front end noise... axle or bearing?

Ukraine Train · **Posted:** Sun Jan 30, 2011 10:45 am

I'm having trouble diagnosing a front end driveline noise. I get a whirr that gets louder the faster I drive and at highway speed is really loud. If I turn it gets louder so I think it's a wheel bearing. If I jack up the front end and spin the tires they spin pretty freely but at the right tire I can feel and hear an occasional subtle "bump" or something. It's not a distinct click like CV's usually make when they go bad, but at high speed I can imagine it's the whirr I'm experiencing. Any suggestions on how to narrow down the cause?

stumpjumper_09 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 30, 2011 12:32 pm

I would have to agree with wheel bearing. these libertys don't need to be too far outta spec for some aweful noises.

jimymc · **Joined:** Thu Dec 17, 2009 7:51 pm **Posts:** 248

While you have the Jeep up off of the tires, take the top and bottom of the wheel and try to push it up and down. If there is any play you can be sure that a new hub (bearing) is needed. Also grab hold of the half axles and give them a good shake. There should be little to no play in them. If there is play you are probably looking at CV problems. For some reason the CV's on these things don't always produce the "clicking" that you hear on other front-wheel-drive vehicles.

RaddKJ · **Posted:** Tue Feb 01, 2011 12:46 pm

Sounds exactly like the noise I had about a year and a half ago. It was bad wheel bearings on the right side.

Ukraine Train · **Posted:** Sun Mar 13, 2011 9:01 am

Can you install a hub with an ABS sensor on a Liberty that doesn't have ABS? I'm looking at Rock Auto and the ABS-equipped hubs (made by GMB) are cheaper by almost $40 for the pair. The non-ABS ones are made by Raybestos.

RED_KJ_666 · **Posted:** Sun Mar 13, 2011 11:20 pm

yeah they are the same other than the ABS speed sensor. I have non-ABS on my ABS equipped liberty

jimymc · **Joined:** Thu Dec 17, 2009 7:51 pm **Posts:** 248

Did you find out what the noise was?

Ukraine Train · **Posted:** Sat Mar 26, 2011 9:20 am

Yep, it was the bearings. I got the GMB bearings and just cut the ABS sensor wires off. The old bearings felt like they spun tighter than the new ones but I really didn't feel any play or roughness in them. I wouldn't have guessed that they'd be so noisy. It's so nice to have it quiet again!

ridenby · **Posted:** Sat Mar 26, 2011 3:21 pm

Did my wheel bearing today,amazing difference,had no play that I could detect.

johnny_posc · **Joined:** Sun May 30, 2010 8:43 pm **Posts:** 69

So how hard is it for a simple person to replace the bearings? I'm getting the same noise from my front right bearing. It isn't real bad right now but would like to take care of it before it gets worse. I'm fairly capable mechanically but what all is involved?

Ukraine Train · **Posted:** Sat Mar 26, 2011 9:10 pm

It's not too bad. I put a punch into the brake rotor vents up against the caliper carrier to keep the hub from turning while I loosened the spindle nut (36mm socket plus a pipe on the ratchet), then strip the brakes off, push the CV joint inboard a bit with a gear puller for extra room to get to the hub bolts, loosen three bolts holding the hub from behind (I almost stripped the head on the first one with a ratchet before switching to an impact. It's an E14 inverted torx head bolt.), hammer the old hub loose, use the gear puller again to pull the hub off the axle, and reverse for installation.

front end noise... axle or bearing?

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