alanchad

iTrader: (1)

This sound gets progressively faster as the car speeds up.

It seems to be on the high side.(tire side as opposed to the engine side.)

Gets worse if I turn to the right, better if I turn to the left.

I rotated tires from front to back, and put new ones on the front.

Could not tell a difference in the noise.

The tires I replaced had bad radial pull so I had run them on the back for a while so I assumed that was the problem, but was not.

Possibly a wheel bearing sound?(I'm thinking yes)

Possibly in the differential?(I'm thinking/hoping not)

Thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks,

Alan

sojah

iTrader: (1)

sounds like a flat tire

alanchad

iTrader: (1)

Assuming it is NOT a flat tire, Can someone post the appropriate pages from the repair manual (or other step by step instructions) for replacing wheel bearings?

Thanks,

Alan

alanchad

iTrader: (1)

Update - No tires are flat.

Put the spare on in place of each remaining old tire(the two on the rear.), sequentially.

No difference in noise.

I am more convinced it is the left rear wheel bearing.

I thank myself for all my help.

Alan

caddyowner

I agree that your symptoms sould like a wheel bearing, though it could also be a hung-up parking brake. (I don't know the LS430 parking brake.) Many folks, myself included, rarely use their parking brakes on vehicles with automatic transmissions. When an unused parking brake is set, it often times doesn't fully release.

Nick T

Alan,

Lift the rear end with the car in neutral and parking brake not set, be sure to block the front wheels before you do this. Turn each rear wheel, the opposite wheel might turn in the opposite direction, this is normal. If a wheel bearing is bad the wheel will not turn smoothly and/or make noise etc.

It could also be your rear air strut. Find a speed bump and go over it a few times. In your case, the front would bounce up and down evenly but a bad rear strut will NOT bounce so you will feel the rear lift on one side while going over the speed bump while the other side will still compress.

Because that air strut is not compressing and rebounding properly it is slapping the tire against the pavement and causing your whump whump sound

Good Luck

alanchad

iTrader: (1)

Just bumping this again for the repair instructions.

Going to replace the left rear wheel bearing this weekend.

Sure would like to have pages posted from repair manual.

Thanks,

Alan

alanchad

iTrader: (1)

Just got around to replacing the left rear hub assembly which includes bearing.

The wheel bearing was the problem, definitely bad and grinding.

Now runs quiet as a mouse.

It took about 4 hours without a lift and with air wrench and helper.

Probably would have gone much quicker if I had repair manual pages.

Thanks again to all who responded with suggestions.

By the way, the hub assembly retailed for $349, discounted from Sewell to $217.

Alan

Bon

Congratulations! I'm glad to hear that you were able to get the job done and your hunch that it was the wheel bearing was correct. How many miles are on your LS? Your experience is probably in my future somewhere.

alanchad

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Bon.

152,000 miles (my better halfs vehicle unless it's broken, then it's mine.

There were a couple of unclear areas which slowed things a bit, but got through them okay.

Alan

LS430inDE.

Congrats on the fix Alan! Curious if you're going to replace the other side, since the replacement procedure should be "fresh" in your head, or you'll just do it if/when it goes also?

I would imagine the lifespan of those parts (left side compared to right side) should be similar unless there was some other underlying factor with the assembly....or the car was driven only in counterclockwise circles? lol!

alanchad

iTrader: (1)

Thank you. Wheel bearings are somewhat unpredictable insofar as life span. Some last a lot longer for whatever reason. Since they usually give ample warning that they are going bad, I will just wait until then for the others.

As far as driving habits, I do notice that the car automatically tries to turn in to every T.J. Maxx I pass.

Alan

DDLexus

decided not to document this project with step by step or photos?

alanchad

iTrader: (1)

I was actually looking for instructions on how to do the repair but could not find any.

Never intended to document because I was having to figure it out as I went.

It would have put everyone to sleep I was so slow.

DDLexus

That was my point... if you had a need for this information, don't you think others would too? Just a suggestion for future projects. This is the way we make this site more useful. Right?

Not trying to be an ****, but saw lots of irony in this post.