sedond

hi all,

well, i had what i thought was the classic bad wheel bearing whine noise - it was on the driver's side front, noisy when going straight or turning right; goes away when turning left. so, it's the driver's side front wheel bearing, right? cuz turning left unloads it and it gets quiet? WRONG! i just got done replacing it, and the exact same noise is still present.

so what now? it doesn't seem to be what i have experienced w/cv joints, but is it possible? also, it's less noticeable when cruising 80mph - maybe it's just that the increased background ambient noise
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is making it less noticeable - it is still there. and, there's no vibration whatsoever; the car rides extremely smooth. (except the noise does seem to cause an interior trim piece to resonate sometimes.)

there's 177k on this box.

any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

thanks,

doug s.

sedond

i did some further investigation. i jacked the car up to check the cv axles. grabbing the axles induced no movement whatsoever at the inner or outer cv joints. but... when i grab the inner cv joints - both axles - there is distinct movement at the cv joints where they enter the transmission. does this mean my input shaft bearings are shot? or??? it's odd that the noise is only when going straight or turning right; turning left and the noise disappears. oh, and the noise is constant, on or off the gas, in neutral, in gear, clutch depressed, etc... i also checked the left rear bearing, just in case i have been deceived by where the noise is coming from, but that bearing is solid - no wheel movement whatsoever.

thanks,
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doug s.

RichBinAZ

I don't know how the gearbox and diff are on a manual, do they have separate oil reservoirs? How is the oil level?
A constant whine can be a sign of bearing failure.
Might be worth doing a gearbox and diff oil change and look for signs of debris.