Do wheel bearings make a whistling noise when they are about to fail?
I was going about 10 mph to 20 mph in very heavy traffic when I noticed some sort of whistling noise coming from the driver side wheel as I passed by the cars on my left.
I am sure it is the wheel because the sound seems to swing back and forth. If you accelerate the noise goes away but as soon as you let go the gas the noise comes back, and it gets worse the faster you go. I also tried this on neutral.
Usually bad bearings are reported as a growling noise, louder the faster you go. Or as a rhythmic rrrr rrrr rrrr noise, most apparent in parking lot slow-speed driving, often during turning. But a whistling sound is certainly possible, especially as a first sign of a failing bearing. Ask you shop to double check the differential fluid level too; if low that can cause sort of a whirring/whistling noise. On your SL2 checking the differential fluid level is probably the same procedure as the transmission fluid level.
Wheel bearing noise shouldn’t change much whether you’re in the throttle or off throttle, as long as you’re rolling. As mentioned wheel bearing noise will change when turning. Generally the noise is more pronounced when turning in the opposite direction of the bad bearing. Since the noise changes with throttle input, I’m not certain it’s wheel bearing related…
Transmission and differential bearings make a whistling noise when they are going bad and it is dependent on throttle pressure. If you have a manual transmission, it uses Dexron III as the lubricant. It has a dipstick so you can check the level and color of the ATF. If it is low, add some more. You could probably use a thickener the increase it’s viscosity and mask the noise, but don’t use very much.
On my 2002 Saturn, the rear wheel bearing that went bad made a noise like a noisy tire, i.e. a mud and snow tire or all terain tire. In fact the original tires masked the noise so I didn’t discover that it had a defective bearing until I put on some premium tires.
When the front wheel bearings went out at 275k, they sounded like a airplane propeller but only made an audible noise above 50 mph.
Thanks for all the replies. I forgot to mention that this car has an automatic transmission.
I wanted to record a video at 1 AM and upload it here but my phone’s mic is trash and you can’t hear anything at all in the video.
Here is what I found:
The “whistle noise” is not so much of a whistle but more like a squealing/squeaky noise.
When the car was still warming up. I drove around town at different speeds and couldn’t hear the noise at all. After 10 to 15 minutes of driving I started hearing the squealing/squeaky noise.
Transmission fluid level is good. Fluid is very clean, pink of color and almost transparent in the paper towel. No burnt smells.
Also, I have heard the sound of bad wheel bearings before in the other vehicles I used to own. I had to replace 3 of them. I am familiar with that droning/humming noise, and that it gets worse when turning or at certain speeds but no such thing is happening on this Saturn.
Like I mentioned before, the noise is totally absent when you are giving it some gas but comes back once you let go the gas.
I am not driving this Saturn atm. I am taking it to a shop whenever I have the time. I know it’s difficult to diagnose a problem by describing a noise on the internet.
“It was a ring on the inner joint of the cv shaft rubbing the transmission housing.
This ring is basically just a dust boot and can be removed without hurting the vehicle, the seal on the output shaft bearing does a well enough job keeping things out.”
Thanks for replying. I just found this video on the Saturn Fans forums. I am wondering if you can take a look since you also own a Saturn. The noise you hear in this video is exactly the same noise I hear in my car. Link to the video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yof6ggFXKjo
“It was a ring on the inner joint of the cv shaft rubbing the transmission housing.
This ring is basically just a dust boot and can be removed without hurting the vehicle, the seal on the output shaft bearing does a well enough job keeping things out.”
I am wondering if you know what “ring” is he referring to because he also says it is “basically a dust boot”? I am confused.
Yeah I took the car for a test drive at 1 am and I couldn’t hear any humming, droning noise. I have hear
wheel bearings going bad before in my previous vehicles, but this is sounds nothing like it.
No noise until the vehicle has warmed up. That got me worried about my transmission so I checked the transmission fluid, and it is good. The fluid is pink to almost transparent. No burnt smells.
The guy on the video mentioned this in the comment:
“It was a ring on the inner joint of the cv shaft rubbing the transmission housing.
This ring is basically just a dust boot and can be removed without hurting the vehicle, the seal on the output shaft bearing does a well enough job keeping things out.”
If it’s the inner CV joint slightly interfering with the transmission housing your shop should be able to confirm that by wear patterns on the interfering parts. If that’s the only problem the best path is probably to keep everything installed as-is and just ignore the noise. If this just started for no apparent reason, no work done in that area prior, one has to wonder why it is happening now? That inner CV joint moves with the axle as the wheel goes over bumps, during turns, etc. So there may be a problem brewing with the front suspension or steering. Good idea to have the front suspension & steering parts checked.
My car I noticed the shrill noise for a few years. Halfway into a 500 mile trip the wheel bearing went out. Drove it the other half and got it replaced. Not saying it is what you should do, just my story. No sqeak or squeal after new wheel bearing.
I don’t own my Saturn anymore, I sold it after I retired as it became redundant. I wish I still had it, last I heard was about a year ago and it was still on the road then.
I think this might be a good time to replace your ATF. Just do a drain and refill using Dexron VI instead of Dexron III. The oil filter is on the top or side of the transmission and is a spin on so it is easy to replace. Transmission fluid should be bright red. Pink indicates it is near the end of its life. It will start to turn brown soon and that would not be good. I would not flush, just drain, change the filter and refill.
Be sure to inspect your axle boots but if they tear, the CV joint will go quickly, but that makes a clicking sound on turns. Do not remove any dust shields. If there is any interference, just bend the dust shield away.
My Saturn had an intermediate shaft on one side so the axles could be the same length. That intermediate shaft has a bearing in it and that could become noisy. Not sure what it would sound like though.
