Front and rear bearings howling

[sc72]

O.K. so heres the deal,the thursday before the K.C. meet i changed the left rear wheel bearing and races,all is good there,now on the way home from K.C. it sounds like the right front bearing is going bad,i say this because i start to hear a howl at 20mph and up,it makes no differance if you steer from left to right the noise does not change,so this is what i have done,changed both front tires and wheels,changed trans fluid,changed the right front steering knuckle with one i removed from my other DD and still the same noise,oh ya the car is a 92 Festiva 5 speed with 162k any thoughts guys, no shakes or vibrations just that howl.

[Nerd Racing]

bearing howl can be deceiving, it echoes. check your wheel hubs after a long drive, whatever one is hot is the likely culprit.

[sc72]

Ya i don't think so,i did that once and burnt the pads of my fingers.Could it be the axle shaft bearings at the trans,probably not,i'll change the left stearing knuckle tomorrow. Thanks N.R. any other thoughts,you said echo,could it be the right rear bearing is giving up,i'll be right back,well i went out and grabed the top of the tire and shook it and it seamed tight.

[Safety Guy]

Have you gone to a quiet area and driven along a curb with windows down to listen to your car better? It can help find the noise better sometimes. The car noises echo off the curb really well.

Karl

[sc72]

echo

Hey Karl,not a bad idea,i'll give that a try. Thanks

[WmWatt]

Or a brick wall, say behind a shopping mall.

[Pu241]

The hot hub test is really the best way to go.
Uh, you know you don't have to actually touch the hub to know it's hotter than the other side.
And yes. I've done the same thing!
"smells like chicken" doesn't it?

[Safety Guy]

As for the "hot hub" check, you could always lick your finger tip first to reduce the specific heat. I'd wash first though.

Karl

[eurotiva]

As cheap as bearing are I'd replace the "other" rear. They go out alot more often than the fronts. Just my $.02

[ericsmith32]

Heat isn't a good indicator. The rear drivers on mine howls a small amount and it's no warmer than the new one on the passenger side... although I repacked it when I replaced the other. Was going to replaced it but unless it gets worse not going to worry about it. Karl how's your tires look? If they're feathered they'll also cause a howl. My Escape does it and that's the cause. Escape's are notorious for bad camber and if I remember right your's is lowered.

[Safety Guy]

My current DD is Twinstiva, a stock '92L. I replaced the LCAs before my last trip and I noticed a different feel. Maybe needs another alignment? I'd rather wait until spring, so I gotta get AquaMutt on the road to do most of my winter driving.

No bearing problems right now that I can tell on Twin.

Karl

[sc72]

The hot hub test is really the best way to go.
Uh, you know you don't have to actually touch the hub to know it's hotter than the other side.
And yes. I've done the same thing!
"smells like chicken" doesn't it?

LMAO ya the things we do,i don't know about the chicken thing,i had my fingers in my mouth trying to cool them off while i was jumping,swearing and talking to Jesus about how stupid i was or am.

O.K. so this is my plan,i'm going to drive to the other side of town were i can drive behind a vacant mall to see what i can hear, then i'll head over to my local parts store,pull up to the store get out lick my fingers run around the car checking for over heated bearings,go on inside and listen to the guys behind the counter give me a rashen about a chinese fire drill and then go ahead and order some new bearings,what do ya think, sound like a plan.

[Pu241]

Sounds like a plan!
The rear drums are pretty easy and straight forward.
The front hubs require a press to reassemble them, with the correct fittings the press can disassemble them too.
You have access to the necessary equipment?
FWIW, I wouldn't get anything but a Timkin bearing.

[Nerd Racing]

you don't necessarily need a press if you have the right chizle and copper punch set and a 3 jaw puller

[Pu241]

Should I have said "correctly" assemble them?
True, there are a number of ways to disassemble them without a press, and at least two ways to reassemble them without a press that are not let us say "documented".
My point is that if you don't have the equipment it might be cheaper in the short run to pay someone to do the job right with the correct equipment, provided they know how to handle our bearing setup.