Whining/Rumbling Noise. Worried.

[LewisLeon]

Hi everyone, Hope your easter has been good.
Wondering if I could get some advice.

For the past month or so there's been a sort of whining-mixed-with-rumbling noise coming from the front end of my car. I guess the best way to describe it would be like when you ride a mountain bike/BMX with knobbly tyres over a really smooth surface at around 25-40mph ish. It gets louder and more high pitched as speed increases, also seems to quieten down a bit when turning left. This is especially noticeable on the motorway when pulling in to an inside lane...

My old man seems to think it could be differential related (ouch...)
However, I'm inclined to maybe point a finger at a wheel bearing. Thing is, the sound came on pretty suddenly, whereas I guess a wheel bearing would maybe be a lot more progressive.

I'm going to get it checked out this week, but if anyone has had any similar issues (I did a quick search, couldn't find anything) and knows what's causing it then that would be brilliant - would give me a place to start.

Thanks a lot, hoping it won't eat too far into my remap fund

 

[Berg]

I have the same issue and its wheel bearing
I just drove my car somewhere and on my way home it started doing it, so it was also pretty sudden

Jack the car up and check for any play

 

[Slimy]

It's a lot more likely to be a wheel bearing than a failed diff!

As a guide, a diff does very little in a straight line, the whole mechanism just turns at the speed of the road wheels. It comes into play when you start turning, then all the internals start 'doing their thing' to allow the car to turn. So if anything it would actually get noisier as you turned.

I'd completely agree with Berg, head for your wheel bearings. You might not be able to detect any play in them, but I'm 99% sure you'll be getting one replaced soon. They're not that expensive, and they're even cheaper if you're able to do them yourself.

 

[jaypee]

I had some horrible noises which sound similar to yours, mine was from a knackered driveshaft. From the sounds of it tho, I'd agree with above, most likely the bearing

 

[LewisLeon]

Thanks loads for your help
I thought a diff problem sounded a bit over the top to be honest.

I'll probably be looking to get it booked in soonish, I simply don't have the tools/patience to have a crack at it myself. Could do with some new disks/pads on the front anyways...

Thanks for the help guys, I'll update this once I've had a bearing changed - on second thoughts, both of them.

 

[LewisLeon]

Got my car back earlier, changing the wheel bearings seems to have cured it.

Thanks for the help and advice guys, it's much appreciated.

As an aside, how bad are brand new brakes?!

 

[Baldie]

i know its a strange question, how long do you recon you can drive with the bearing just starting to make a slight noise?

 

[LewisLeon]

I genuinely wouldn't be able to say. However, I did manage to find this from carjunky.com...

''The first symptom of wheel bearing trouble is noise. There is usually a rumbling, growling, chirping or cyclic noise of some kind that will come from the vicinity of the wheels.

This is a good indication that trouble is now brewing and therefore immediate attention is needed. If you ignore a noisy wheel bearing it could suddenly fail. This could be fatal as the vehicle could lose a wheel while driving.''

I did around 1,000 miles with bearings making noise, didnt seem to get much, if any, worse. Just the noise was doing my head in!

 

[jaypee]

i had an old escort that had a noisy wheel bearing and i never changed it the whole time i had it, only time it annoyed me was on the motorway. If it's just started getting noisy you have probably got some time before it goes... but safety comes first!!! RIP escort (

 

[Slimy]

I've done about 15,000 miles on my 'supposed' dodgy wheel bearing, which kind of suggests it's not a wheel bearing at all. In all that time, it occasionally seems to get worse, then it'll improve, then when it's raining it's really awful, and when I'm razzing it on the country roads it's silent...

Then again, my Cavalier went from 'fine' to 'welded hub and bearing' in 200 yards on the M54. I didn't get any warning, just a bang and a dramatic braking effect. I pulled over, saw the wheel glowing, and just about managed to limp home on what was essentially metal on metal. By the time everything cooled down, it was just one single lump of metal, so I had to replace the bearing, the hub, and a fair few other bits.