stevek57

did a little research on this here and you tube, but would really appreciate some feedback on my next course of action on figuring out what I think is a wheel bearing issue (and figuring out which one). I get a humming/whine starting about 15 mph and increasing towards highway speeds but road noise makes it hard to determine which side. Both CV shafts have boots that are leaking (inside on driver side and outside on passenger side). There was more grease spun out on passenger side CV axle, so I just replaced that one first (got a new CV shaft unit at the local auto parts store) to see if it fixed the problem. It did not fix it. I also just did my rear brakes/rotors and checked both bearings with a stethascope sound device and noticed pretty smooth operation on both sides, so that does not look like the issue. I am not getting a vibration issue (and I put it in neutral at speed and the sound continued so that is another clue I am taking as to it being a bearing and not the driver side inside cv bearing), so it looks like the remaining inside CV joint is not the issue. I am contemplating removing the front wheels, calipers, and rotors on the front, putting it in neutral, and spinning the hub to determine roughness and sound scope them. An alternative I am considering, and this is where I can use some feedback is jacking up the front and running the engine (putting it in drive) with the wheels on the car. One way I saw this done on you tube is putting one wheel up at a time if there is no limited slip trans-axle/differential, so only the wheel off the ground spins. From what I can gather the front wheel drive RX (I have a 2004) has an open differential that will allow this. I assume I need to make sure traction control is off, and pull the fuse for the ABS system. I was also considering running with both wheels up at once, instead of one wheel at a time. I know this can be risky, so was wondering if anyone has done this, and if so, what tips they have.

tomr51

jack the car and spin the wheels.by hand. you should feel/hear a bad bearing.

stevek57

Tried just jacking it and turning the wheels, but it is not obvious still. Leaning towards running it in gear on jackstands. Has anyone done this that give some tips/warnings.