What does a failed wheel bearing sound like?

I've got a 2002 Impreza WRX (70K miles) and when making sweeping left
turns I hear a grinding type noise coming from the front right
(passenger) side tire. I actually thought it might be the brakes
because the sound reminded me of what it sounds like when your brakes
get very worn and the rotors start to get damaged - but I got four new
brakes (the car has 70K miles so I needed that anyway) but the sound
did not go away.

I'd like to diagnose the problem before going to a mechanic as they
tend to be poor diagnosticians (imho). BTW, any other thoughts on what
the problem might be or whether this job is best done by the dealer or
a good corner mechanic?

thanks -

jkosmi...@gmail.com wrote:
> What does a failed wheel bearing sound like?
>
> I've got a 2002 Impreza WRX (70K miles) and when making sweeping left
> turns I hear a grinding type noise coming from the front right
> (passenger) side tire. I actually thought it might be the brakes
> because the sound reminded me of what it sounds like when your brakes
> get very worn and the rotors start to get damaged - but I got four new
> brakes (the car has 70K miles so I needed that anyway) but the sound
> did not go away.
>
> I'd like to diagnose the problem before going to a mechanic as they
> tend to be poor diagnosticians (imho). BTW, any other thoughts on what
> the problem might be or whether this job is best done by the dealer or
> a good corner mechanic?
>
> thanks -

A bad wheel bearing will sound like low pitched, deep grinding/roaring.
If it's high pitched (like a squeal), it's probably something else. The
sound usually increases with speed and load on the wheel. So in your
case, when you make a left turn, it places more load on your right side
and thus makes the bearing be more noisy.

Another way to check for a bad bearing is to grab the wheel and shake
it. You have to shake it kind of hard, and if the bearing is indeed bad
you will hear a *clank* *clank* type sound. You should also shake the
other wheels to compare... the bad one will have a bit more movement.

This is a kind of a PITA to do... especially if you have some miles in
the salt on your car (i.e. rust).

Refer to this and links posted in it for more info --
http://rs.pmgz.net/?page_id=17

Probably a worn CV joint, they usually make very pronounced sounds
either accelerating or during turns.


jkosmides@gmail.com wrote:
> What does a failed wheel bearing sound like?
>
> I've got a 2002 Impreza WRX (70K miles) and when making sweeping left
> turns I hear a grinding type noise coming from the front right
> (passenger) side tire. I actually thought it might be the brakes
> because the sound reminded me of what it sounds like when your brakes
> get very worn and the rotors start to get damaged - but I got four new
> brakes (the car has 70K miles so I needed that anyway) but the sound
> did not go away.
>
> I'd like to diagnose the problem before going to a mechanic as they
> tend to be poor diagnosticians (imho). BTW, any other thoughts on what
> the problem might be or whether this job is best done by the dealer or
> a good corner mechanic?
>
> thanks -

jkosmides@gmail.com wrote:
> What does a failed wheel bearing sound like?

I just had that problem on one of my back wheels, a 2000 OBW. Initially
I thought it was my muffler going because it sort of sounded like a dull
roar. I took it to the dealer and they discovered it wasn't the muffler
but my rear wheel bearing. It seems to be a very fooling sound, because
it sounds like so many other things. It may even sound like the sound
snow tires make on dry pavement.

Yousuf Khan

I had a CV joint go bad on one of my Subaru's and it had the same
symptoms you just described. The CV went bad because the boot got
torn and salt and slush seeped into the joint.

AJ

On 12 Aug 2006 16:58:52 -0700, jkosmides@gmail.com wrote:

>What does a failed wheel bearing sound like?
>
>I've got a 2002 Impreza WRX (70K miles) and when making sweeping left
>turns I hear a grinding type noise coming from the front right
>(passenger) side tire. I actually thought it might be the brakes
>because the sound reminded me of what it sounds like when your brakes
>get very worn and the rotors start to get damaged - but I got four new
>brakes (the car has 70K miles so I needed that anyway) but the sound
>did not go away.
>
>I'd like to diagnose the problem before going to a mechanic as they
>tend to be poor diagnosticians (imho). BTW, any other thoughts on what
>the problem might be or whether this job is best done by the dealer or
>a good corner mechanic?
>
>thanks -

jkosmides@gmail.com wrote:

> What does a failed wheel bearing sound like?
>
> I've got a 2002 Impreza WRX (70K miles) and when making sweeping left
> turns I hear a grinding type noise coming from the front right
> (passenger) side tire. I actually thought it might be the brakes
> because the sound reminded me of what it sounds like when your brakes
> get very worn and the rotors start to get damaged - but I got four new
> brakes (the car has 70K miles so I needed that anyway) but the sound
> did not go away.
>
> I'd like to diagnose the problem before going to a mechanic as they
> tend to be poor diagnosticians (imho). BTW, any other thoughts on what
> the problem might be or whether this job is best done by the dealer or
> a good corner mechanic?
>
> thanks -

In my old 2002 WRX, there is a dust shield that rides *very* close to the
rest of the wheel. It would get bent just looking at it cross-eyed, and it
had to be bent back out about four or five times. I would describe the
sound it made identically to the sound you made.

It was completely harmless in my case. I hope that it's the same problem
you're seeing. It was a big relief when I found out what was going on with
it.

I also had a wheel bearing fail on me and the noise was completely
different. In fact, I would say that it was more like road noise in that
case, accompanied with a definite vibration. Driving up the Oregon coast
with it I didn't even notice that there was something different, and it
took some nice clean, smooth pavement just to realise something was wrong.
(The Oregon coast roads are rough, but give tremendous traction. GREAT ride
in a WRX.)

jkosmides@gmail.com wrote:
> >
> > Another way to check for a bad bearing is to grab the wheel and shake
> > it. You have to shake it kind of hard, and if the bearing is indeed bad
> > you will hear a *clank* *clank* type sound. You should also shake the
> > other wheels to compare... the bad one will have a bit more movement.
> >
>
> I jacked up my front end and shook both tires very hard and honestly
> did not hear anything or feel anything different or unusual. In other
> words, it did not make the clank clank sound you mentioned. Here's
> some more detail on the problem:
>
> First, there are no noises or sounds coming from any tire when driving
> straight at any speed. Only the front right wheel produces a noise
> when making a sweeping left turn (the type that loads up the right side
> of the car). The noise is a low pitched metal on metal type grinding
> sound.
>
> Since some people mention they hear the wheel bearing sound most (all)
> the time could it be that the bearing is just starting to go and isn't
> completely bad yet? Also, someone mentioned it sounded like the CV
> (don't know what that is...) but is there a "test" I could do to try to
> confirm this?
>
> Thanks again!

A few possibilities I see here:
(1) It might be the wheel bearing in the beginning stages of going bad.
The only diagnostics for wheel bearings that I know of are the sound
and shaking the wheel... which have been covered already.

(2) Might be a bad CV joint. I have no experience with these in
Subaru's, but the two symptoms of a bad CV joint I know in general are
- worn/leaking boots and pulling to one side during acceleration.

(3) Might be something else... like the brakes rubbing in some way.

I agree on the wheel bearing description in that it does not make a
very pronounced sound. I had just put new tires on my car and was
convinced that it was just tire noise that I wasn't used to. I drove
about 15,000kms on them and the noise just kept getting louder and
louder. It was both rear bearings.

When my CV joints went on my old Honda, it was a clicking sound only
heard when turning. Didn't matter what direction the turn was, and the
speed of the clicking changed with the car speed. I drove a long time
on them before getting them replaced.

It would be a hard thing to check without taking the wheels apart,
unless your CV boots are torn. Those are the rubber accordion-style
boots at the transition between the inside of the wheel and the drive
axle. There's another boot on the engine-end of that same axle. Check
the inside creases of the rubber boots for cracks. You might be able
to check at least the outside boot by just turning the wheel all the
way, otherwise you have to jack the car up.

If you're lucky it's just a shield that someone else mentioned.

jkosmides@gmail.com wrote:

> Since some people mention they hear the wheel bearing sound most (all)
> the time could it be that the bearing is just starting to go and isn't
> completely bad yet? Also, someone mentioned it sounded like the CV
> (don't know what that is...) but is there a "test" I could do to try to
> confirm this?
>
> Thanks again!

"Chicobiker" <chicobiker@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1155587870.685873.194860@75g2000cwc.googlegro ups.com...

> I drove a long time on them before getting them replaced.

My '00 Impreza rear wheel bearings started deteriorating at
only 15k miles.

First, for about 1000 miles a very low frequency hum was
audible, nothing really worrisome. Then it slowly became
louder over about 300-500 miles. Finally it turned into a
grinding type noise, but only at very low speeds 10-20mph.
At higher speeds it would revert to a progressively louder
hum.

I took it to the dealership for service at this point as it was
becoming too dangerous to drive.

M.J.

>
> In my old 2002 WRX, there is a dust shield that rides *very* close to the
> rest of the wheel. It would get bent just looking at it cross-eyed, and it
> had to be bent back out about four or five times. I would describe the
> sound it made identically to the sound you made.
>
Hey, I like this suggestion and I'll take a look when I get a few
minutes. But question - am I looking for this dust shield on the
inside of the wheel. To see and correct this (on my front right tire),
should I park with the tires turn full right and then can I look and
reach in to see and fix this. Or do I remove the tire and reach
around. Just get me pointed in the right direction so I know where I'm
looking. Thanks!