Wheel bearing noise

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gliderider06

gliderider06

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I am chasing down noises on my 87 Ramcharger that had been sitting for several years before I bought it. I replaced the pinion bearings in the rear, but not the carrier bearings. I have a whining noise at different speeds and when I turn the wheel to the left it goes away and when turned to the right (while driving) it gets louder. I'm leaning towards an axle bearing, but will a carrier bearing make the same sounds when they are bad? I did not pull the front carrier apart yet, but I did re-pack the front bearings when I did the front brakes.
Am I heading in the right direction with the wheel bearing?
 
Changes in whine with direction are usually wheel related. You can get fooled sometimes by something telegraphing the sound/ rubbing the frame.
 
Sounds to me like the drivers side but as stated noises can travel. The 9 1/4 rear axle bearings were designed so the "inner race" is actually the axle itself. Don't be surprised if you pull the axle and find the axle shaft is actually worn where the bearing rides. Seen as how you have to pull the differential cover to remove the c clips I'd check and replace both bearings and seals. Also if the axle is worn where the bearing rides they do make a repair bearing that positions the bearing rollers on a different part of the axle. This is all assuming it's coming from the rear end.
 
Here's the thing. It's one side OR the other, BUT they are probably the same age with the same mileage. You have to remove the rear cover anyway. By the time you do the labor for one axle bearing, you are literally moments away from doing both. Replace them both.
 
Check this out.
A drum rear axle bearing noise changes or goes away when the brakes are applied because the brakes support some of the load on the bearing.

A bearing noise that comes and goes depending on turning left or right is pretty much always a front wheel bearing (and the outer bearing at that) because that bearing is the one that the load varies the most on during cornering.

Just remember this.
Quieter with brakes on is a rear bearing, and changes when corning is a front bearing.
This almost always the case.
 
Thanks Guys! I'll give the suggestions a try. I did also notice that the passenger side trans mount is blown too so that needs to be fixed as well, which can be adding to my various noises.
Thanks!
 
TrailBeast said:
Check this out.
A drum rear axle bearing noise changes or goes away when the brakes are applied because the brakes support some of the load on the bearing.

A bearing noise that comes and goes depending on turning left or right is pretty much always a front wheel bearing (and the outer bearing at that) because that bearing is the one that the load varies the most on during cornering.

Just remember this.
Quieter with brakes on is a rear bearing, and changes when corning is a front bearing.
This almost always the case.
Click to expand...

I cannot say I agree. I have seen many cases where rear bearings change noise level with a lateral load imposed when cornering.
 
OK, don't laugh. I had a similar problem with my 69 Barracuda a few years ago. It was making a squealing/grumbling noise that I could not track down. I could not tell exactly where it was coming from, but I "thought" it was front wheel bearings. I tried packing them, and the noise continued. Then I replaced all of the front bearings and races, but the noise persisted. Then on a whim, I tried lubing the U-joints on both ends of the drive shaft. Magic; the noise went away. I guess I "talked" myself into thinking that it was wheel bearing noise. So my point is that unless you are positive that it is wheel bearing or axle bearing noise, it couldn't hurt to at least think about the U-joints. Noise from U-joints can travel and make diagnosis difficult. Btw, Rusty and PoisonDart I TOTALLY agree with your advice to do things in pairs.
 
TrailBeast said:
A drum rear axle bearing noise changes or goes away when the brakes are applied because the brakes support some of the load on the bearing. A bearing noise that comes and goes depending on turning left or right is pretty much always a front wheel bearing (and the outer bearing at that) because that bearing is the one that the load varies the most on during cornering. Quieter with brakes on is a rear bearing, and changes when corning is a front bearing.This almost always the case.
Click to expand...
A rear bearing may become quieter under braking because the weight is being transferred to the front (not because of any change in the load path for supporting the weight). Can't fully agree on the diagnosis presented; I have had 2-3 rear wheel bearings noisier when cornering. But they also tend to be noisy to some degree running on the level.
 
I had a problem on my 8 1/4 when I did the rear disk brakes, had a grinding on the pass side during turns, turned out to be a worn axel c clip soo check them
 
RustyRatRod said:
I cannot say I agree. I have seen many cases where rear bearings change noise level with a lateral load imposed when cornering.
Click to expand...

I totally agree that it happens Rob, but it's kinda few and far between and almost always tapered rollers.



nm9stheham said:
A rear bearing may become quieter under braking because the weight is being transferred to the front (not because of any change in the load path for supporting the weight). Can't fully agree on the diagnosis presented; I have had 2-3 rear wheel bearings noisier when cornering. But they also tend to be noisy to some degree running on the level.
Click to expand...

Try it some time if you ever get a chance.
The drum brake helps center the axle and the noisy bearing gets quieter.
(This is a diagnostic trick as old as the hills)
It has zero to do with weight transfer.

I didn't have 98% ASE drivetrain and ATRA diagnostic scores for nothing. :D
The problem is that as I get older it's slowly going away.:protest:
 
Thanks guys. I ordered the upper and lower trans mounts today, since one side is bad. I also ordered new front wheel bearings today. Easy to change and they were not that expensive to give them a try first. I did already replace all the u-joints in the driveshafts, but not in the front axles; however, they do seem tight and did not rattle around when i put it in 4wd. This thing had sat for some time, and i'm slowly getting the bugs worked out of it.
 
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