honasbone

So I've read through all sorts of posts on failing wheel bearing noises. And what I'm experiencing sounds very similar to what I've read described by others with bad wheel bearings. At slow speeds there is a thumping noise that increases with the speed of the car. It fades (or maybe road noise washes it out) as speed increases past maybe 25ish mph. On the freeway, while veering to the left I hear a whirring/rubbing sound. the noise gets worse as you go faster past roughly 50ish mph. But below that you can't really hear it.

I just replaced both front LCA bushings. While the car was in the air I spun both front wheels many times hoping to hear something other than the very slight rubbing of the brake pads. Nothing. Seems most guys on here spin their wheels and hear some sort of noise from the wheel bearings when they are going bad. I don't hear anything though which is not helping me locate the problem.

Can wheel bearing be going bad but not create any noise under this condition? I don't want to replace them if I don't have to. But I can't figure out what else could be causing these noises that increase with the speed of the car.

2001 UL with 67k miles on it. Any help is greatly appreciated.

rkw77080

Is it possible that you have inadvertently introduced some metal-to-metal contacts on the LCA bushing job? That could transfer vibration and noise into the cabin. It's not likely but it's possible.

On the other hand, the "Increase-with-speed" symptom is a strong tell tale sign of a bad bearing. Were you able to isolate the noise to a particular corner, or at least to the front vs. the back? Unfortunately, you cannot always tell a bad bearing by free-spin. Have you tried grabbing the wheel at 6 o'clock and 12 o'clock positions and rock it to check for looseness (with the wheel off the ground, of course).
Sometimes, the humming noise only happens when the bearing is under the weight of the vehicle. The front bearings are easy to replace with ordinary hand tools, the rear bearings are a little more involved. You can find detailed DIY instructions for both here on this forum.

chunkyda

Worse while turning left is right front wheel hub but replace both if you can. There is a thread on here and I added pictures, not a difficult DIY job.

honasbone

Thank you guys for the replies.

rkw77080 – the noise existed before the work. I’ll definitely try the 6 and 12 trick. Great idea.

chunkyda – I think I’ve see the thread you’re talking about. I’ll follow those directions if/when doing the work.

A few questions:
1. Some folks on here say that bearing ought to be replaced in pairs. Can someone elaborate on why that is the case? I generally follow the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mantra. I don’t want to replace parts that aren’t going bad. Let me know if I’m missing something there.

2. Aftermarket wheel bearings. Some folks say you should never use them. Can someone elaborate as to why? Is it just the conventional wisdom that OEM is better than aftermarket? Or is there a specific reason that aftermarket ought to be avoided.

3. Koyo wheel hubs. Rumor has it Koyo makes OEM Lexus wheel bearings. Is this true? Are there other OEM Lexus wheel bearing manufacturers? I’ve found some Koyo’s for $186 bucks per online. I’d rather pay that than what Sewell charges for what may be the exact same thing.

4. Sewell shows a different PNC number for the left and right hand front wheel hubs. Upon closer inspection, the difference is in the lug bolts. Or so the diagram says. But in the description for both left and right front lug bolts the part numbers are exactly the same. So, is there really any difference between the left and right front lug bolts?

chunkyda

First off, you might feel or hear a bad hub with the car jacked up and wheel off. Give the hub a spin and you might be able to hear more noise on one side vs the other. I had 2 mechanics and the alignment guy tell me everything was fine. Once I had them both off there was an audible difference in the good vs bad hub.
1. If you don't want to replace both then don't. There is no reason to do both other than you are already under there and it might be on the way out anyway based on high mileage. You can combine shipping charge by buying both at the same time. If you are about to sell the car don't waste your money.
2. Some folks have had bad experience with the longevity of certain aftermarket brands. Again, if you plan to keep the car for a few years get the OEM brand.
3. I got the Sewell Club Lexus member discount and they were within reasonable price as good brand aftermarket. I am planning on at least 3 years more use from my car so over the long run the dealer part was my choice. I almost pulled the trigger on Timken brand but oh well.
4. They are the same part. bolt pattern and the ABS connector wires both point around 2:30 clock position when installed. I had a 1964 Dodge that had reverse threads on one side of the car but I don't think anyone does that anymore.

honasbone

So i replaced the bad wheel hub over the weekend. Passenger side front was the offending part. Freeway speed whirring noise is gone! Yay! Thanks for the help everyone.

Unfortunately the thumping noise is still present. I come from the world of FWD cars and have encountered my fair share of failing CV joints. The noise I'm experiencing now sounds just like a failing CV joint. Of course the LS 430 doesn't have CV joints. I mention it in case that helps paint a clearer pic in your minds eye of what I'm experiencing.

Given that description, would you all still say that another wheel bearing somewhere is going bad? I'm almost certain it's not the driver's side front bearing. It doesn't make any of the grinding noises that the bad bearing does when I spin it. It seems like a totally fine bearing. And since the whirring noise is gone at freeway speeds (even when turning), it seems unlikely that it's a wheel bearing problem.

That said, I can't reliably cause the thumping to happen. Unlike the bearing noise that happened 100% of the time without fail under the exact same driving conditions, this noise only happens sometimes. It seems to get worse as the car warms up. But I wouldn't put any money on it being heat related. The thumping does speed up and slow down with the speed of the car though, so I'm thinking it's some sort of driveline/wheel hub/break issue.

Would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

Most thumping is your upper or lower control arm bushing(s). On the lower arm there are two. One of the big bushings can be replaced independently. The other you have to get the arm. Did you replace them both? There is the lower ball joint right there. The uppers have the ball joint attached. There is also the tie rod ends. The CV's. All of this needs to be inspected for leaking bushings, corrosion, etc... Also make sure everything has been torqued properly. Sometimes loctite is needed to keep certain bolts to stay super tight.

honasbone

Thanks for the response. I actually replaced both of the large front LCA bushings - driver and passenger side - just a few weeks ago.

The thumping sound doesn't occur consistently. Meaning I'm not sure how to cause it to happen 100% of the time. But it will occur without fail every time I drive the car. When it does happen the rate of it speeds up and slows down in unison with the wheels of the car. I would think that if this was a bushing or torque problem that thumps would only happen when hitting bumps, or the car transfers weight from side to side. And even then, the rate at which the thumping occurred would be sporadic and unrelated to the rate at which my wheels are moving. Am I wrong about that?

Tom57

You might want to try rotating your tires and see if the noise is different, or comes from a different location. It's possible one of the tires has a bad steel belt.