Greetings

I have have an annoying whining / groaning noise that seems to be (I'm not sure) coming from the from front right hand wheel. Its pitch is related to wheel speed and it also varies in pitch in response to changing the position of the steering wheel. It is loudest at about 60kmph (35mph). It sounds for all the world like a wheel bearing so I replaced the bearing (SKF), but unfortunatley, not the bearing cups (they seemed ok). This made no difference. I had the wheels balanced, alligned, and even swapped tyres, from front to back. - No change.

I know that this could be a tail shaft bearing that is fooling me, but assuming its the front wheel, what else could it be? It is worth replacing the bearing caps now (its only done 200 km or so since I replaced the bearing).

Thanks for your help

Roger

Roger,
if it does turn out to be your carrier bearing, i have to disagree with 'streetdreams'. I replaced all the ujoints, the carrier bearing and the rubber cushion/housing it sits in. The carrier bearing was a not hard at all, just make sure you do your best not to score the bearing seating surface when you remove it; a bearing puller is best for this. Clean the shaft well, no oil, grease, dirt, rust. if necessary, very lightly clean rust spots with emery cloth. when you put the bearing on, do not hit the outer race, only the inner race, it should go on smoothly with little taps all around the perimeter of the inner race.

Check your center carrier bearing on your driveshaft. Mine was noisy and vibrated. Sounded similar to a wheel bearing but you could feel it throught the whole car. They are hard to replace. I took my driveshaft out and took it to a driveline shop to have them press it on for me. Works fine now. Ben