Bad bearing noise
 

Hi, I've got a 2000 TL with 130,000 miles on it. I'm hearing what I think is a bearing problem. There's a definite Whu Whu sound coming from the wheels and it gets louder on corners. I've jacked up the car and checked for signs of bad bearings but there's nothing obvious. I'm not an experienced mechanic and I'm wondering if the noise might be caused by some other commen problem. any help would be appreciated.

Bad wheel bearings are fairly common at your mileage. You can jack up the rear wheels and spin them by hand, one at a time. You'll typically hear the bad one and sometimes feel it if you hold your hand on the car. The fronts are best diagnosed by running on a hoist and listening with a stethoscope.

Can you isolate the sound from the front or rear? There isnt any tell tale signs you can visually look for. Wih a bearing you can usually figure out what side its on by driving the car at a speed where you start to hear it and start turning right or left. When the soung goes away from the direction you turn and gets louder or stays the same in the when turning the other direction that is the side that needs to be replaced.

Also tires can make similar noise as a bad bearing. What shape are your tires in.