Jump to content

Help need some advice


15 Z71

Recommended Posts

Quick question. I have 15 Sierra with 40,000 miles on it. Anyone ever have a problem with a front wheel bearing? When I'm going 30 and over (especially around 50 to 55 I have a almost a humming sound. I cant tell if it's just my tires or something else. Any ideas what to look for or check? Thanks. BTW...sounds like its coming from drivers side front.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If these are the OEM tires that came on the truck then I would suspect the tires are your issue at 40k miles,. Spring for a set top quality Michelins and see if it goes away? It is easy for me to spend OPM (Other Peoples Money) Haha 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had something similar on my TrailBlazer(4x4). I bought it with 107K and they just put new tires on... I put about 50k+ on it before I started to hear that humming noise...

Above a certain speed, it made a humming noise, from passenger area. No noise when idle or speeds under 20mph. I replaced the bearings, even though it looked ok after taking the old one out. Replaced CV shaft... Humming was still there.. Finally, said f'it, rotated the tires, and it followed that front passenger tire, now the humming was coming from the rear tire that was up front...... well, I now got new CV joints, bearings... AND new tires... No more humming noise.... Lol....

Rotating your tires won't cost you anything to rule them out....

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, 1SLOW1500 said:

Helps to post if the truck is 4 wheel drive or not. also if it is lifted/lowered. But easy you find out what it is. My humming was vacuum pump.

Yeah good point..yes it's a double cab z71 4x4 All stock 0 mods.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, 15 Z71 said:

Quick question. I have 15 Sierra with 40,000 miles on it. Anyone ever have a problem with a front wheel bearing? When I'm going 30 and over (especially around 50 to 55 I have a almost a humming sound. I cant tell if it's just my tires or something else. Any ideas what to look for or check? Thanks. BTW...sounds like its coming from drivers side front.

When I was pumping gas in HS, I remember that one way to hunt wheel bearing noise sources was to drive the speed you hear it and turn right then left an see if it goes away. If you get a change going one way, it may indicate if one side has a bad bearing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, 426ted said:

Put a jack under it, lift the front, grab tire @ 12 &6 and see if you can move it up and down. Simple takes <5 minutes. The front wheel bearings went on my '09 at about 50K.

O.P.     ^^ that will tell you if the bearing is bad.

 

Also when driving if you go through a curve - one direction or the other and it goes away, is also an indication of a bad wheel bearing.

Edited by BB68
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The easiest way I can diagnose a wheel bearing is to get up to the speed where the noise is present and slightly jerk the steering wheel left to right. If the noise gets worse when the wheel turns one way and better when you turn it the other way you more than likely have a worn wheel bearing/hub assembly. I also noticed from past experience with the wheel bearings my GMC Envoy chewed up is that the ABS would kick in at 5mph or slower when I would brake since it picked up on the vibration of the bearings being worn out. The wiggle check is not always a guarantee as I have had 5 hubs fail but they were solid and did not move at all, they were just really loud at highway speeds and would get even worse at turns. 

 

For me the worn bearings sound a little like off road tires on dry pavement. It's like a groaning sound and it gets louder when you are in a turn since you are shifting force from one side of the vehicle to the other. Typically if you turn your wheel to the left and the noise is louder, your passenger side hub is failing and if you turn your wheel to the right and it gets louder then your drivers side hub is wearing out. This is not a 100% guarantee though, I had 2 fail where it was louder in right turns and it ended up being my right front hub that failed. 

 

My advice is to rotate your tires front to back and see if it goes away. If it doesn't take it out on the highway and see if the noise changes when you steer back and forth. If the noise does change when you move the wheel you can confirm the bearing with a mechanics stethoscope or a long screwdriver held up to your ear with the tip on the hub assembly and rotate the hub by hand to listen for any grit or odd noises.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Along with the listening in turns, if you or any friends have an infrared thermometer you can try checking the temperatures. The failing bearing would be much warmer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, 15 Z71 said:

If it is bad do you have to change the whole hub assembly or just bearings? Would that be covered under power train warranty? 

I don't think they would cover it under the powertrain warranty. It should be just the bearings, I had to replace the bearings on my 14 Sierra but it was relatively inexpensive and easy. I would agree to jacking it up and seeing if it moves, that's going to be the easiest and safest way to figure it out. Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.