Front wheel bearings ?

[Punisher]

I have had for a while a noise in the front of my L Series wagon, that I thought was just tyre noise.
The tyres are a fairly open GT Radial winter tread.
Kind of a humming, rumbling. but recently it seems to have gotten louder.

Ive replaced the Outer CV Joints recently. But could the noise be wheel bearings or inner CV joints ?

Wheel bearings feel tight, but they were tightened not that long ago.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[AndrewT]

when you say they feel tight what are you using to test that?

It's possible the castellated nut might not be tight enough. Get a breaker bar and 36mm socket and see if they'll move any more, they have to be really tight.

You can get the condition of the bearings tested by a mechanic who might have a stethoscope - you can listen very closely while the wheel is spun to hear if it's flogged out or not.

Otherwise if they are unknown condition it might be worth replacing the bearings anyway, for piece of mind. I did a pretty detailed write-up quite some time ago, do a quick search on here to find it. It's very straight forward for the front end.

[Punisher]

I put a new set of sealed bearings in and now its nice and quiet ...

[Punisher]

except ... now i can hear the CJ joints making a noise.
I replaced the outers not that long ago, and it makes a noise in a straight line so must be the inners ???

Are the inner CV Joints any more difficult to fit on the shaft than the outers ?

[AndrewT]

inners are easier. One big snapring holds them in.

[El_Freddo]

inners are easier. One big snapring holds them in.

Even then once you know about it they're not that difficult to deal with! I have not had to do the outer cup yet but I reckon that'd be a pain in the arse to do compared to the inner cup.

Glad to hear you're front bearing noise has gone - bearings can do some very weird things before they really die!

Cheers

Bennie

[Punisher]

The CV's seem to be more noisy when the car is cold , is that normal ?