Tire noise or bad bearing?

[Taz GTO]

OK I know Vue's are notorious for having bearings fail and also have very noisy stock tires, but I'm not sure which is which right now. The noise I'm getting is like something is stuck on the tire and it makes a soft thump and increases as speed increases. I've checked the tires to look for a bulge or a broken belt or something, but all the tires are fine. Is this sound a bad bearing? I've heard other members say it sounds like a knobby tire going down the road, but this really doesn't sound like that. Also I can feel it on the floor with my feet sometimes. I thought maybe it was the particular road I was driving on, but I drove around town and on different surfaces and still got the same feeling and sound. I don't mind taking it to the dealer, but its out of the way and completely on the other side of town and I'd have to take off work to do it. So just trying to be sure before having to go.

Thanks guys!

[D C]

From your description, it sounds more like a tire than a bearing.

One thing that bearings usually do is make more noise in one direction than the other. So it might be louder when turning left but quieter when turning right. And I mean like a gradual lane-change kind of turn while driving at a decent speed, not a stoplight turn.

[Chazberry]

Is this sound a bad bearing?

Doesn't sound like it. How about trying your spare tire on each corner to see if it goes away?

[Tom92SCm]

How about just replacing the junky stock tires- for more reason than just this one?

[Taz GTO]

Thanks guys! I'll try the spare tire idea and see. And believe me I want to replace the crappy tires, but just can't at this moment.

[Sir Trews]

:usa:

Mine is an older SL2.. but the same applies to yours as well as mine.. just a check, as you haven't said.. is there a 'clickig' sound? If there is.... that;s a whole 'nother can of worms...

Replacing the tires happens when you can do it, but, in the meantime, where ever you got them from ]should have a re-balancing/rotation' program...try that first... using your spare won't really tell you much.. if the spares were actual real size tires, then yes... but they aren't.

2nd... be CERTAIN of your tire pressures... in the front, use what is nominal for that tire... make sure to check it at 'cold' temps....ie.. after a couple hours parked. Rear, depending on how much you load it on a regular basis, should be a bit less... tire manufacturers want you to run that max...

Bad idea... it runs the center of the tire out much faster that way. Higher pressure expands the center.. a slightly lower one runs that whole 'contact patch' on the ground.

And tire rotation is critical. Do it REGULAR!! It really is important!!~

Looking forward to hearing more.

*~M~*

[SLMike]

Going through wheel bearing problems myself right now on our 03 Vue.

In my case, just jacking up the rear wheels and spinning them by hand, it was obvious that the bearings on one side are shot. Maybe try that - if they are bad enough, you'll hear it I think.

Mike

[VTchemist]

Sounds like a bad tire. I've had belts on the tire separate before. It gives a thumping sound.

I agree with the other folks advice: put on the spare r see it the noise goes away.

I've replaced both front bearing assemblies on my 2003 VUE, (56K and 81K).the noise ( prior to failure) was a constant roaring.

Hope this helps.

[ssicarman]

If you have all wheel drive 2002-2004 up to a certain VIN point (reasons why the year and model are always nice to know) you may have a bad steady bearing.
The complaint described in a TSB is a vibration only felt in the seatback or arm rest. Depending on the year and engine the speed at which it happens can vary. If left long enough you could get a noise.
Have a look at the steady bearing. If the rubber isolator is seperated from the metal bracket this is your problem. If it is not it could still be your problem. Sure fire tst is to remove the drive shaft and take a drive to see if the problem is still there or not.

[1saxman]

What is a 'steady' bearing. Are you referring to the center bearing on a two-piece driveshaft?

Tires: an old trick when tire noise is suspected is to pump up each tire, one at a time, to 50 psi, then drive the vehicle to see if the noise changes. This isolates which tire (or tires) is causing the problem. Don't forget to reduce the tire pressure after each test! Generally, belt separations don't make noise as much as they cause wheel hop (shaking). Have you inspected all tires with the vehicle off the ground to see if something is stuck in or on the tire(s)? Do you get wheel hop at highway speed?

[morx27]

Try this -- Jack up wheel. Put gear in neutral so you can rotate wheel by hand. On inner side of wheel, look at where rim of brake disk rotates close to a flat piece of steel, that looks like the end of a butter knife. Slide a folded piece of paper between the steel piece and the brake disk, then rotate wheel by hand. If noise stops, remove paper and use a suitable prying tool to pry steel piece away from disk -- just enough for clearance. If noise is not heard, road test to see if problem is solved. It worked for me. Noise is not a click -- sounds like two pieces of rusty metal being rubbed together -- exactly what it is. In my case it was most noticeable when making a left turn.

[1saxman]

Try this -- Jack up wheel. Put gear in neutral so you can rotate wheel by hand. On inner side of wheel, look at where rim of brake disk rotates close to a flat piece of steel, that looks like the end of a butter knife. Slide a folded piece of paper between the steel piece and the brake disk, then rotate wheel by hand. If noise stops, remove paper and use a suitable prying tool to pry steel piece away from disk -- just enough for clearance. If noise is not heard, road test to see if problem is solved. It worked for me. Noise is not a click -- sounds like two pieces of rusty metal being rubbed together -- exactly what it is. In my case it was most noticeable when making a left turn.

That's interesting - never ran into that before.

[tgrudzin]

Reguarding wheel bearing noise. I had a Jeep that had bad wheel bearing and test drove a VUE with a bad wheel bearing. I have also had bad tires on a 94 SL2. In reading the threads, I highly respected the information and the quality of all who answered. I only speak from experience. In the case of the Jeep, the low, constant growling we had I simply thought was the way the Jeep rode. (We brought it with 97K from a trusted family member. It died due to an accident with at 185K and we purchased a '02 VUE with 88K) When a mechanic pointed out the wheel bearing issue while looking at another issue we replaced both bearings (and still would do both sides), only then did I realize what it was. Changing tires doesn't help, as the new tires seem to quite the growl for a while. BTW, once we replaced the wheel bearing, I had to finally re-cut the rotors and the out-of-balance condition had done a real number on the conditioning of the brakes. Imagine the rotors and pads adjusting to an out of round condition for 20K miles then being set to factory standards.

Jump ahead 4 years to 11/07. We were test driving 02-04 VUEs when on one we noticed it had this growl from the start. It was immediate. We had driven a few but thought this was kind of loud. Short story was a bad wheel bearing the dealer repaced and still wanted us to buy the vechile. We refused for other reasons.

Bad wheel bearing are a constant low growl. The trouble is, like worn brakes, is that you get use to them. Have a mechanic, or someone who doesn't normally drive you specific vechile drive the VUE and find out what they think about the noise, without leading them on. Wheel bearings are like a low background noise, always there. Tires didn't seem that way.

[F-Bobby]

if its going thump thump when you are dirivng straight. Im gonna have to say its a bad tire. Wheel bearings when they go bad will have like the other members said, a roaring noise that will get louder with speed. And also even though you migh tnot see a slipped belt in a tire, it may be only partially slipped. all you need is to have it slightly out of place to cause abnormal tire wear in that location and then you get scollaping on the tires and then that leads to the thump noise that you are describing. I had an 03 L200 come in last week for this exact problem, and it took me 5 minutes to figure out where the slipped belt was on the tire. cause it was about a 1 inch section of the tire that was messed up. The rest of it was fine, but this one section was worn abnormally and was making a ridiculously loud noise while driving.