Good news, bad news (wheel bearing)

Good news: Last payment on my 0% Toyota loan for my 2009 Sport AC sent in Dec 1st, so IT'S PAID FOR! Yay!

Bad news: Bumper to bumper warranty is up and I have a woo woo woo sound that is audible from about 30 mph and increases in loudness and frequency to its worst at 60 mph or so. Sounds like a wheel bearing. I have read (and saved) several of the threads on this all too common issue so the repair doesn't look that difficult.

But how to determine which bearing is going? Anyone have a sure way besides waiting for the wheel to fall off? BTW, I haven't had to replace a wheel bearing on a vehicle since I did it on a 1978 Firebird that had 100k miles. Now I have such an issue on a Toyota with 27k miles? That's just not right.

 

The last time I heard a woo woo woo sound it was because someone's tires were not rotated. They were bald on the inside.

I thought worn wheel bearing sound more like being on a BART train (electric transit). Like being in a coasting commute train.

 

have you tried the switching to 4wd trick to see if the noise goes away?

If it does...is probably the driver side needle bearing in the front diff.

and congrats on paying off your truck..that is a great feeling

 

4wd makes no difference. Tires are fine but I may try rotating them to see if it makes a difference before tearing into any bearings.

 

Mine goes away when switch into 4WD. Is that the bearing that causes the noise? How big of a job is it to change the needle bearing? Is something that should be correct immediately or can I wait for awhile? What is the air velocity of a laden sparrow? How many questions can I ask? Sorry didn't mean to hijack the thread.

BTW OP congrats

 

when my wheel bearings went out in the front, it was a slight hum and vibration. it really sounded like an out of balance tire. hard sound to describe. mine went out at around 75K if i remember correctly. i tried to do it myself, but most of my parts wouldnt break loose so i called it quits at the end of a few hours. i had a local mechanic do it, i think he charged me around 300 ( i already had the bearings)

jack up the front of your truck and see if there is any play in the wheel pushing the top of the tire in towards the motor or the bottom in towards the motor. or, when it is jacked up rotate the wheel with your hand on the coil spring. if you feel a vibration its a good sign the bearing is going.

 

Your description sounds a lot like what I am hearing. Yes, I will jack it up and spin/push on the wheels. Would have done that already except I don't need to jack the truck for oil changes.