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Front wheel bearing? Wah,Wah,Wah, sound?

13K views 11 replies 3 participants last post by  Nismou20 
#1 ·
Need your expert advice. I replaced a passenger side CV axle thinking it was going south cause of leaky split boot and WahWah sound. Guess I misdiagnosed problem, it still goes WahWah. Only thing I can think of is wheel bearing now. Is it absolutely necessary that I find a press for this or can it be done with regular shop tools. Should I plan on a visit to a Machine shop for this task? Please advise. Thanks, generation 1 2000 Rav.
 
#2 ·
Hmmmmm......expert advice.... I can help with advice; not sure about the expert part.:wink Wah-wah sound: could you be more specific? When do you hear it? Does it increase or change any with speed: faster, louder? Does it start at certain speeds? How are the struts? A worn strut can cause the tire at speeds to bounce up and down rather than holding it on the road. An unbalanced tire can do that as well, even with good struts. Are they factory struts? How many miles on your car? Does it pull to the right (passenger side where the noise is)? A bad CV joint sometimes doesn't make noise while driving; it's mostly when you turn and hear the clunk-clunk-clunk noise. It is REALLY worn if you hear it at speeds and is about to break and probably should not be on the road.:egad: A worn front bearing probably won't make a wah-wah noise either unless IT'S about to go and the car shouldn't be driven either. Those cars on the side of the road with a bare axle spindle probably had a bearing let loose: nothing good happens after that...... :eek: Do this: jack the car up getting that tire off the ground and turn it by hand. Any binding? The brakes will make a higher-pitched sort of scraping noise; a bearing will make what John Muir (of How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive....fame) would describe as a [lower pitched] "balsy rumble": great description. If the noise is from something binding, you should be able to detect it even with hand-rotated movement of the wheel. Good luck. Let us know.....
 
#3 ·
Front wheel bearing?

Thanks for reply. Driver notes the Wah, Wah, Wah sound started and got louder over time. Happens only when axles are turning. Audible during turns as well. Jacked car up taking weight off suspension and still does it. When I replaced the cv axle I noticed the 30mm nut practically came right off like it wasn't even torqued by PO. My theory is with loose nut, wheel might have been wobbling ever so slightly just enough that it compromised the wheel bearing. I'm going to take the knuckle off next to check bearing but just concerned if I need a press or special tool to do this. Hammer? Screwdriver? Please advise.

Could the slightly wobbling wheel if it was be off balance just enough to cause the sound? But the tire looks just normal without any visible wear or scalloping.
 
#4 ·
YIKES!:eek: on the loose nut! That is supposed to be hellishly tight. OK: with that new information, remove that nut again and take the drive shaft out of the brake/bearing complex and take a flashlight and look in at the SPLINES in the wheel part. They may have been trashed by the movement of the drive shaft in where it is supposed to fit tightly with a torque of 159 foot/pounds, ie, about as tight as one can torque it. Was the cotter key still in the shaft? The slight wobble of the wheel may be that the drive shaft is not fitting properly in that space. :wall Hmmmmmmm........... Did I mention yikes?
 
#5 ·
Wheel bearing?

That's what I'm thinking, when I removed the axle the cotter pin was there but nut was no where tight. But, my ultimate question still stands. Would I need to get to a press to get old one out if bad? Tap with hand tools ? I won't know till I get steering knuckle out. Has anyone done R/replace the bearing?
 
#6 ·
I have not replaced the bearing but I would doubt if that was the issue here. Check everything else first. You can check the bearing while things are apart. I have replaced a lot of bearings in other cars and other machines and most all can be tapped out and in by hand without a press; it just takes longer and solid placement/seating is essential. You can always take your parts to a machine shop and have them press the old one out and the new one in. Shouldn't cost much. I've had shops do it for nothing as I guess they admire your ability to do things yourself, just like they do at home.
 
#7 ·
:!:Oh: one more thing about the bearing: if it was the bearing making this loud of a noise, a noise you can hear in the car, it would have seized a LONG time ago as that would be a dry or severely damaged bearing that is out there taking front-line forces. Imagine the forces on that bearing. My vote: not the bearing. That and $2 will get you a coffee. A short coffee.....:D
 
#8 ·
A bearing will make a whirring noise, increasing in frequency as the vehicle speed increases.


Cupped tires will make a wap wap wap sound that also increases in frequency as the vehicle speed increases. Cupped tires can be verified visually by running your hand over the tread surface. Any dishes or divots are easily felt.


The spindle nut needs to be torqued the right amount. "hellishly tight" is probably too tight. Chances are the hub is also bad, so plan on replacing both. Dorman makes kits with the bearing and hub in one box. The bearing will need to be pressed out, and the new bearing pressed in. You will need a machine shop for that.
 
#9 ·
Torque for that nut: 159 foot/pounds in my torque tables, as I said in Post #4: maybe not "hellish" but darn tight. And way more than the "0" torque that the nut had when taken off the first time. My big-ass torque wrench goes up to 150, so just a little past that on the pointer.....
 
#10 ·
Thanks for the tips guys, but my suspicions came true. The wheel bearing was in fact the culprit. Upon spinning the hub after axle disassembly, I found it to have a dry sound to it. I took a slide hammer to it to remove the hub from knuckle and took to a local machine shop to have old bearing pressed out and new one pressed in. This is one of those few jobs that you need access to a shop press. Car rides smooth as a baby's ass now. The bearing cost me $30 and shop labor $40 so Still came out ahead of what a stealershop would charge. So wap wap wap can be bearing guys. Thanks for all the inputs.
 
#11 ·
Wow! Interesting! Who would have guessed? I'm glad you got it fixed and did it (mostly) yourself! And thanks for letting us know the outcome! That noise can also be a song by David Bowie;:wink

Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop

Don't let me hear you say life's taking you nowhere, angel
Come get up my baby
Look at that sky, life's begun
Nights are warm and the days are young
Come get up my baby
 
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