Some may remember I set about revitalizing a 1998 Mercedes E430 last summer. One thing I've noted is that it can tend to make a good bit of noise while driving. I would call it a growl. It's coming from the front and varies with speed. My E430 s RWD and not a 4Matic. So it's not a front diff. It's not clunky, so not cv related. It doesn't seem to vary with engine speed, but rather vehicle speed.

I just pulled her out after a winter's slumber. Time to get back at it! A pic for fun.

Noise vary when turning left, right, going straight?

First thing to do is rotate the tires.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
Noise vary when turning left, right, going straight?

I'll have to test that more substantially, but I'm not thinking so. It's pretty loud at highway speeds going basically straight.

quote:

Originally posted by 21bubba:
First thing to do is rotate the tires.

Brand new tires. I believe it was doing it before the tires. Then I got new Continental Pure Contacts. Then I thought maybe the tires were the problem, so I had them switch them under Conti's guarantee to a new version of Conti (the Pro Contact). No difference.

Sure sounds like wheel bearings. Pun intended. Jack it up, and spin the wheels by hand. See if it makes the growling sound.

This is actually a common occurence. The old tires masked the sound the defective bearing was making. Put on new tires, and suddenly it's audible.

One thing you could try is finding an open area and swerving back and forth at speed. If it is a bearing, it will change as the bearing loads/unloads. Look at the bearing on the outside of the turn when the noise is loudest.

It sounds funny but try and find a quiet neighborhood and slowly drive with the windows down and listen to the noise echo off of the curb. It will give you a better idea of what the noise sounds like. A high pitch noise is often a bearing. It will usually make a low growling or crunching noise when turning.

IF they are bearings, replace them NOW, before they destroy any spindles they may be mounted on, particularly if the spindle is not a seperate bolt-on part, ie cast as a single unit wheel mounting assembly etc. Ask me how I know. THAT part can be somehwere between expensice to non-existent.

It definitely sounds like a wheel bearing. We had one gonrecently and that’s how it sounded. Got louder the faster we went.

I have had to replace wheel bearings on an suv with under 12000 miles. Covered by warranty but very disappointing at the time.

It was a great vehicle after that. Sure sounds like bearings. Good luck with the diagnosis.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
IF they are bearings, replace them NOW, before they destroy any spindles they may be mounted on, particularly if the spindle is not a seperate bolt-on part, ie cast as a single unit wheel mounting assembly etc. Ask me how I know. THAT part can be somehwere between expensice to non-existent.

10 or 12 years ago, I was in the back of a taxi on Houston's Hardy tollway and the driver was doing about 80. A sedan passed on and it was making a lot of noise so it caught my attention. All of the sudden, I saw sparks on driver's front wheel on the sedan and it immediately veered left and smashed into the concrete median.

This was shortly after some major flooding (Tropical Storm Allison) and many people drove through deep water or their car ended up parked in deep water. I've always suspected the grease left the bearing which cause the bearings to seize, the sparks, and veering hard left.

Lift it off the ground and spin the wheel by hand. If it makes noise, it's the bearing.

Thanks everyone! Looking at the YouTubez, it looks like you need some specialized tools (and likely experience) to do that right. Sooo... Back to the dealer. Taking all of the neglect out of this one has been a process, but it's starting to reward me in being a lovely car to drive. Couple bits left to tackle.

I would be surprised if it wasn't the bearing.

As far as rotating by hand, or shaking to see if loose, it may or may not help. I have a 2011 Tacoma, it would start making a "tire" noise esp 35-45mph... then continue to growl, on down to stopping. Brake, take transmission out of gear, turn, nothing affected the noise.

Turned by hand, shook, nothing...

Replaced anyway, smooth and quiet. :-)

Less than $150 on amazon for complete hub as well, same as autozone etc, but $30-50 less.

Good luck!

Same thing happened to me. Turned out to be a failed part in the right front brake.

Making noise when it spins while jacked up does not necessarily mean it's a wheel bearing. It can be brake pad drag or a stuck caliper. To check wheel bearings, you need to jack it up and grab the tire at 12 and 6 o'clock, then wiggle for play. If it just started, you can probably adjust and repack it.

I've had to snug wheel bearings before, but, if gets to the point that it's noisy when you're driving, it's probably past the point of no return. When that happened to the car in my avatar, I just made it home and don't think I could have made it one more driveway length before catastrophic failure.

I wouldn’t take it to the dealer for that repair. Find an independent shop or buy the tools you need. They aren’t that expensive and it isn’t that difficult. You can even remove the hub and take it to a shop to remove the old bearing and press the new one in.

I recently inherited a neglected 2003 Silverado and was hearing a dry metallic noise and was thinking maybe wheel bearing as they evidently go bad often in these. I could make it go away swerving left and get worse swerving right. I'm away from home and have no tools but noticed one rotor had scratches, mechanic confirmed a dragging rear brake.