Rear Wheel Bearing?

Hopefully you technical folks can help me out a bit here. Before having it actually diagnosed at the dealership, I’m floating this out there to cover my bases. I have a ‘17 OR with just past 50,000 miles on it. I noticed a subtle howling/humming when decelerating at anything over 20 mph from the right rear. The noise immediately goes away once I touch the accelerator. I say it’s subtle because it’s not a grinding noise or very loud. I’ve checked tire wear thinking it’s a wheel bearing. There is some uncharacteristic wear but it’s right in the middle of the tire, which seems odd. There hasn’t been any kind of “event” to cause it. I use 4wd fairly regularly in the winter and on my farm. Any thoughts or experiences would be great. Thanks.

 

Take the rear wheels off and pull the drums to see if either axle seal is bad/leaking. It will be obvious. If so, could be low diff fluid. Beyond that, I had a bad rear axle bearing that produced a comparable noise. If you have an IR gun, compare RR versus LR wheels, after a drive. You'll be able to see if one is hotter. If so, verify by checking the axle housings at each brake drum.

 

I’ll dig in tonight. Thanks bud.