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Left front noise -- Wheel bearing or CV joints?

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azureblue
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Left front noise -- Wheel bearing or CV joints?

Post by azureblue »

Originally I thought I had a L front bearing going out on me - noise that a friend described as "thrumming".. Rhythmic, and being louder when the car starts moving after sitting all night. But after maybe 10 minutes of driving, the sound quiets down a bit - still there but not so loud. There is no clunking sound on acceleration / deceleration. I also felt both wheel centers, thinking a bad bearing would make more heat, but both sides were equally warm, after a round of shopping.. I lifted the car and shook the wheel, and compared it to the R side and both sides were equally tight. I do not hear clicking at full lock, so I think that rules out the outer CV joint. I don't see a center support bearing on the Left side (US Driver) drive shaft, so I guess the only thing left is the inner CV joint.

I recall that bad wheel bearings will get louder as they heat up, and get noisier, but I would like to nail down which part is causing the noise - the Axle / CV joints, or the Wheel bearing.

Ideas?
Thanks
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Krons
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Post by Krons »

Best bet is to pull the shaft and check the bearing and CV joints for roughness.
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azureblue
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Post by azureblue »

I'm going to crawl under there and shake the shaft, too. Thanks...
Doesn't a going wheel bearing get louder from cold to road temp? This does the opposite..
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Krons
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Post by Krons »

azureblue wrote: 02 Jun 2024, 14:05 I'm going to crawl under there and shake the shaft, too. Thanks...
Doesn't a going wheel bearing get louder from cold to road temp? This does the opposite..
Others on here have noted they run them til they growl pretty loud. Not sure every failing bearing is the same. My kids 02 S60 had a gravel’ly feeling bearing when I was doing suspension work, but made no noise. Didn’t have the part in hand at that time and I think I ran it 20k more miles before I finally replaced it.
08 S602.5T/05 XC902.5T/02 S602.4T
08 C702.5T (sold)
05 S402.4i (RIP, timing belt failure)
The non-Swedes:
25 Mazda MX-5 / 17 Frontier Pro-4X / 17 Ford Focus
17 R1200GS / 15 Versys 1000 / 11 DR-Z400S / 07 R1200GSA

azureblue
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Post by azureblue »

Thanks.. Good to know.. My 740 went for a while with a bad front bearing, that, like you, I found when I was doing brakes...
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mtd240
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Post by mtd240 »

Sure it’s not the tire? Might get quieter as it warms up and softens.
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