Right front wheel making big noise...

[eturnlfesti]

My front wheel is making a loud whirring sound like a gear drive makes. (somewhat)
I put on 13's and checked all clearances and they're good. It gets faster and louder with increase in speed not RPM.
I'm hoping it's nothingmajor but have a sinking feeling that the CV is going out or the bearing or worse my manual tranny.
Has anyone heard this sound before? Any ideas? Any Festy's for sale cheap? I need parts.

[Tim]

I'm betting you have a bad wheel bearing.

Jack up the side of the car, put it in neutral, and spin the wheel. Does it make a grinding/roaring noise? Does it spin freely or is there drag?

[GenevaDirt]

definately the front bearing....not a fun job. I just picked up a good front spindle from the jy and put it on. It is only temporary for me as I want to do the aspire brake swap soon.

[roycehof]

Proabably the easiest solution is the Junkyard swap. The bearing replacement is somewhat tricky on these cars. It is best to have a press to do this job. Not for the faint of heart.

[deejaydubla]

I think I'm in the same boat. I've only had my Feastiva for about a week, but the bearings are the biggest problem I've seen so far. The car had apparently been sitting for a few years and the bearings are either shot or REALLY need greasing. I sound like a sherman tank.

[Tim]

I put 30,000 miles on my first Festiva with a bad wheel bearing.

To my knowledge it's still going.

Wouldn't recommend it though, since having a wheel seize at 70 mph probably isn't much fun...

[Jcomnislash]

trust me its not...i had a rear bearing blow out on me on the highway this past winter...prolly one of the scariest feelings i've ever had.....for the front bearings its best to just take it to a shop man...i hear its a pain the butt.

[ElkRiverFestiva]

I just had to replace the front driver side recently, and did not want to attempt it myself. Here's what I did.

1.) Ordered the following parts from www.partsamerica.com (You can get these from any parts house, just get a name brand bearing, i.e. SKF, Timken...there is a much better chance with a quality bearing that they won't have to replace the shims for the preload). This is for doing 1 side only.

SKF 20205
20205/494123 CR SEAL Qty=1 $4.59

SKF 20427
20427 CR SEAL Qty= 1 $4.59

SKF BR11
BR11 CR BEARING Qty= 2 $8.29

And I also bought a rotor, because mine was warped. If you don't need a rotor, the shop can likely turn yours (do it! It's cheap!). I think I paid $13 for a new rotor.

2.) Remove entire spindle/hub assembly from Festiva.

3.) Take the hub and parts to your Ford Dealership repair shop (other shops can probably do this, I just found that they were more familiar with the Festiva and about making sure the preload was correct). I paid $60 to have them take the hub apart, replace the bearings/seals and replace the rotor and press it back together.

4.) Reinstall hub/spindle on Festiva and pat self on back.

[dahodges]

You can buy a reman. assy. Don't know the price. But this is a good time for the Aspire swap.

David