Here is what it looked like when I got it all apart last night....

 

Whoa!! NASTY!!

 

Just curious how could you tell your bearings were going out? I believe my drivers side front is starting to go bad but am not sure. At low speeds when driving by something really close for the sound to reflect off off, like a wall, I can hear a slight grinding sound. I assume its wheel bearings going bad.

 

It started as a mid-range whir (not a squeal)....as you increase your speed the sound gets louder and a bit higher, but not like metal to metal.

I thought it was just road noise because I needed new front tires. I got all new tires and the sound was still there.

It would go away when I turned the wheel around a corner, but came back when going straight ahead.

It got progressively louder and louder and more annoying.

 

If it's not your Transfer Case or the center driveshaft bearing causing the grinding, then I would next be thinking wheel bearings too.

To check them, I'd think you'd lift the vehicle on jack stands and rotate the wheels "feeling" them and listening for any chaffing sound. They could also start to get some play in them so check if there's movement vertically by pushing on the top while pulling on the bottom.

 

Yep....the shop that first diagnosed it said they put it on a lift and spun the wheel and listened closely....they could hear it when they did that.

 

definitely not pretty pictures. thanks for sharing

 

My brother is a mechanic and told me to check them that way. Or just cruise down a straight away and keep a constant speed of say 40 mph, then jerk the wheel side to side and listen for a change of tone. Thats how i found my GF's wheel bearings to be bad. After i bought new pads and rotors!! LOL. It really works.

Like you said when you turned it would go away. It just takes the load off. I may be due too ;(

 

To the OP or anyone here,

Did the sound, sound like a loud ticking from the wheels and while slowing down the "tick" started to repeat faster? If you took a turn it completely went away, correct?

Wondering if I should try to do this fix myself...

Thanks guys,

FabFive

 

Wheel bearing sounds often differ from car to car (or truck to truck). My experience was more of a rumble and/or metal to metal grind, but Gergs said his sounded like a whirring noise. Turning the wheel takes the stress off of them and thus the noise stops.

That ticking sound to me sounds perhaps more like a CV joint's needle bearings going bad...they too will sometimes stop when the wheel it turned.

I would lift the car and rotate the wheels to try and emulate the noise and then listen closely for what area it's actually coming from.

Sometimes, it can even be a set of disc brake pads moving within the caliper that creates a click if the rotors are perfectly true.