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HELP!! Road noise in rear end

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Old Aug 23, 2009 | 07:51 AM
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Default HELP!! Road noise in rear end

At speeds above 30 mph the noise that is coming from the back end of my car is so loud I can barely hear the radio at full volume! Anyone have any idea what could be causing this?? At first I thought it was a wheel bearing but after getting the car on jacks and taking the tires off the wheel bearings seem to be ok. I noticed that on both sides the drive shafts have wear marks from rubbing up against one of the sway bar links. What could be causing this?? And could that be the cause of the loud noise? Please help!
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Old Aug 23, 2009 | 10:15 AM
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How did you check the wheel bearings?
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Old Aug 23, 2009 | 10:31 AM
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2nd vote for wheel bearing, notorious on these vehicles. Ususally dont make any extra noise until about that speed. If there is noise while driving, and braking- usually wheel bearings...
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Old Aug 23, 2009 | 11:01 AM
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I remember back in the day when I bought my B5S4 the rear tires were near shot and it made SO much noise I thought there was no way it was anything other than wheel bearings or the rear diff going bad.

Replaced the tires and WALLA.

But yeah, probably a wheel bearing
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Old Aug 23, 2009 | 01:48 PM
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Try swerving right and left while driving 10-20mph. If its a wheel bearing the noise will change/go away when the loads push the bearing back together. If it doesn't change then it could be something else.

Not sure what to make about the wear marks on the half shafts, but if they're rubbing metal, that would make some noise as well. Either way, your half-shafts shouldn't be rubbing anything. You could always put some grease or duct tape over the mark to see if the noise changes, but I'd check the differential mounts to see if something is broke.
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Old Aug 23, 2009 | 04:44 PM
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My rear diff going bad is almost as silent as it always was.

Blown/leaking seal causing slow fluid loss for about the last 6+ months going un-noticed to me thinking the oil spot was from a previous renter at my new appartment.

I've also had really wierd sounds from one tire being underinflated. Sounded alot like a wheel bearing going out.
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Old Aug 25, 2009 | 02:23 PM
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Yes, When ever I'm going over 30 mph and turn left or right the noise goes away completly.. Is this is a good sign that it is bad wheel bearing?? If so anyone know a good place I can order them from??

Thanks
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Old Aug 25, 2009 | 05:36 PM
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That's odd. When my wheel bearing was going out, the noise only went away when I swerved one direction. For example, when the passenger rear wheel bearing went out, if I swerved left it would go silent. Swerving right made no difference in sound - maybe a little louder.

I suppose you could have both wheel bearings going out at the same time. For what its worth, it was $398 per wheel to have the dealer replace one wheel bearing. I really regret not buying a press from harbor freight as I ended up have the other side go out 2 months later - so bad that I had to have it towed to the dealer as I could actually rock the tire and wheel back and forth.
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Old Aug 25, 2009 | 06:05 PM
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I vote that both is definatlly a possibility. I also vote for DIY with a harbor freight press. Either being very careful or getting an alignment.
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Old Aug 26, 2009 | 06:33 AM
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Originally Posted by shawnoc2003
That's odd. When my wheel bearing was going out, the noise only went away when I swerved one direction. For example, when the passenger rear wheel bearing went out, if I swerved left it would go silent. Swerving right made no difference in sound - maybe a little louder.

I suppose you could have both wheel bearings going out at the same time. For what its worth, it was $398 per wheel to have the dealer replace one wheel bearing. I really regret not buying a press from harbor freight as I ended up have the other side go out 2 months later - so bad that I had to have it towed to the dealer as I could actually rock the tire and wheel back and forth.
Your car will only make noise out of the wheel bearing that is busted. If if there is only noise when swerving one direction it indicates that only one is busted and not the pair. Furthermore, you can determine which of the two wheel bearings is busted based on which wheel is loaded (outside wheel) when turning as the noise will be elicited by putting extra weight on it.
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