock car when you hear them inside with the driver on TV. I guess it also sounds like a humming. At any rate, this sound starts around 30mph and continues to go higher the more I accelerate. Then upon deceleration, you can really hear it. It really does sound like a stock car coming to a stop by downshifting. Mine seems to be coming from the back right side of the car. I am taking it to Discount Tire to have it looked at today. They just put some tires/rims on it about 3 months ago.

Questions:

1.) Is it dangerous to drive around like that? If it is a bearing.
2.) Is this something covered under warranty? With after market rims?
3.) How do bad bearings happen?