Question is on wifes 99 maxima. Car has always been noise free, very quiet. Lately, last couple of weeks, have like a roaring sound from front. Kinda like when you have new tires that are not really as quiet as you think they should be. I rotated tires thinking I might have one going bad, didn't help. Installed new brake pads on front, no change. Sound is louder at faster speeds, but is noticable at slower speeds also. Hard to explain a sound in newsgroup, but was hoping someone could tell me what to check for next. Does wheel bearing make a roaring type sound when going bad. Sounds more to me like right side than left. Recently replaced rear pads and calibers which shouldn't have anything to do with it, cause sound is from front. Any info and help would be appreciated. Thanks.
noise
May 28, 2005
3 Replies
If it is the constant velocity joints that drive the front wheels, it might make sense that the right one has gone bad before the left one. I just read an article in Popular Mechanics on these bearings and it stated that in America, where we drive on the right side of the road, our right turns are generally tighter than left turns and so the bearings wear faster on the right side. Hmm... Good luck, Ed
Yes and ussually will get louder or softer as you turn left and right, but not always.
It's VERY easy to guess the wrong side on a FWD car. We use a tool that has small microphones you clip onto each upright to tell which side is the problem as many times the noise disappears when you jack the car up (no load on the bearing).
Actually, I find it quite easy to tell which bearing is going bad. Don't listen for change in volume, listen for a change in frequency when in a turn. If you're making a right turn, radio off, windows closed etc, any humming sound will go up in tone if the right bearing is bad. Same thing applies to the left side in a left turn.
CD
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