Wheel bearing noise.

I have a noise just like a bad wheel bearing. It sounds like it's coming from the left front but the inner and outer front bearings are new and so are the upper and lower ball joints. Could it be coming from the rear? I can detect nothing unusual from the rear with a stethoscope when the rear is off the ground, engine running, trans in various gears 1 thru 5 and wheels spinning. I am thinking of letting someone change the rear wheel bearings as I don't feel like getting into it myself. Any ideas? The noise is definitely related to wheel rotation.

 

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Hello and welcome to the forum! You didn't state if 2WD or 4WD / automatic or manual trans. I would check for noise in the trans and in the case of it being 4WD, the front differential and half shafts.

 

Thanks for the post and sorry I skipped the pertinent info. The truck is 2WD with 5 speed manual tranny and a 4 banger and I get 30 mpg.

 

Well, with it being 2WD, that rules out half shaft or front diff. One thing I would do is jack up that left front wheel off the ground and spin it. Could possibly be something with the brake on that wheel or in the ABS.

 

So far I have replaced the inner and outer front wheel bearings on the L and R, upper and lower ball joints L and R, replaced swaybar bushings, jacked up the rear end so both wheels are off the ground and put the car in several different gears with the engine running and listened to all bearings (front, rear, differential) with a stethoscope and found nothing. So I am suspecting a rear wheel bearing that only makes the noise when the car is on the ground so there is weight on the wheels. I thought I might tackle the rear wheel bearings but I really don't want to get into it. They aren't leaking any fluid and the diff fluid is full. The noise has been there since the car passed 80,000 miles and it now has 161,000 on it. The noise used to be stopped by rotating the tires but that doesn't work anymore and new tires at 100,000 did not change anything. I can't think of anything else to do so I might let a shop change the rear wheel bearings as I see on YouTube that it's a fairly easy job and might cost about $300 or so. What do you think? I certainly appreciate any help.

 

I was a professional auto mechanic back in the 1970s and early 1980s (moved on to better? things) but I still do my own repair work. I have never seen a rear wheel bearing that made noise only when the vehicle was on the ground. A bad bearing will still make some noise (although louder with a load on it for sure). According to your last post, this has been making noise for 80,000 miles. A bad wheel bearing would most likely shelled itself long before now, in my opinion. However, I guess anything is possible!

 

I guess I’ll just keep an eye on it for a while and see if it becomes more obvious over the next 80K miles. Many thanks for your thoughts.

 

Well, it has gone this many miles, so other than a nuisance noise, it may go on forever! Good luck to you!

 

I'm thinking you're right! Later.

 

My dad is having the exact problem with his 02' Explorer. He has changed everything we can possibly think of, yet there's still the constant growling sound. His seems to be coming more from the passenger side. Good luck with your problem. Maybe one day we'll all get it figured out

 

I guess I'm glad to hear it isn't just me. The Rangers and Explorers are built on the same frame, I think, so maybe I'll check an Explorer forum and see if anyone else has the prob your dad and I have. Thanks for checking in. I appreciate the support.