car hums all the time when it is moving. louder as you go faster. but it is 100% vehicle speed related. does not change tone or volume if you change gears or engine RPM. As I turn left, it quiets up, turning right makes it worse. noise definately sounds like it is in front of me

sounds like a drivers side front wheel bearing right???


well I replaced the drivers side front wheel bearing today and guess what, that aint it. noise is exactly the same. so now what? Anybody with any idea at all please help me out. I am loosing my mind with this because it is LOULD, and it sounds like it could just ******* explode at any time. Am I missing something obvious?

 

Do you feel the noise in your steering wheel (I know it sounds stupid but you know what I mean)?

 

Brake pads my friend, brake pads.

 

well not at first but it has gotten worse, and now there is a clear vibration that goes along with the noise. doesn't feel like a wheel out of balance though, and tire wear is totally even.

Brake pads???? How could brake pads be making this noise? They have plenty of material left on them, I just looked at them today. Maybe I'm not describing the noise correctly but I just can't imagine how pads could make this noise. it is lould, conversation interrupting lould. Axxis MM on X-drilled and slotted brembos. I'd be willing to put new pads on to get rid of this noise though. **** I'd sell my *** on the street to get rid of this noise. but just explain to me how pads could make this noise.

 

Easy way to eliminate your tires, rotate them. I bet there's a tire problem!! If so, the problem will move to the back. I'd put money on it.


[Modified by Gen4-5Door, 8:02 PM 9/16/2002]

 

Well, my car made the same noise when it needed new pads.

 

Brakes usually produce a high pitch squeel. What frequency is this noise you are hearing? Low pitch ~ hight pitch. Have you checked your CV joints? Are they dry?

 

low pitched hum.

both the inboard and outboard CV joints are dry and appear to be in good shape.

i rotated the tires, no luck there. but I guess that does mean I can rule out the tires and wheels right?

I'll probably do pads tomorrow, can't hurt.

somebody I work with suggested that it might be the differential...any thoughts on that??


[Modified by jweller, 3:57 AM 9/18/2002]

 

Is the sound rotation based? Meaning, the faster you go, the more frequent it is?

 

With all you described in the posts, I am willing to bet that the brakes, cv joints, and drive line are all ok. If thse were involved the pitch of the sound would be high. Ever blow across the moth of a soft drink bottle? It is low pitch. I am willing to bet you are getting a wind noise much like that from the bottle. Air flow across an opening or sometimes a mirror or even the open sunroof, an uneven door alignment. Sometimes a hard thing to find. You can get the same sound from a tie down strap on a bike or roof rack or many other things. A little duct tape over holes or areas can be used in your testing. I do not believe the brakes could make this sound. Good luck hunting!

 

yes but not more frequent, just LOULDER. sound is constantly present from about 30 mph up, but faster gets loulder, and maybe just a little bit higher pitched.

doesnt sound like wind noise either, at least none that I've ever heard. almost sounds like a grinding noise. although the coke bottle thing is a reasonably accurate description of the tone of the noise. I can't imagine what wind would be moving over to make that sound though. no body kit or anything like that, and no changes to the car correspond with the onset of the sound. couple that with the fact that it is getting worse over time, and I'm fairly certain that it isn't wind noise.

Having never actually heard what a bad wheel bearing sounds like, this meets all the descriptions I have ever read of it. but everything I've read also points to the drivers side front which I replaced. is it possible that it's the rear?

If I can get a hold of a way to record the sound I will, but that is a long shot.

Thanks to everyone who is trying to help me out

 

It's either your tires (mine hum) or your bearing. Most likely it is your bearing because you notice it on turns, and it gets really bad. I don't know why it would be doing that on a 4 year old car though. It doesn't make any sense to me.

 

Can you say CURB SHOT??

 

He said he replaced it.

 

Don't remember any bad curbings, but at this point I could honestly care less why. I just want it to stop

Actually, some jackass at a tire place x-threaded a couple of my wheel studs. if they werent replaced correctly, ie just pounded out on the car, that could have caused a wheel bearing to go bad. I paid Honda to do it though, becasue I wanted it done right.

Does anyone think it could be the passenger side front bearing making this noise? drivers side REAR?


[Modified by jweller, 9:48 AM 9/18/2002]


[Modified by jweller, 9:49 AM 9/18/2002]

 

check your tire inflation

 

When's the last time your wheels were removed?

 

Could be any of them. That noise seems to travel pretty easily in these cars. Have someone with experience ride with you to figure it out.

 

Kind of a long shot here, but it could possibly be power steering pump related. If it's low on fluid or has a leaking pressure hose, it would groan all the time, and more so in turns. Just an idea...

 

I was just gonna suggest this. Sounds plan funny game with your head. A number of weeks ago I heard this fucked up noise. THought it was the passenger side wheel bearing. Fortunately I had my brake conversion ready to go so I did both the front bearings at the same. Results: passenger side was fine. Driver's side was totally sdrewed up.

Best of luck.

 

I rotated them monday night. checked inflation too. Is there something I should look for behind the rim? I mean there is nothing obvious, like oil/grease where it shouldn't be.

 

go out to your car. and shake you wheel (when its sitting normally on the ground). if the bearing is bad you'll able to feel a little play in it.

 

I've seen a few bad intermediate shaft bearings lately that had the same symptoms. Raise the car up and run it in gear and listen to it with a stethescope or screwdriver. If it's as bad as you say, there will be no doubt. The ones i've seen were really crunchy.

 

Thanks for that idea i hadn't even thought of that piece. guess i know how I'm going to spend my friday night...laying on my back in the garage

 

Any chance a bad rear motor mount could cause this noise?

my rear motor mount seems to be bad. well I'm not sure cause I'm kinda a n00b to working on my car but there is a bracket that is bolted onto the mount that is broken off, and my header is broken at one of the mounting tabs, so it seems to make sense. no pics and hondaautomotiveparts is down so I cant really show what is broken. car does shudder sometimes, especially starting off.

And how much noise should the tranny make if you jack the wheels up and spin it in gear. like if you spin forwards and backward it makes a crunch noise between the direction change. but it's pretty much quiet otherwise. Iput my GFs car up for reference and it seemed to make the same noise. hers is a brand new spec-V so i figured that wear isn't an issue on it, but is is a LSD tranny, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

No noise from the intermediate shaft bearing, thanks anyway.