wheel bearings?

A

apl

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Hello
My car Lincoln ls v8 79xxx miles was making a clunking noise from the passenger side over rough roads. All of a sudden the car on the highway it feels like I am running on very rough snow tires vibration wise. To me the steering fells a bit of may be my imagination when I let go of the steering wheel I go straight. Its not pulling to one side or the other. When I got to work this morning I think I found the culprit. The front passenger tire felt loose I can rock it back and forth. I thought I might have a loose tire no luck the lugnuts are tight. So I have not jacked the car up my thoughts are wheel bearing or ball joints. I can rock the tire when I push on the top of it and something klunks I cant tell if it rocks side to side since I have not jacked it up yet.
 
Dont drive it until you find out whats loose. It could be any number of things that can kill you, or others, at high speeds. I would bet upper ball joint if you can move the wheel at the top. Jack it up, and use jack stands, have someone move the wheel while you look at the upper and lower ball joints, inner and outer tie rod ends, wheel bearings and control arm mounts.
 
My guess...ball joints. I'm on second set within 90k miles. I did have a bad wheel bearing and it made a howling noise like a snow tire would make. The vertical movement in the tire kinda makes it a suspension issue. Control arm bushings crap out too and may cause the same condition. Take ur car to the best collision shop in ur area and get it diagnosed. I have had terrible work done at tire shops. Make sure your steering wheel locks and if not tell them to put a grunt inside to hold it while the toe in/out is set. I learned the hard way. Belle Tire had mine off 4 inches although their printout showed in spec. Beware.
 
ctkelly444 said:
... Make sure your steering wheel locks and if not tell them to put a grunt inside to hold it while the toe in/out is set. ...
Click to expand...

The US LS does not have any steering wheel lock.
 
High pitched whine starts at 15mph. The pitch increases steadily until it seems to fade away above 60mph. It only does it under "load"; quiet when coasting and below 15mph. Due to the pitch it is very hard to isolate direction. I did have it in the shop and they claim they couldn't hear it. They supposedly checked for a bad bearing. It started out of the blue a week or so ago.

Ideas???????
 
A high pitch sound when in motion always makes me think of a bad bearing. I've had that issue before on my '69. I didn't hear it when moving around in a parking lot. I would only heard it when I'd get up to speed on the street. Never on the highway. I took the bearings off, greased them, tightened everything up, and all was well after that. Right now I'm having an issue with the LS that makes me think it's a bearing. I'm getting a howling sound from my front passenger side wheel. Sounds like a police siren. Only does it when the car is in motion. Doesn't do it all the time though. Usually in the morning when the car is cold. I can't imagine it being any other thing.

Assuming you are not applying the brakes when the sound appears, I would think it's a bearing. That's the only thing that would create a continuous sound consistent with the speed of the vehicle.
 
Are the bearings and knuckles on the rear the same on Gen 2 as Gen 1? (I have a 03 V8) If they are, it sounds like I can just have the bearing replaced. I have it at another shop, The dealer wanted $1500.00 like
And that would be great!...lol
 
Well, I just got a call from the shop. Apparently you don't have to spend $1500.00 on the rear wheel bearing and knuckle just replace the bearing.
Parts and labor $195.00...I'm loving it. Can't wait to call the dealer.....lol
 
I'm afraid mine may be the diff..... I will know for sure later this week....
 
My pinion shaft bearings went bad at around 180K mi. The local dealer rebuilt the rear end with all new bearings and seals, sounded as good as new. One bad thing is that there is no drain plug, so PM gear oil changes are next to impossible without dropping the diff from the sub frame and removing the cover. I guess a suction gun would solve that issue to a small degree. My diff fluid was black and likely what cost the bearings.
 
milehighmikey said:
My pinion shaft bearings went bad at around 180K mi. The local dealer rebuilt the rear end with all new bearings and seals, sounded as good as new. One bad thing is that there is no drain plug, so PM gear oil changes are next to impossible without dropping the diff from the sub frame and removing the cover. I guess a suction gun would solve that issue to a small degree. My diff fluid was black and likely what cost the bearings.
Click to expand...

Hopefully it is just the bearings as that route would be quite a bit less expensive. I was quoted ~$775 for just the bearings and ~$1100 for the bearings and ring and pinion.
 
Well..... Pinion bearing. They said they are as sure as they can be without tearing it apart that the gear set is fine. They said I caught it soon enough.

Oh well.... I guess I have no reason to install an LSD......
 
Well after $825 to replace $50 worth of bearings the LS is nice and quiet!! They did find some burrs on the leading edge of the pinion that they machined. That had no effect on the pinion/ring mesh. They said the pattern was perfect.
 
Amazing, the noise is so bad yet it goes away with a few new bearings. Glad to hear.
 
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