My 97 GL wagon has developed a bad rumbling/howl that is road speed realted, and is road speed related. My mechanic has me convinced that it is a bad front wheel bearing. Any way to diagnose which one it is? It SOUNDS like its the left front, but I 'm not sure. Any way to tell for sure with the car on a lift W/O tearing into the hub assembly? I'd hate to pick the wrong one, since Ford, in its apparent crusade to make simple repairs insanely expensive, specs a bearing/hub sleeve repair part that runs big bucks. Is it possible to replace just the bearing in the existing hub sleeve assembly? I'm thinking it will be hard to find the bad bearing by spinning the wheels on a lift since the bearing will be unloaded and because of the FWD.
Chris Bowne Stonington CT