front left wheel humming

[thamusic54]

I have noticed for the last week, that when I'm on the highway the front left wheel has a humming.
When I veer to the right the noise dissapears,but when I turn it to the left the noise increases.
The car is not pulling to the left side.
Tires are in good condition, same brand and balanced.
Any ideas what this could be?
Thank you in advance for your help.
My ex is 2006 xls.

thamusic54

 

[Explorer_PL]

Just search for "wheel bearings" on this forum. Issue has been discussed to death. You will find prices, and brands that people used.

Just get Timken hub/bearing assembly and replace it. $ 250 plus your labor, about an hour.

 

[polizi212]

Exactly as Explorer PL said its a wheel bearing. No real special tools needed just read what others have done and you too can fix this common issue!

 

[bikedad]

Or just upload the lyrics to the ECU.

(sorry, couldn't resist)

On a serious note, I did mine and it wasn't that hard. Pretty much what ^^^ he said.

 

[scubastevesx]

i agree with these guys there not hard. somthing to push in
the cv if your 4 wheel drive and a slide help the bolts on the 06 up
are no sweet i did not even need to turn my wheel to gain access

 

[thebrakeman]

RockAuto.com has the Timken for $180. Known for quality, and might still be made in USA (?). They also have Moog/National for $166. Timken is long known for bearing quality, although I like Moog products like tie-rods, bushings, and other suspension items.

Local auto stores are $260 for house brands, $309 for Timken, and $330 for the Moog (!). Some items don't always save you enough money, versus brick & mortor store convenience. But in this case, I'd order away!

 

[edwx]

I also have a 2006 xls. I went with the SKF BR930456 (bought them on Ebay)hub assemblies. I researched the parts to the Nth degree before I bought them. They WILL fit perfectly, and are made in the USA, with TIMKIN bearings, which are also made in the USA. And they come with the 3 bolt kit and ABS sensor. Motorcraft HUB67 (4L2Z1104AA) will also fit. But I went with the SKF since it was the Motorcraft that failed.

 

[Bobmbx]

First, jack the front end up and spin the front wheels, and listen for any grinding or scraping sounds. It may also be both bearings, so make sure you spin both tires. This is the only way to determine which one is grinding. I replaced the bearing hub and the CV shaft on the driver side with no effect, but that was where the sound seemed to be coming from when driving. Turns out it was the right front bearing.

 

[Explorer_PL]

Bobmbx is right.

I assume that you are certain its' the front left. I have gone thru 5 - 6 bearings and I never was sure which one was making noise. With the rears in both cases, the wheel had a major play and you could wiggle it easily and was rubbing the brakes.

The fronts I was somewhat sure, but I always thought that if I replaced the wrong one, I would just repeat the job on the other side with the removed one.

 

[edwx]

Yeah, technically if you veer to the left and the noise INCREASES, it's a bad right front bearing because when you swing to the left the weight of the vehicle swings to the right and puts additional pressure on the right bearing which is why the noise increases. The first time I attempted to determine which side the noise was coming from just by the sound when I was driving straight down the road, I was wrong.

 

[thamusic54]

Surprised!!!

I took the car to work and I put it on the hydraulic lift, ran the car with the wheels off the ground, and NO HUMMING. Check the tires for play, NO PLAY. I told my friend to turn the wheels to the left, and..BINGO.
The Sway Bar link was dangling from the right side. The nut on top was attached to it, but the one at the bottom was broken.
I just got home, after a long night work and I will go to Advanced Auto Parts to get the parts( left and right) because I'm gonna replace BOTH.
Thanks to everybody for all the input and I hope that this cheap fix will solve my problem. I'll keep you posted.