Humming Noise Coming From Drivers Side???

[3400SFI]

:pissed: I have an odd hummmmmm whenever I drive my Alero. its a 99 Alero GLS Auto 3400 SFI. If I turn the wheel slightly to the left the noise goes away, if I go straight or turn right it stays. It almost sound like radial tire with a broken tread or a dragging caliper, but I am pretty sure thats not the case. I am thinking Power Steering or even possibly tranny. I was also getting a clunk occasionally when reversing that was coming from up front somewhere. Anybody have any similar experiences?

[3400SFI]

How about a wheel bearing? Anyone had problems with Alero's and wheel bearings yet? Is it a pain to replace? I imagine just remove the brakes and loosen the axle nut and i should be able to replace it right?

[csealy_31]

I had to replace the left front whell bearing at about 90,000. The procedure is simple. Remove the Brakes. Remove the axle nut. Drop the lower control arm by undoing the lower ball joint. Use an axle remover to press the axle out. After that the hub is held on by four bolts. Don't forget to unhook the wheel sensor for the ABS. Then reverse order to install. Should take about an hour if you know what you're doing. You shouldn't need an alignment unless for some reason you mess with the strut bolts. Also don't forget to hang your caliper so you don't stretch or break the brake line. The wheel bearing was $399 at the dealer. I couldn't find anyone else who had it, plus I had to get to work so I could pay for it! So I didn't do a whole lot of price research. Good Luck!!

Also, you can check to see if it's the whell bearing by supporting the car on jack stands under the control arms. Remove the wheels and then bring the car up to the speed where you hear the noise. Please use extreme caution and watch for kids animals, girl friends, etc. Always properly support your vehicle!! If the noise is still there you can have someone else bring the car up to speed while you "listen" to each side.
Mine sounded like a brake lathe turning the rotor.

[3400SFI]

Thanks for the response. I found a hub assembly at Auto Zone for $109.99 So I'll be doing this over the weekend sometime. I need to change my oil anyways I guess. Thanks for the response. IS there any other way to tell which side it is other than putting the car in drive and listening for the noise? I would hate to do that on blocks and I'm not about to go spend $50 or more on jack stands when I don't even own a garage. (apartment dweller) . I use my folks house whenever I need to do work on my cars.

[csealy_31]

This sounds like a pain in the as@, but I would pull the wheels and brakes off and try to see if one had more run-out then the other by turning it by hand and listening for any noises or trying to feel for excess play. I'll check the manual out tonight and see if GM has anything specific about diagnosis. I'll get back to you tonight unless anyone else has a response.

[csealy_31]

Sorry man, the diagnosis from the GM manual about front end noise is to do what I wrote the last time. Except they state to not drive the wheels faster then 55km/h or 35mph. They say the speedo only states half the speed with only one wheel spinning.

Also in the procedure I missed a couple of steps. You have to remove the wheel, the tie rod end from the steering knuckle, the sway bar end link, remove the drive shaft nut( use punch in rotor to hold against caliper to keep from turning axle), remove ball joint from steering knuckle, hub puller to remove the axle from the hub, then there are three bolts that hold the hub to the steering knuckle. Finally disconnect the wheel speed sensor.

I hope this works for you. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

[3400SFI]

Originally posted by csealy_31@Jun 5 2004, 03:32 AM
Sorry man, the diagnosis from the GM manual about front end noise is to do what I wrote the last time. Except they state to not drive the wheels faster then 55km/h or 35mph. They say the speedo only states half the speed with only one wheel spinning.

Also in the procedure I missed a couple of steps. You have to remove the wheel, the tie rod end from the steering knuckle, the sway bar end link, remove the drive shaft nut( use punch in rotor to hold against caliper to keep from turning axle), remove ball joint from steering knuckle, hub puller to remove the axle from the hub, then there are three bolts that hold the hub to the steering knuckle. Finally disconnect the wheel speed sensor.

I hope this works for you. Good luck and let me know how it goes.
:eek: I have to remove the tie rod and endlink too? DAMN! This sounds like more of a pain in the ass than I thought. Does the ball joint need to be seperated with a ball joint fork? I can pull the hub off of my Fiero in like 20 minutes, but this sounds like a majpr pain in the ass.

[3400SFI]

I am going to follow the instructions in this write up.. http://invision.aleromod.com/index.php?showtopic=258

It doesn't say anything about seperating the tie rod.

[csealy_31]

Awesome, he did a great job of documenting. GM always overkills the procedure. Sometimes you can reach parts without undoing everything. Hell, the manual also states when loosening or removing the caliper bracket you should replace the bolts. I have never done so and nothings come apart or unexpectedly happened. I'm not saying it's smart to ignore safety advice, I just don't think the bolts get hot enough to lose strength.
Anyway, I can sympathize with the great outdoors approach to fixing cars. I don't have a garage either. Have fun!

[3400SFI]

OK I did it in 2 hours and it only cost $120.00 for the part from AutoZone after tax. The write I used from here was perfect, the only problems i ran into was having to hammer the rotor off cause it was so rusted, and the axle would not seperate from the hub. I had to hammer the puller then tighten then hammer then tighten etc for the whole time. I even have a 250 ft lb torque wrench that couldn't touch that axle. It was really hard to remove, but it came after hammering, spraying with lube, and tightening the hub puller. Thanks for all the help guys.

[alerosport.com]

i have the same problem with my 99 Alero 3400, i bought a hub for about $85 at a auto parts store, but have yet to tackle the project. Do I need to rent a hub wheel puller? to pull it off?

When i turn left or go straight it gets loud nice and quite when i turn right. So which hub is bad the left or right side, im thinking the left.

Thanks for any help

[3400SFI]

Originally posted by alerosport.com@Jun 8 2004, 10:32 PM
i have the same problem with my 99 Alero 3400, i bought a hub for about $85 at a auto parts store, but have yet to tackle the project. Do I need to rent a hub wheel puller? to pull it off?

When i turn left or go straight it gets loud nice and quite when i turn right. So which hub is bad the left or right side, im thinking the left.

Thanks for any help
Its kinda hard to know which side it would be just by what you described. I just knew it was the drivers front side, I didn't even check it first. I asked here how to check but I already suspected which one it was. Where did you find one for $89? BTW make sure that the $89 is a direct replacement and not a universal fit. The direct replacement has the ABS sensor and the uni doesn't.

[alerosport.com]

it was at like advanced auto i think... um it is a black and orange box, that says TIMKEN on it and the part has a thing that looks like you plug a sensor into.... Does this sound right?

[alerosport.com]

Do i need a hub puller?

on your car when you turned it a certin way it got louder... say if you turned it right it got louder was it the right hub that you replaced and it got better?

[3400SFI]

Originally posted by alerosport.com@Jun 10 2004, 04:59 AM
Do i need a hub puller?

on your car when you turned it a certin way it got louder... say if you turned it right it got louder was it the right hub that you replaced and it got better?
Yeah it did that, but I don't remember which way it turned to make the sound go away. I got that same Timken wheel bearing but it cost me 109.99 at AutoZone, and Advanced had it for $128.00 I wish they sold it around here for $89. That would have saved me over $30.

Just try to listen very carefully to what side its coming from, its obvious that its coming from the front of the car now you need to pinpoint which side. And yes you need a hub puller. Go to te link I posted of the write up I used and I think that guy listed a part number that you can borrow for free after deposit from Autozone.