Roaring sound while driving = bad bearing(s)?
01-12-19, 08:28 PM
#1
Rookie
Thread Starter
Roaring sound while driving = bad bearing(s)?
Since I've bought this car in 2015 there's a roaring/droning sound that increases in volume while driving faster. I've tried the trick of jacking the car up and jiggling the wheels but they all seem perfectly fine. I figured if it was a bad bearing wouldn't it have warped the hub (?) to where it would just fall apart? There are no violent vibrations either. Also when I turn left, especially a sharp left, the roaring stops. So does that mean one of the bearings on the left is bad? I know there's a method of jacking the car up and disconnecting the ABS but I don't feel comfortable doing that and worry I'll damage something or drive the car through the wall. When I drive it's hard to tell where it's coming from. I thought it was the front driver side wheel but sometimes it sounds like it's everywhere. Is there something else that could cause this noise?
01-13-19, 12:05 AM
#2
The very first thing I would suggest you do is to open the hood (and of course with the engine off!) and try to spin your mechanical cooling fan by hand. Does it spin really easily on its own when you've given it a push or is it hard to spin or reluctant to spin at all with a lot of resistance?
Usually when people with SC300's and GS300's with 2JZ-GE's complain of a "roaring" sound it is their mechanical fan clutch that has gone bad and is seized at a 1:1 rotation lock... which it is not supposed to do if it's operating correctly. It will sound like your engine is generating a small roaring tornado when you have a failed and locked up mechanical fan clutch.
If you can generate this "roar" when your car is idling in park or neutral by just revving the engine then it's a dead ringer for a bad fan clutch. But always check the fan's ability to spin freely by hand with the engine off to make absolutely sure that is the problem.
The Toyota/Lexus part number for a replacement fan clutch is 16210-46030 (you can buy this from a Toyota dealer rather than Lexus) and it's very easy to replace it yourself:
The four nuts on the water pump pulley are 12mm and they require 14 ft-lbs to torque down... for which you will need a 12mm "torque adapter" from Snap-On, Mac Tools or some other specialty vendor (and use this to calculate how to compensate for torque load variance when using a torque adapter: http://www.cncexpo.com/TorqueAdapter.aspx). Use a 14mm socket on a breaker bar to de-tension the accessory belt enough to rotate the water pump pulley each time you need to finger tighten each of the four nuts in place. Then torque them to the required figure with your torque adapter and torque wrench.
The fan blade unit (which you remove from the fan clutch) requires 65 inch-lbs on each nut when you re-affix it to your new fan clutch. Don't over torque those. Get a cheap inch-lbs torque wrench from Harbor Freight to do it right.
...
Now other than a possible bad fan clutch it is indeed possible that the roaring sound is one of your wheel bearings that is starting to go bad. As you have attempted to determine already you have to turn left an right and listen closely to be sure if the bearing noise is coming from the left or right, front or rear.
Rule out the stock fan clutch first as this is a common thing to fail over 200k. If that is not the issue, then move back to scrutinizing the wheel bearings.
The only other possible culprit, though very rare to occur, could be your driveshaft center bearing (under the car and behind the transmission) going bad. This would make a "roaring" sound as the speed of your car increases. To rule this out I would recommend taking your car to a Toyota dealer (if they'll work on Lexus vehicles... some will and some won't) or your trusted mechanic or independent shop, have them put it up on a lift to visually inspect it and determine if there is too much play and have them do a road test.
If the driveshaft center bearing has gone bad, the factory replacement P/N is 37230-24090. This you can order from a Toyota dealer and pay less than Lexus will charge you for the same part as it also cross-references for the 1993-1998 Supra.
But make sure you zero in on the true culprit first. I hope this helps!
Usually when people with SC300's and GS300's with 2JZ-GE's complain of a "roaring" sound it is their mechanical fan clutch that has gone bad and is seized at a 1:1 rotation lock... which it is not supposed to do if it's operating correctly. It will sound like your engine is generating a small roaring tornado when you have a failed and locked up mechanical fan clutch.
If you can generate this "roar" when your car is idling in park or neutral by just revving the engine then it's a dead ringer for a bad fan clutch. But always check the fan's ability to spin freely by hand with the engine off to make absolutely sure that is the problem.
The Toyota/Lexus part number for a replacement fan clutch is 16210-46030 (you can buy this from a Toyota dealer rather than Lexus) and it's very easy to replace it yourself:
The four nuts on the water pump pulley are 12mm and they require 14 ft-lbs to torque down... for which you will need a 12mm "torque adapter" from Snap-On, Mac Tools or some other specialty vendor (and use this to calculate how to compensate for torque load variance when using a torque adapter: http://www.cncexpo.com/TorqueAdapter.aspx). Use a 14mm socket on a breaker bar to de-tension the accessory belt enough to rotate the water pump pulley each time you need to finger tighten each of the four nuts in place. Then torque them to the required figure with your torque adapter and torque wrench.
The fan blade unit (which you remove from the fan clutch) requires 65 inch-lbs on each nut when you re-affix it to your new fan clutch. Don't over torque those. Get a cheap inch-lbs torque wrench from Harbor Freight to do it right.
...
Now other than a possible bad fan clutch it is indeed possible that the roaring sound is one of your wheel bearings that is starting to go bad. As you have attempted to determine already you have to turn left an right and listen closely to be sure if the bearing noise is coming from the left or right, front or rear.
Rule out the stock fan clutch first as this is a common thing to fail over 200k. If that is not the issue, then move back to scrutinizing the wheel bearings.
The only other possible culprit, though very rare to occur, could be your driveshaft center bearing (under the car and behind the transmission) going bad. This would make a "roaring" sound as the speed of your car increases. To rule this out I would recommend taking your car to a Toyota dealer (if they'll work on Lexus vehicles... some will and some won't) or your trusted mechanic or independent shop, have them put it up on a lift to visually inspect it and determine if there is too much play and have them do a road test.
If the driveshaft center bearing has gone bad, the factory replacement P/N is 37230-24090. This you can order from a Toyota dealer and pay less than Lexus will charge you for the same part as it also cross-references for the 1993-1998 Supra.
But make sure you zero in on the true culprit first. I hope this helps!
Last edited by KahnBB6; 01-13-19 at 12:31 AM.
01-19-19, 03:13 AM
#3
Rookie
Thread Starter
So I tried spinning the fan last week but I forgot to reply here...It turns but does not spin freely. So I'll try and spin it but it'll a bit but will stop. It doesn't turn like if I turned a wheel and it spun for a bit and slowly came to a stop. Is that what you meant? And I'll give it gas while park or in neutral and it sounds pretty good, as in no roaring sound. Only when being driven. And I was thinking about taking it to a local recommended independent Lexus mechanic to have them determine all possible issues with my car. I figured if my bearings were bad they would have gone out a long time ago? The previous owners would drive this to Utah and back and if I recall correctly, they told me that it had been making the roaring sound for a while before I actually bought it. Should I just take it to the mechanic? I was thinking of just replacing all of the bearings and hubs but I don't want to replace parts that are still good. Thanks for the help!
01-20-19, 09:22 PM
#4
Getting it looked at by a good mechanic is always a good option. So long as they're trustworthy to you and will take the time to investigate an issue properly.
What I meant with the fan is that when you try to spin it there is very noticeable resistance and if IF you got it to spin it immediately stops as soon as you take your hand away. A good fan clutch will spin for a little bit very freely before it stops once you have given it a push.
Now you didn't say which SC model you have. Is yours an SC300 or an SC400? An SC400 has a hydro-mechanical fan clutch from the factory which works a little differently than the SC300's purely self-contained mechanical/fluid fan clutch.
As for your driveshaft center bearing or your wheels bearings, these cars can go for a lot of mileage before those issues will ever crop up. How many miles are on your SC?
What I meant with the fan is that when you try to spin it there is very noticeable resistance and if IF you got it to spin it immediately stops as soon as you take your hand away. A good fan clutch will spin for a little bit very freely before it stops once you have given it a push.
Now you didn't say which SC model you have. Is yours an SC300 or an SC400? An SC400 has a hydro-mechanical fan clutch from the factory which works a little differently than the SC300's purely self-contained mechanical/fluid fan clutch.
As for your driveshaft center bearing or your wheels bearings, these cars can go for a lot of mileage before those issues will ever crop up. How many miles are on your SC?
01-20-19, 10:15 PM
#5
Rookie
Thread Starter
I've never taken it to a mechanic before but the one I'm thinking has good reviews. I've been wondering if I should take it to a shop to have all the major stuff fixed, if any. I should actually ask a local drift car page about a good Lexus mechanic...
Anyways I have a 1992 SC400 and it has around 220,000. I have some service records from the previous owner, I should look and see what they did. So far I only looked through those papers to see if the AC had been converted to R134. And about the fan I wouldn't say it spins freely like a skateboard wheel, like sustained spinning. If I had to describe it I would probably think it needed grease or some kind of lubricant so that it spun more freely. As of now it barely turns on it's own if I give it a push.
Anyways I have a 1992 SC400 and it has around 220,000. I have some service records from the previous owner, I should look and see what they did. So far I only looked through those papers to see if the AC had been converted to R134. And about the fan I wouldn't say it spins freely like a skateboard wheel, like sustained spinning. If I had to describe it I would probably think it needed grease or some kind of lubricant so that it spun more freely. As of now it barely turns on it's own if I give it a push.
02-20-19, 04:19 PM
#6
is the roaring the engine and exhaust? faster= more roar= more throttle. haha just kidding haha lift the car and wiggle and more the wheels see if any wheel bearings are bad, other thing you can do is lift the back of the car, put into gear or drive and have it spin the tires in the air see if it makes that noise. but if you turn and it stops deff sounds like a bearing, since it would have more load on it it will take up the slack from it being worn out.
02-20-19, 04:41 PM
#7
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Thread Starter
is the roaring the engine and exhaust? faster= more roar= more throttle. haha just kidding haha lift the car and wiggle and more the wheels see if any wheel bearings are bad, other thing you can do is lift the back of the car, put into gear or drive and have it spin the tires in the air see if it makes that noise. but if you turn and it stops deff sounds like a bearing, since it would have more load on it it will take up the slack from it being worn out.
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03-04-19, 10:20 AM
#8
hmmm... if you havent yet resolved this issue, what type of roar is it? is it high pitch, low pitch, constant whine, or like a clockwork tick roar? i am sure this is not the problem as this would be easy to discern, but the wheels aren't rubbing on the wheel wells are they? as in a shot suspension? this would not be visible when lifted, but instead when on the ground... i find it interesting that you connected it with the steering... listing off all steering mechanisms that are affected by speed, not rpm (as you mentioned it doesn't happen when reving in park) would be your best bet... it very well may be the bearings on the wheel, as it would make sense if they are somehow deformed or rusted (idk if that can happen, just shooting some ideas) but think about it. the faster the wheel rotates, the more noise the wheel bearings wold make as they rotate. as far as turning goes, the center of stress and pressure would move on each wheel center as the car turns and the center of mass tilts the car. once again, just random thoughts, but please do report back after the shop visit as i am curious to know what exactly the problem is. i would, as a CL member, like to make a giant troubleshoot thread for all the common problems and what not on the 1st generation SC's... i already learned something regarding the fan clutch as i had never heard of that before. Best of luck to you my fellow soarer driver, and as always, freedom of speed above all else!
03-05-19, 04:19 PM
#9
Driver School Candidate
This reeks of wheel bearings. At high speed, drop it in neutral. No difference in the sound, and winds down as the coasting winds down...so does the "roar". I have this in my rear tires, and recorded the sound in my trunk with my cell... went down the road with phone perched each time in the corner. the roar on the right is louder than the roar on the left, but am told to replace both at the same time for obvious reasons. However, don't have the tools to take off that 200 PSI wheel bearing nut.
03-05-19, 11:55 PM
#10
Rookie
Thread Starter
hmmm... if you havent yet resolved this issue, what type of roar is it? is it high pitch, low pitch, constant whine, or like a clockwork tick roar? i am sure this is not the problem as this would be easy to discern, but the wheels aren't rubbing on the wheel wells are they? as in a shot suspension? this would not be visible when lifted, but instead when on the ground... i find it interesting that you connected it with the steering... listing off all steering mechanisms that are affected by speed, not rpm (as you mentioned it doesn't happen when reving in park) would be your best bet... it very well may be the bearings on the wheel, as it would make sense if they are somehow deformed or rusted (idk if that can happen, just shooting some ideas) but think about it. the faster the wheel rotates, the more noise the wheel bearings wold make as they rotate. as far as turning goes, the center of stress and pressure would move on each wheel center as the car turns and the center of mass tilts the car. once again, just random thoughts, but please do report back after the shop visit as i am curious to know what exactly the problem is. i would, as a CL member, like to make a giant troubleshoot thread for all the common problems and what not on the 1st generation SC's... i already learned something regarding the fan clutch as i had never heard of that before. Best of luck to you my fellow soarer driver, and as always, freedom of speed above all else!
because I originally thought it was the front passenger bearing that was bad. And yeah the faster I go the louder it is. You can hear the noise I hear in this video at around 4 minutes.
03-06-19, 12:10 AM
#11
Rookie
Thread Starter
This reeks of wheel bearings. At high speed, drop it in neutral. No difference in the sound, and winds down as the coasting winds down...so does the "roar". I have this in my rear tires, and recorded the sound in my trunk with my cell... went down the road with phone perched each time in the corner. the roar on the right is louder than the roar on the left, but am told to replace both at the same time for obvious reasons. However, don't have the tools to take off that 200 PSI wheel bearing nut.
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