That up and down play on the inner tripod joint makes it sound like that is the other culprit. If it were me, I'd pull the axle and check it out. Sorry to hear about your knee, take care of yourself OK.

 

If one of the bushings was bad, I'd go ahead and do the other one. You have to remove the hub in order to remove the axle, kind of makes sense to do all the labor once. FWIW, the axle is very easy to do, don't agonize over "seal protectors", but you will need a "bearing splitter" (available for loan) to get the stub off of the inner end to re-use.

 

Thanks for the advice. I also want to change out the stabilizer bar insulators. I have that nasty clunk in the front end like a lot of people have complained about. They look cracked and spread away from touching the bar. If I can just get all the little things wrong fixed, I will really enjoy the car.

 

Resurrecting my thread.

Didn't get the chance to get the vehicle on a lift this last weekend (wasn't feeling too well), but the sound is becoming more noticeable while the wheels are straight and when turning left. I think I'll go with your assumption, 843de, that I have a bad hub assembly....just gotta figure out which one since there is no noticeable play doing the 12 & 6, 3 & 9 push/pull and rotate the tire method.

What's the easiest way of finding out which side is the culprit?

 

Since you can't feel play and no roaring, probably not the hubs.

The axle that that had the up/down is the bad one.

BTW, I just found out that you only need the bearing splitter on the RIGHT side on an auto, there is no stub on the left.

 

Alright, I FINALLY got this vehicle up on a hoist at my fiance's brother's mechanic shop. He took it for a drive first and swerved back and forth at high speeds and was positive it was the driver side bearing. Once up on the hoist, he confirmed that as I put the car in gear and spun the wheels. He could see the driver wheel wobbling as it spun. He took off the wheel, caliper and rotor and when turning the hub, it had a nice rough grind feeling to it.

We've ordered the part (saved about $30 with him having a mechanic shop) and will be able to put it on next Saturday. Also going to install the driver side LCA bushing and the stabilizer bar bushings in hopes to quiet the clunk in the front end.

Just wanted to update everyone and thanks for your suggestions/advice.

 

Glad you got the problem narrowed down, sometimes you have to run them in gear like that to be absolutely sure, but unless you have it on a lift....its a dangerous thing to try.

 

I never heard of a good CV joint having play. Of course I'm self taught on fixing things wrong with my car.

 

if you can make go away by loading and unloading the coner in question it's a bearing.

 

Bumping this thread again.

Car is once again loud at high speeds and worse turning curves to the right. It gets quieter turning to the left. So, I'm going to guess it's the bearing I replaced last time.

What could cause that bearing to become prematurely worn? I don't think I even have 25k miles on this new one. My tires are wearing fine and the car rides straight down the road. I had an alignment last winter when I had new tires put on and this was with the old wheel bearing still on. The tires are the only different thing from stock, which are 225/55R16 and not the stock 215/55R16. I got them because the factory sized tires were not in stock and tirerack said the ones I purchased would be fine, but GM suggests not going bigger as they won't fit in the wheel well.

Anything I should be looking for while diagnosing this thing? Thanks!