Wheel bearing or tire noise?

[freeflight]

The cabin noise on my 04 gets loud around 45-50MPH, sounds like something out of balance, resonating a few times per second, whrrrwhrrrwhrrr.. . It comes from front right side. I don't feel vibration in steering wheel. Noise doesn't seem to change when I turn left or right. At low speed I don't hear it. I don't think I hear it at freeway speed, but it could be covered by other noise. My engine is fairly loud. Is this the front bearing noise?

The truck is solid otherwise, with only 73K miles. Current tires are BFG Long Trail Tour with 28K miles. It does cause my attention that three tires have 6/32", but front right tire has 3/32". I think the quicker wear appeared in the last 5-10K miles. All tires have even wear cross the section, 5K balance and rotation since the day of installation.

Could it be the worn tire making noise? Or bad wheel bearing worn out front right tire? What's the best way to narrow it down?

Thanks,
Kevin

 

[redkaz04]

Do you have any buddies with a Tacoma or 4runner? Swap the front wheels and tires and take it for a test drive. I had a similar problem but I was getting vibes through the steering wheel. Front wheel bearings was the culprit. Good luck

 

[NorthShore4Runner]

Put it up on a jack, look for any play in the front end. Or get all 4 wheels up off the ground, put it in drive and listen for the noise.

Wheel bearings will start to roar at around 25mph and the sound will change as speed changes.

 

[freeflight]

Do you have any buddies with a Tacoma or 4runner? Swap the front wheels and tires and take it for a test drive. I had a similar problem but I was getting vibes through the steering wheel. Front wheel bearings was the culprit. Good luck

No vibration in the steering wheel, so it could be the tire. One tire worn much faster than the other three.

 

[freeflight]

Put it up on a jack, look for any play in the front end. Or get all 4 wheels up off the ground, put it in drive and listen for the noise.

Wheel bearings will start to roar at around 25mph and the sound will change as speed changes.

I will do that in my next oil change. Just hope it is not the engine or drive train going bad

 

[freeflight]

Just got 4 new Michelin LTX M/S2, all the noise all gone. Even the engine sound quit and smoother

 

[DanThePhotographer]

The cabin noise on my 04 gets loud around 45-50MPH, sounds like something out of balance, resonating a few times per second, whrrrwhrrrwhrrr.. . It comes from front right side. I don't feel vibration in steering wheel. Noise doesn't seem to change when I turn left or right. At low speed I don't hear it. I don't think I hear it at freeway speed, but it could be covered by other noise. My engine is fairly loud. Is this the front bearing noise?

The truck is solid otherwise, with only 73K miles. Current tires are BFG Long Trail Tour with 28K miles. It does cause my attention that three tires have 6/32", but front right tire has 3/32". I think the quicker wear appeared in the last 5-10K miles. All tires have even wear cross the section, 5K balance and rotation since the day of installation.

Could it be the worn tire making noise? Or bad wheel bearing worn out front right tire? What's the best way to narrow it down?

Thanks,
Kevin

Or just do the simple test of swerving left and right at those speeds (in a safe area), and if it gets louder as you put load on the suspected bearing and quieter as you take load off it, you have your answer. It's the bearing.

 

[ThorInc]

You have any ideas as to why one tire was badly worn?

 

[radlynx]

maybe your shock is worn.

You have any ideas as to why one tire was badly worn?

 

[ellis36]

Just got 4 new Michelin LTX M/S2, all the noise all gone. Even the engine sound quit and smoother

I would still check the wheel bearings. A loose (not necessarily noisy) wheel bearing can cause wear on the inside of the tread that will eventually make a sound that sounds like a bad wheel bearing. If you do have a loose bearing it will wear the new tire and you will have the same noise again. IMO, just jacking it up and feeling for any play in the bearing should suffice.

ellis

 

[Suzuki7502k]

Move that tire to the rear and see if the noise follows the tire. Like Ellis said, put it on a jack and spin the wheel. If its the bearing, you should be able to hear it.

 

[Thumbie]

Get an alignment done if one wheel wore out faster than the other.

But glad you got rid of the noise. :biggrin1:

 

[aznboi27]

Hmm

1) If it makes noise while turning, then it could be your wheel bearing

2) If it is a loud roar that just keeps getting louder after about 25-30 MPH, it could be pinion bearing

3) Generally tire wear will start causing tire noise, try rotating your tire and see if the sound moves with the tire