[RESOLVED] "roaring" noise from front tires

[dsm9]

while drivig down the street there is a very loud roaring noise coming from one or both wheels. i know for sure it is coming from the drivers side
when i jack the car up i can shake the wheels a little bit so im guessing its the wheel bearings.

now when i turn the car right or let go of the wheel and it pulls right(i need it aligned) the roaring stops.

so does anyone think this could simply be from needing an alignment?
and how hard is it to replace the wheel bearings?

Thanks
BM

 

[94_eclipse]

I think its both the alignment and wheel bearing thats causing the problem. Fix both and i think youll be set. I havnt had to replace a front wheel bearing yet so i cant help ya there.

 

[style619s]

the toe is out and get you bearing re packed and also since its shacking side to side it also might be ball joint

just ask some one to shack the wheel side to side and up and down and check the tie rods ball joints and get the bearing re pack

 

[Boznogel247]

The EXACT thing happens to me. Ever since I had new tires put on it makes a "roaring" noise and when i turn to the right it stops. Anybody know how much it costs about to get the bearing re-packed/replaced?

 

[housegsx]

Sounds like a wheel bearing to me. The bearings are the sealed variety, you cannot simply repack them. Buy a new one.

 

[Muzda]

^^^ What he said. Its best to replace them at the same time so you won't have to worry about the other one going bad in a few months and having to do it all again. It'll probably be a little cheaper at a shop if you do them both at the same time, they tend to cut you a little bit of a deal.

 

[wrknmike924]

I had the same problem on my 96 a while ago. Replaced both front wheel bearings and it went away. My 96 was a northern car tho and was very difficult to get those wheel bearings out. Also if you do them yourself make shure you tighten those things down tight. Made the mistake of that once and had to replace it again after a few hundred miles.

 

[skemp45]

to me it sounds like both if you know for sure its comeing from the drivers side and you turn to the left and dont hear it anymore its because you are takeing the load off the wheel bearing.

 

[trinityblood]

From my point of view, its probably 2 main reason this thing happen,
1st-check you alignment,toe and camber.,tyre uneven can cause the sound too.
2nd-knuckle bearing is out need replace,if the bearing is broke it deffenitly making loud noise.
cheers..

 

[DJ23GSX]

Have you fixed this yet? I'm getting a similar noise in my dsm as well.

 

[chiuchimu]

Before replacing the bearings which will take time and cost money, do a few things.

first, look at front tires, are they worn in a scale like way or saw blade like. Is the inner part of the tire worn more than the outer part? Scales come from too much toe-in and will make roaring noise as tire ages. Inner wear means too much camber and too much camber creates a toe-in condition also. Hard to explain why but that's the way suspensions are designed.

Second, take the front wheels off. and turn the axles on at a time. If you hear a lot of noise or it doesn't turn smooth, then the bearing might be worn, If its quiet and smooth, your bearings are fine.

 

[Zardoz]

Second, take the front wheels off. and turn the axles on at a time. If you hear a lot of noise or it doesn't turn smooth, then the bearing might be worn, If its quiet and smooth, your bearings are fine.

That's not necessarily true. Without the load of the car riding on the bearings it can often be smooth and quiet when turned by hand.

The description here sounds like it was taken straight out of an ASE training manual on bad wheel bearings. Now I'm gonna have to go dig up my ASE books...I'll bet it's verbatim....

 

[Doug99RS]

Wheel bearings can exhibit failure in a number of ways. They can squeek/chirp, create a roaring noise when loaded side to side, or simply cause some steering changes while you're driving.

Most of the time you can isolate a wheel bearing noise FROM a tire noise two ways. First is to feel the tires. If you feel any abnormality as if there's a snake in the between the layers of tire then you probably have a broken belt. Also running your hand clockwise and then counter-clockwise may cause the tire to cut in to your hand in one direction but is smooth in the other. This is caused by toe or balancing issues combined with lack of rotation.

The second way to check a wheel bearing is to drive it in a zig-zag method. Make sure you have at least two lanes to work with, smooth road, no traffic and the car is at least safe to drive up to 50mph. In smooth sweeping motions go back and forth loading and unloading suspension. If the noise is more pronounced in one direction and near quiet in the next you can bet it's a wheel bearing. If you're not sure, note the direction required to make the noise and swap tires from side to side and repeat. If the noise changes sides then it's tires. If it didn't, it's wheel bearing.

Another way to check a wheel bearing involves raising the car up. Now, this way is not always a sure bet because as mentioned, sometimes the load of the vehicle is what's needed to exhibit the problem. But if you grab the wheel (wheel/tire assembly, not steering wheel) at the 12 and 6 position and try and push and pull it you may find play in it. This would be an indication of a bad wheel bearing. Also, grabbing at the 3 and 9 position should show the same type of movement on a bad bearing BUT it could also be steering linkages (inner/outer tie rod ends on the DSM).

One confusing thing about wheel bearings. If you can't feel the problem off the ground and the noise only exhibits itself while driving then be careful as to which bearing you condemn. They VERY FREQUENTLY sound like one side when it's actually the opposite. Be absolutely certain that you diagnose the correct side unless you like replacing perfectly good parts.

There's several different terms out there involving tire wear with feathering and cupping being the two biggest. The cause is kind of mute once you understand two important things about tire wear. First is it's not going to stop once it starts you can only slow it at best after balancing, rotating, aligning or all of the above. The second thing is that when you put on tires it's best to replace all four for AWD/4wd vehicles, in pairs (front or rear) if you can't afford all four AND it's FWD or RWD and it's best to put the new tires on the front unless you're trying to fight some wear issues showing on the rear like a worn center section. But regardless of how many you replace it's important to do an alignment with new tires and then about every year to year and a half after that. Components move and settings do not stay the same. The more you drive it, the harder you drive it, and especially if you race it things do not stay in the same spot.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-suspension-brakes/144245-tire-wear-explained-1g-2g.html
The thread is pretty old and some information may be a little skewed but all in all it's a decent enough post to get a handle on things.
Doug

 

[Doubleot]

Wow! I had the same problem, It's definetly the wheel bearing and i'm pretty sure you need an alignment. I did the wheel bearing myself, and unfortunately the wheel hub was all seized onto the cv axle so I had to replace all of it.... Cost me quite a bit o change so watch out and get one with warrenty for the price

 

[dsm9]

damn havent been on here in a while....
replaced the wheel bearing a few months ago and all has been good!

 

[Doubleot]

damn havent been on here in a while....
replaced the wheel bearing a few months ago and all has been good!

Good Job

 

[2slow4utsi]

Definitely a wheel bearing. We get them all the time at my dealership. Always says on the repair order "roaring noise" . It's funny that everyone describes it as a roar. That's DEF the problem bro. Usually you can't replace just the bearing so you have to get the hub assembly (especially if it's ABS).

-Danny