Hey guys, okay so I've been having an issue for a few months where when I get up to about 40 mph, the car makes an awful howling noise from the rear end off and on. Once I get up to about 45-50, the noise goes away. I've also noticed that I hear a little bit of a soft grinding noise when backing up and it seems to happen less often when it is colder outside (<50f).

My question is could this be anything other than wheel bearings? Just so everyone knows for reference, I do know for sure that my drive shaft flex couplings need to be replaced, could those have something to do with it?

Thanks in advance!

 

Sounds like wheel bearings. Get the car on the lift and grab each wheel and start shaking it. Look for movement. That'll let you know if you have bearing failure.

 

I had a noise around the same speed and it ended up being a combination of a failing diff and carrier bearing for the driveshaft. I was under the impression a bad wheel bearing would be a constant noise

 

That would make a lot of sense. And those are pretty cheap too.

Unrelated, what were your symptoms of a bad diff?

 

grinding noise, howl at certain speeds

 

Bad wheel bearings typically howl once you get going, and get louder with speed; that's usually not an intermittent problem.

To check, jack up the car, and check bearing play by shaking the wheel while holding the top and bottom. That's how I was taught.