Differential or wheel bearings?

#1

I’m getting a loud whirring sound during right turns and a moderately loud whirring sound during left turns. I can’t tell if it’s coming from the front or rear.

When the sound was coming only during right turns I was thinking wheel bearing, even tho there’s no “growling” sound that I’d normally equate with bearing going. But I’m a little surprised that it’s coming now in left turns. And I’m not dead sure what a failing bearing sounds like anyhow.

There is no play in any wheels. That too makes me wonder if it’s a wheel bearing.

What is sounds the most like, to me, is what my tow vehicle’s failing diff sounded like.

I have Chuck’s LSD rebuild kit, but it wasn’t clutch pads that failed in the tow vehicle’s bearings. And the LSD tests good with 35ftlbs of breakaway. That’s not great, but it’s not awful either.

So to summarize:
Loud whirring sound when turning left or right at high speed.
No play in wheels.

What do you think?

#2

Mine sounded like that and kept getting worse eventually sounded like a screaming Banshee in Left turns, sounded bad in right turns also. Wheel Bearings were bad. One really bad one not quite so bad. i had 246k. Much quieter now.

#3

I rented a SE30 a few years ago before getting my own car and a bearing went bad. Groaning noise when I turned right. Fine straight and turning left. It was a bearing and I think it took them two tries to find the right one.

Jason

#4

Heat is one way to find it. Take you lazer pyromoter and shoot the hubs and there will be a noticable difference if one has a bad bearing. You can feel this by hand as it gets worse. I vote it is a wheel bearing and not the diff. Don’t hear about those going out much.

Michael
#36
Great Lakes Region

#5

A bad front wheel bearing will make noise/vibration when the car is turned to the opposite side, i.e., a bad right side bearing will make noise in a left hand turn and vice versa. In a similar fashion a bad rear wheel bearing tends to make noise in a turn to the opposite side.

The first thing to do would be to determine whether the wheel bearings are the cause. To do that you need to remove the brake caliper from each of the wheels and spin same. If the bearings are bad you’ll easily feel it on the front wheels. On the rear wheels it is sometimes necessary to remove the half shafts to fully assess the condition of the bearings.