jetpilotdc10 Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 While driving I can hear a hum coming from the front end. Certainly sounds like a wheel bearing to me, but when I raise the front end and spin the wheels, they are smooth and quiet. The noise get louder with speed. When I turn right the hum turns to more of a growl. When I turn left, it almost goes away. These bearings aren't cheap, so I would appreciate anyone's experience on this so that I don't replace the wrong bearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 You can either keep riding it until you know for sure which one is bad, or you pull the axles out of the hubs so you can spin the hub by hand. Or find a shop with a Chassis-Ear kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetpilotdc10 Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 Normally that's what I would do, but I'm about to go on a 1800 mile trip and I don't want it to give out away from home and have to pay big $ for a repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 While driving I can hear a hum coming from the front end. Certainly sounds like a wheel bearing to me, but when I raise the front end and spin the wheels, they are smooth and quiet. The noise get louder with speed. When I turn right the hum turns to more of a growl. When I turn left, it almost goes away. These bearings aren't cheap, so I would appreciate anyone's experience on this so that I don't replace the wrong bearing. Turn to the right is loading the left bearing and accentuates the noise. Left bearing shot. That's your diagnosis. Just had my rear bearing 05 OB done yesterday. Not cheap but was directed by member GrossGary to Beck Arnley (Denso reman) which is much less than SOA. Some others suggest Timken brand works fine. Compare PartsGeek and Rock Auto pricing. Peace of mind and quiet has returned. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uniberp Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 You might consider having both fronts done. I've replaced several on several Subes over the years, including my 08. It may be because of your road conditions, driving style, in my case I think it was a daily long sweeping curve on high speed entrance ramp. When the bearing overheats and distorts once, that's kind of the beginning. I went through a long diagnosis and eventually replaced the right twice and the left once. I'm thinking now that National brand bearings maybe not so good. I'ts very hard to localize which bearing is making the noise. The inboard and outboard on each side are separated by merely an inch or less .Right turn loads the outer left bearing , and the inner right as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 (edited) 08 probably has HBAs right? - easy to swap so, maybe do both sides as mentioned above? did you try rocking/lifting the wheel in the 12 - 6 O'clock direction? I found a bad, noiseless, rear bearing like that once. The good side didn't move, the bad one moved maybe 2mm. bad bearings can be hard to find. Edited September 18, 2015 by 1 Lucky Texan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetpilotdc10 Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 (edited) Thanks everyone! I figured it was the left one, but I have been wrong in the past about which side was the culprit when I had a rear bearing go on my Loyale. There's certainly no play in any of the wheels when rocking the 12 & 6 o'clock positions. And yes, '08 has HBA's. Hardest part will likely be rusty bolts. I had a rotor off the other day and that was a serious challenge that required some creative thinking and a lot of patience. Edited September 18, 2015 by jetpilotdc10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 maybe take some infrared thermometer readings after 2-3 highway runs. If the left is consistently warmer than its mate on the right - might confirm that side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetpilotdc10 Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 Awesome idea that I haven't tried yet. I've been meaning to do a tactile test of both the front wheels after 5 minutes on the hwy. If the bearing is bad enough, there should be a noticeable difference I would think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 i wouldn't go on an 1,800 mile trip. can you tell while driving if it's left or right? if you think it's one side - it probably is. have someone stand outside the vehicle and drive past them on both sides - which side is louder? unfortunately there is no one test that will confirm every failing wheel bearing. i have located a couple with the heat gun, but plenty also avoid determination that way too. the old school "check for play" technique is nearly worthless with modern bearings. the only one or two i've seen that would fail that test were so obviously wheel bearings that the test wasn't needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 i wouldn't go on an 1,800 mile trip.. wait, let me rephrase that. i wouldn't do it again! i did go on a 2,100 mile road trip with a failing bearing one time, it failed about 1,400 miles in so still had 700 miles to go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetpilotdc10 Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 ^Exactly my fear!^ One last question....Beck Arnley, Timken, or NTN? NTN is $50 more for whatever reason. $80 vs. $130. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 (edited) Timken went on and is still working fine on my daughter's Impala, haven't done a soob so....? pretty sure NTN is Japanese brand and may be an OEM supplier? maybe a decent approach would be, IF you can be confident of which side is bad - spring for the NTN or OEM, but, if you feel you have to slap 2 bearings on, go with the Timken ? Edited September 18, 2015 by 1 Lucky Texan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Turn to the right is loading the left bearing and accentuates the noise. Left bearing shot. That's your diagnosis. Not necessarily. With the bearing design on these cars you only load one half of the bearing (inner/outer) when turning. Turning left loads the inner half of the left bearing and the outer half of the right bearing. If the inner half of the right bearing is the bad half, the noise will subside, even though the right wheel is loaded. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 ^^ good point Fair, these bearings can be a challenge to confirm. what brand(s) have you been using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 +1 "using the turning direction" as a diagnosis doesn't work well on modern wheel bearings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Please steer away from cheaper parts, especially HBAS for these cars. The ABS tone ring is now integrated into the bearing and some of the cheaper ones don't have the proper tone ring inside. It can cause surging while the cruise control is set. Seen it a few times now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetpilotdc10 Posted September 29, 2015 Author Share Posted September 29, 2015 (edited) I just had new tires installed....according to the tire shop, its the left bearing. Is there ANY way to get the hub off without a puller? She's seized on there good! Ive been pounding with a hammer. Edited September 29, 2015 by jetpilotdc10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Uh huh. Soak it with penetrating oil, and get a bigger hammer. Does it have screws that thread in from the back side of the knuckle? Take one to the hardware store and match up the threads, buy two hex head bolts that are about an inch longer. Thread one in the top corner, one in the opposite bottom corner. Hit the heads of the new bolts with the hammer to help push the housing outward. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetpilotdc10 Posted September 29, 2015 Author Share Posted September 29, 2015 (edited) Uh huh. Soak it with penetrating oil, and get a bigger hammer. Does it have screws that thread in from the back side of the knuckle? Take one to the hardware store and match up the threads, buy two hex head bolts that are about an inch longer. Thread one in the top corner, one in the opposite bottom corner. Hit the heads of the new bolts with the hammer to help push the housing outward. Sorry, sometimes I forget to mention things that I think are obvious (or assumed to be done) such as the fact that it's been soaking with PB Blaster for 24 hrs, and that I'm using a sledge hammer. I tried threading longer bolts in from the rear, but without a hoist there's little room in there to hammer them. The hub seems to have moved about .5 mm, but doesn't seem to want to go any further. Edited September 29, 2015 by jetpilotdc10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetpilotdc10 Posted September 29, 2015 Author Share Posted September 29, 2015 Success!! Thanks for the help everyone! I used 2 nut/bolt combos and spread them between the knuckle and hub. That combined with some serious hammering (old hub is deformed) did the trick. And it was indeed the left wheel bearing as most of us suspected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Well, If it wasn't bad before... Is it now! Yeah I've had some hub assemblies just major stuck in the knuckle and the solution is almost always bigger hammer. I had a Honda hub stuck so bad I had to remove the knuckle from the car, prop it up on wood blocks and wail on it with a 5lb sledge hammer. Still took a dozen solid hits to get it to start moving. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY_Dave Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 On my '03 a front wheel bearing made noise the opposite of the usual diagnosis... they can be tricky. It was the left front that was bad, and it was quiet when it was on the outside of a turn (more heavily loaded). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now