new guy, old question?

[fordtechguru]

:feedback o.k. car is ls2000 v8 auto- seems to me i have a pass. front hub bearing making noise. most noticable at 40-55 mph, seems to change slightly as you swerve left/right to load/unload the wheel bearing, but, i have never seen anyone here talk about this being an issue.... can't feel any play in it or any rust around it, visually seems o.k. but growls.. has anyone come across this??? throttle input has no effect, goes quiet after 60mph.. tires seem o.k. they are firestones for now till they wear out... any help appreciated..

 

[beaups]

could be wheel, try rotating tires to see if problem moves. I had this problem on my aurora and after replacing hub and not fixing it found out it was slightly bent weel causing rotors to make strange sounds. when I did have a hub go bad (driver sad) it don't go away with speed....

 

[Sandlot]

I dont yet own an LS yet but I do do 80k a year(courier) and thus have run through a few wheel bearings. I am with you till the 60 mph thing. I have experienced the same things as load changes sound changes etc. Can you hear it with the window cracked at high speed (60+)? The grease inside the bearing will burn up within 400 miles of the first time you notice it and the noise will get much, much worse (like drum brakes where the linings are completely worn out.

The part in question was designed to 150k durability standards. I dont know how many miles you have on yours it sounds odd that a bearing went on an LS. I have only had one ford bearing last less miles than it was designed to and that was under heavy use.

This is a link to the part online.

https://fordparts.com/oe_parts_catalog.html

It isn't expensive if you consider it is OEM and includes the hub assy. You may as well just replace it and see if it fixes your problem.

 

[ToddG]

:feedback o.k. car is ls2000 v8 auto- seems to me i have a pass. front hub bearing making noise. most noticable at 40-55 mph, seems to change slightly as you swerve left/right to load/unload the wheel bearing, but, i have never seen anyone here talk about this being an issue.... can't feel any play in it or any rust around it, visually seems o.k. but growls.. has anyone come across this??? throttle input has no effect, goes quiet after 60mph.. tires seem o.k. they are firestones for now till they wear out... any help appreciated..

I had a similar problem in my 2003 LS. It was a whining/humming noise that was loudest at about 40-45 MPH. I have very new Bridgestone Turanza LS-H tires, so I eliminated the tires as the source. I narrowed the noise down to (1) a wheel bearing, (2) a carrier bearing, or (3) the ring/pinion in the differential.

When I took my car in for service, I took one of the chassis techs for a ride so he could hear the noise for himself. He heard the noise and immediately diagnosed it as a wheel bearing. This particular tech had been servicing LSes since they came out in 2000. He was aware of the bearing problem and noted that although there were improvements in the carrier bearings between the 00-02 models and the 03+ models, the wheel bearings were the same across all LS models and have not been changed or upgraded, regardless of year. Consequently, he's seen far fewer carrier bearing issues in the 03+ models than in the 00-02 models. However, he still sees wheel bearings going out occasionally on the 03+ models as well as the 00-02 models.

Last week, the service techs ordered and installed a new left rear wheel bearing to address the problem. Invoice states "Install special order left rear wheel bearing for noise previously diagnosed. Replace left rear spindle/bearing assembly". Part is listed as "2W4Z-58716-AA, KNUCKLE AND HU". The "HU" may be a truncated version of Hub. This fixed the problem and now my LS rides very quietly.

Hope that helps.

 

[2001LS8Sport]

Here is one very good way to diagnose a wheel or axle bearing noise. Take it to a large parking lot or open stretch of road and bring the car up to speed where you can hear the noise. Now, crank the wheel to the left...hard enough to load the right side of the suspension and chassis but not severely. Note whether or not the noise stays the same or gets worse. Now, do the same thing only crank to the right. If the noise goes away, the bearing that's going bad is on the right side. It would be vice versa for a left side bearing.

 

[fordtechguru]

thanks guys, read all posts... i guess the first smart thing to do is rotate wheels and retest, noise has not gotten worse since i've owned it 88,000 to now 92,000, it may still be making noise after 55 but it sure changes or blends in...hub from ford my price was like 175.00 (still get good deals on stuff as an ex) but what throws me is my buddy who is the suspension tech says they never go out. it does slightly change by throwing the car around, but the caddilacs were much more noticable than this, which throws me back to tires... i'll let you guys know....

 

[Sandlot]

thanks guys, read all posts... i guess the first smart thing to do is rotate wheels and retest, noise has not gotten worse since i've owned it 88,000 to now 92,000, it may still be making noise after 55 but it sure changes or blends in...hub from ford my price was like 175.00 (still get good deals on stuff as an ex) but what throws me is my buddy who is the suspension tech says they never go out. it does slightly change by throwing the car around, but the caddilacs were much more noticable than this, which throws me back to tires... i'll let you guys know....

Good Luck. Price @ Fordparts.com is $120 and change and is a true ford part. I have ordered parts from them before, no gimmicks (yet).