Hey guys,

so far you have all been pretty helpful in helping with my DD i have yet another diagnostic question. There is a humming, high pitched coming from the front drivers side (left) corner. it gets higher in pitch and volume untill about 35-40mph and then sometimes it goes away and sometimes when its warm out or the car has been driven for more than about 20 mins i can hear it at higher speeds. its a high pitched..."woooooooooooooooooooooooooo"

question, ive heard wheel bearings go bad before but those always sound like a grinding as if the bearing is chopped up. this just sounds like a humming.

for you experts, is it a wheel bearing or an axle that i need?


background info:

car: 1989 subaru justy 4wd 5spd.

its setup just like any other front wheel drive car as far as the front end is concerned.

 

You can test the wheel bearing by pull the wheel back and forth while the car is on the ground. If there's play in it then it's the bearing. Did you check the cv's?

 

well, im not sure what id check the CV's with?? like, whats to check? the boot isnt torn. and thats normally the number 1 killer of CV joints.

a worn wheel bearing migh have play but would a howling one? im wondering if mine is on the start of failing or on the end of failing...if it is a wheel bearing

 

Turn the radio up louder... problem solved.

 

Does the sound only occur while your foot is on the accelerator?

 

if so, remove your foot from the accelerator!

 

sound is when im on or off the throttle i think.

if it was only on throttle that would point to a "directional" problem and thus an axle right? is that where you were going with this?

what if its worse when on throttle than off?

 

Is the sound more prevalent at higher speeds? As in, when the wheels are spinning faster, the noise is louder. When you are coming to a stop, the noise is a bit quieter...or slower. Just trying to rule out a wheel bearing. I had one go out on my previous car, and it is the same kind of sound you are describing. Mine sounded almost like an alternator whine, but a bit softer.

 

yah thats a good way to describe it.

the pitch gets higher in tone and louder as the speed increases. I took a drive last night and realized that the car in general is so loud that i thought the noise was going away. i was wrong.

 

Probably the wheel bearing.