Hey guys I am close to having my left front wheel bearing replaced, but I am not sure it is what is causing my problem. Here is the situation. After I drive my car hard for 10mins or so hitting WOT once or twice OR when I take a long drive 25mins plus and slow down for a light or a turn I hear a swooshing whistling type sound and it seems to be coming from my left front wheel. I only hear it around 20-25mph and lower when I am braking and even when I am not. It seems a little louder when I am braking softly, when I brake hard I don't hear it. I have had this problem for about 8-10 months now and when it started I relaced front and rear rotors and pads, but the sound never went away so I figured it was a wheel bearing. When it started getting cold here it wasn't as bas, but still there a little after a long drive. Now it is coming back more and more as I drive. There is no grinding or clunking sounds at all just a humming whistling swooshing sound. When I accelerate hard it goes away completely. I only hear it when I am going slowly ecspecially near buildings and rows of cars around me like in a parking lot. It sounds like crap. I am concerned it could be a wheel bearing and don't want my wheel to fall off, can anyone shed some light as to what it could possibly be?

 

come on somebody must have some advice or idea what's wrong. please help me out guys.

 

Drive the car around untill you here the sound again then lift the front of the car off the ground . Turn the tires and listen for any grinding etc. Then on the side you suspect you have a bad wheel bearing, place one hand on top of the tire and one hand on the bottom. Then use a pull push <-- --> movement to see if there is a lot of free play.

Do the same for the other side and compare.

 

I have done that before and there didn't seem to be much movement at all. BTW the sound gets louder as I brake, but when I take my foot off the brake the sound is still there while I am coasting, when I accelerate it goes away. Any idea what else could be causing this noise?

 

There is a metal shield behind the rotor. Make sure that it is not rubbing against the rotor. Take a long screwdriver and push it back away from the rotor all the way around. Other then that check the brakes and verify that the pads are not the problem.

 

so do you think it wouldn't be the wheel bearing based on the info I have provided?

 

It could very likely be the bearing. The only thing in your description that makes me question my diagnosis is the "woosh" sound. If your bearing is begining to show signs of wear, there are several key symptoms. The wheel will emit a constant humming / rubbing / grinding noise that really wont ever completely go away, no matter what speed your going. In fact, the pitch of the sound should increase or decrease as you change speed. Just guessing, but the reason that you probably aren't hearing it at certain speeds is because as you drive, ambient noise like the engine or wind noise can overpower the sound that the bearings are making.

The other way to check if it is a bearing is to find yourself a large parking lot away from any vehicles or objects and find the best speed where the noise is the most noticeable. Once you find that speed, swerve suddenly and sharply in one direction in order to transfer weight off of the wheel in question (unfortunately this works best for diagnosing REAR bearing failure, but can also work for front as well). If the sound goes away as you perform this manuver, then it is definitely your bearings.

Not to worry though, because replacing your bearings isn't that tough of a job if you are know enough about a car to change a tire. (ok,.. so maybe it's a little more complicated,.. but not by much). Let's put it this way,.. you can do it in under an hour if you are prepared for the job and it should only cost you about $35 for the part. Just ask around or do a search. Plenty of people have done it and there are more than enough people on here that are willing to walk you through the steps.

 

thanks bro, great advice. It is my wheel bearing then because I have done what you suggested before and the noise goes away with a sudden turn.