First off, I apologize if this is not in the right place. I posted in the tires/wheels section as well, not sure exactly where my problem fits.

I bought my 01 in April of 07, and the tires it had on it (Cooper Lifeliners) were just about due for replacement. August came around and went to NTB to get them replaced. My dad had a great experience with Yokohama AS430s on his 2000 camry, and since he was paying for the new tires, those are what we went with on my car. They were pretty good tires for the money, but they certainly aren't the world's greatest tire, by any means.

I had no problems with them up until June of this year. I put the AS430s on at 71xxx and in June 09 I was at 84,4xx. So right at 13,000 miles, and they had already been rotated/balanced once. They had developed quite a bit of whine when I would be above 30mph, and didn't think this was acceptable. I took them in a few weeks ago for another rotation/balance, and they still had the same noise they did before I dropped them off. I spoke to the manager and his theory was that my struts could be bad. He said that the struts don't have enough compression to keep the tire on the road throughout rotation, and therefore the tire is 'floating' intermittently while traveling down the road. I didn't think there was any way that my suspension could be bad at 85k. I also got a second opinion from my local nissan dealer (I had it in to have some ECM warranty work done, and explained the noise to him at the same time, not knowing what it was causing it.) The service manager said that it was definitely a tire issue, and there shouldn't be anything wrong with my suspension.

So, the NTB manager gave me an option. He said that if I paid the difference between the regular lifetime rotation/balance and the road hazard ($9/tire) he would take the AS430s off and let me replace them. Since I thought it was a tire issue, I gladly accepted and decided to go with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S+. I also had to pay the differnce in price between the two tires, plus putting the Pilots back on.

NTB got the tires in today and I took my car in to have them put the new tires on. They finished, I paid, and I took the car out for a spin to see if the noise went away. I got out on the highway and what do you know, the noise is still there. This time, the whine doesn't start until I reach about 35mph. The whine is a little less pronounced than on the AS430s, but still noticable, and certainly not acceptable. So I called the NTB manager back up, and he went right back to the 'I still think that your struts could be bad' story.

Now here's my question for you tires/suspension gurus. Is it in fact my struts/suspension that is bad? I did a bit of searching here and also found that a bent rear axle could cause cupping and/or noise. I need to get this fixed soon.

 

Anyone? I could really use some input...

 

I had my car in earlier in the spring to get the right front axle carrier bearing replaced. While it was in, they said that the sway-bar end links needed to be replaced soon. Could those be causing the whine? I have been meaning to replace them, but I just have not had time this summer.

 

Maybe the CV joint? I'm not sure tho.

 

CV joints seem ok. CV joint dust boots are all in great shape. Still puzzled. Any other ideas? Need this fixed ASAP!

 

Sounds like a bearing to me. My car is in right now for both axles (CV's are blown)
Something started making noise about 2 weeks ago, I thought it was my blown axles, but my mech. says its not and most likely a wheel bearing(s). It's almost a grinding type noise and is most noticable from 30-40 MPH. Sounds similar to what you have.
I would go see an independent mechanic, not NTB or the dealership.

 

Well when I had the car in to get the axle carrier bearings fixed they checked the wheel bearings too, and they said they weren't bad. That doesn't mean they couldn't be the culprit now, but what is the chance that both of them are bad? I can't isolate the noise to either side, so is it fair to assume that they're both bad? I'm planning on taking my car in to get the sway bar end links replaced (they were nearing replacement when the ACB was done). I'll have them check the wheel bearings again, as well.

 

So you had balance, did you have 4 wheel alignment? Sounds like bearing to me but that is more of a grind or hum, not a whine.

 

Alignment was done just about 2yrs ago when the Yokos were put on. I'm going to have them check the wheel bearings when I get the sway bar end links done.

 

why can't you check it yourself? Just raise up the front grab the tire by the sides and push/pull with your hands to see if there is any wiggle...

 

Took it in to my mechanic yesterday. He drove it and said it definitely sounded like a wheel bearing(s). Gonna put a stethoscope on them to figure out if its driver/passenger side or both. He said they may not need to be replaced right now, but I don't know if I can stand to drive it while its making the noise. It's almost unbearable. Also getting the sway bar end links replaced.

 

seriously, can he not just raise the wheel and check with the push/pull method? Just to see if that eliminates either wheel faster? When a wheel bearing is bad it's very easy to tell this way. If you've been driving with this noise for a long time then you prolly have to change out the race the bearing sits in and maybe even the hub...

 

calm down man.....I didn't have time to do it before I took it in. He knows what he's doing and I'm going to let him do his job. It's ok!

Edit: Just got a call back from the mechanic: The axle carrier bearing they replaced back in the spring is defective and they're going to swap it out no charge. Only thing is they have to order the part from Nissan bc no one has it in stock right now. Not going to get in till next Tuesday.

 

Update - My drivers side bearing was bad, noise eliminated. $62 for the bearing, not bad. Charged me 200 for labor (2 axles, and pressing the new bearing into the hub)

 

just the bearing? If it was "grinding" he should've replaced the race the bearing sits in or even the hub itself.

 

Just the bearing from what he said. He mentioned they didn't need to replace the hub if they did it this way. The front is as quiet as its ever been.
And with my new wheels/tires my shake is gone also. (another issue I had)

 

Glad you got yours figured out. I can't wait to actually enjoy driving my car again!

 

Got my car back. They replaced the sway bar end links, axle carrier bearing, and the right front wheel bearing. Turns out replacing the axle carrier bearing wasn't the sole noise maker, as the wheel bearing made noise after the ACB was replaced. All I can say is I'm glad the noise is gone!