Loud growl (roadnoise)/vibration from front end

OK guys!

Symptom cause:
The funny thing, this begins at 35MPH or so when going straight or curving to the left. Below 35MPH or curving to the right the noise completely goes away.

The Particulars:
2000 SL1 FWD, 113K miles, front pads and tires changed at 85K and the new pads and tires have plenty of meat left, rotors still look fine - didn't turn at 85K. Haven't changed the (sealed?)wheel bearings, couldn't remove the main nut holding the disc w/ the lug nut studs (whatever thats called). What could be causing this very loud growl and vibration? My radio can barely keep up with the annoyance. Bearings? Brake parts? CV joint? Something else?
Any help very much appreciated!!!
Nik

 

My first guess would be CV joint or wheel bearing. Or check to see if the
tire/rim is rubbing somewhere. Might be easier to diagnose with the front
end up on jackstands and the wheels at speed.

A Haynes or Chilton manual will have charts on diagnosing stuff like this.
Any auto parts store has them if you don't have one already.

Lane [ l a n e @ p a i r . c o m ]
---
Visit my Saturn Car Audio and Performance Page at http://www57.pair.com/lane

to the left. Below 35MPH or curving to the right the noise completely goes
away.

pads and tires have plenty of meat left, rotors still look fine - didn't
turn at 85K. Haven't changed the (sealed?)wheel bearings, couldn't remove
the main nut holding the disc w/ the lug nut studs (whatever thats called).
What could be causing this very loud growl and vibration? My radio can
barely keep up with the annoyance. Bearings? Brake parts? CV joint?
Something else?

 

Sounds like a bad wheel bearing. With the front end safely jacked
up/supported, try rotating each wheel one at a time and listen for sound
differences. Also try moving wheel up/down, in/out, side to side for
differences in looseness.


=================================

" ..... I ain't no bandleader!!"

 

Hey Nik,

Did you ever resolve the vibration/growl? Please Please Please post a response if you did because I have a similar problem. ////// I have a 1997 SL1 that growls and vibrates slightly as speed increases. Other than these two occurences, the car seems to handle well. I went to the nearest Saturn dealer and they diagnosed it as a "failing right front wheel bearing." They then quoted me an $795.00 price tag. The approximate breakdown was: $300.00 for the bearing; $400 for the labor; and $95.00 for the necessary re-alignment (They were nice enough to let me know that they would, however, deduct the $36.00 diagnostic fee that they charged me from the $795.00, bless their souls.). It all sounded a little surreal to me, but hey, they're the experts, right? YEAH... RIGHT! All that I can say is thank God that they didn't have the part in stock because you can well imagine my surprise when I drove to a local tire center chain and was quoted: $60.00 for the part; $120.00 for the labor; and $59.00 for the re-alignment. Calling Pep Boys reduced the bill to $34.99 for the part and $79.20 for the labor. I'm sorry but in my dazed state, I must admit that I forgot to ask them what kind of deal they were offering on alignments but I am sure that it isn't more than $40.00 or $50.00. ////// Now for what could be either the best or worst part... After doing some pretty extensive Web-sleuthing, I'm wondering if it is the bearing at all. It seems to me that the culprit is just as likely to be an inbalance in one or more of the tires/wheels. Now I guess that I will have wheels balanced first, and if the problem persists, I'll consider replacing the bearing. I read on one post that due to the fact that hubs are assumed to be balanced, tires these days are balanced independent of the car. If this is true, then I can always chalk up my my balancing of the tires to preventative maintenence even if they're not the problem seeing as they should remain balanced even after any re-alignment that would be performed as part of the possible wheel bearing replacement regimen. //// So tell me someone, is there any chance that balancing the tires without also having the wheels aligned is of any value? I would like to think that due to my current perception of my car's seemingly "good" alignment, that balancing without re-alignment might have some value, and might reveal the problem to have been an imbalance all along, but I just don't know if this is the case or not. HEP ME. HEP ME PLEEZ!