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My rear wheel bearings had been thrumming for the last 6 months or so, getting progressively worse. Finally I broke down and ordered a set, and installed them last night. It was about a 3 hour job because I had to transfer the ABS gears to the new hubs (since non-abs hubs are much cheaper).

What a difference.

The car feels like it's floating, now. Everything seems effortless. And it's so quiet it's eerie. Between that and my new shift linkage, it feels like a brand new car!

In fact I can hear a couple new creaks that I hadn't noticed before because the wheel bearings were making so much noise.

If yours are original, I highly recommend changing them. In all it was about $100 shipped, plus 3 hours of time. If you're transferring the ABS gear you'll need a gear puller, and a press will definitely make things simpler. I used 2 strut spring compressors (one on each side) and it took about 15-20 minutes per hub.

One of the most cost effective upgrades/repairs I've ever done.

Amen, Amen!

It's like putting butter on your crot.... You know what, it's just quiet. Let's leave it like that.

You spelled "Kraut" wrong.

what kind of noise was it

Its like a brake squeel almost.

To check your bearings..

Jack up the car..

Check for vertical play in your wheel, turn it, check again, turn it.. check again, until the wheel is check 360 degrees.

If you have play, change the bearing.

They have to be machine pressed in and out.

I didnt machine press mine, a shop hammered them in with ome sort of weird contraption they had... kinda like a tube on top of the bearing.


Do you need to press the rear ones too I assume?

Lets say this.. they SHOULD be pressed in

Sorry Hector, I've never taken the rears apart or had to replace them.

You only need to press the front ones in. The rears come as a complete unit you bolt on; just need to pull the caliper and remove the 32mm nut.

However, if you choose to go with non-abs hubs and you want ABS, you'll need to transfer the ABS gear. You can do it with a simple gear puller (no press) but it is a pain.

Also the shound isn't really like a brake squeal (at least for me) but more like a rumble or thrumming. It almost sounds kinda like using studded tires on pavement.

I'm getting a sound like you describe, but it increases when I turn (either direction). Do you think it's the same thing? I'll check for bearing play this weekend either way.

Volones, if the sound is only when you turn, it's prob. your axle CV Joints! I'd look into fixing this ASAP, otherwise you could sieze one and itl make it harder to get out, mmore expensive to repair, and could leave you stranded!

The sound is a constant, not a repetitious click or stutter. It's a "wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" that changes in pitch as you put weight on one side or the either (which changes from woooooo, to Mrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr or something similar during heavy cornering on the bad bearing. Yay for SuperK sound effects!)

That definitely sounds more like wheel bearings. Does it get louder at high speed as well?

Unfortunately if they're on the front, you'll need to have new ones pressed in (unless you have a bearing press).

onlytrueromeo, it's definitely not the traditional CV axle clicking sound. What I'm hearing can be better described as a...
RuumRuumRuumRuumRuum
This sound varies in tone with speed so as I accelerate it sounds like this...
RuuumRuuumRuuumRuumRuumRuumRumRumRumRumRmRmRmRmRm
When I go around corners like interstate on ramps or 30mph corners (i LOVE 30mph corners btw), or similar sweeping curves, the sound gets louder like this...
RuumRuumRuumRumRumRumRmRmRmRmRmRmRmRmRmRmRmRmRmRm
I hope that makes sense, I was inspired by SuperK

Could definitely be wheel bearings, but could be a couple other things too.

Check to see if anything is rubbing - when's the last time you checked to see how your springs were doing? My friends car made a rubbing noise and he had a broken spring pressing against his wheel.

I've also heard that when bushings go really bad or an endlink is broken it will throw the position of the wheel in question out of wack, and could make it rub against something.

Goodluck! Best thing to do is to identify where exactly the noise is coming from on the car, and from what side, keep trying to narrow it down!

And not to inject some horrifying nightmare scenarios but .... have you checked your transmission oil level recently? The CV shafts are always spinning at front-wheel-speed, so if your tranny bearings are shot (ie. differential.. would change around turns) that might also make that kind of sound. I'm not sure on that though.

Probably just the wheel bearings, or yeah - maybe a spring rubbing the tire.