MAY ST GIRL

A roaring noise is coming from my front left while car is moving. I have an 06' Equinox. Bearings have been ruled out by 75.00/Hr mechanics. A couple of years ago, I had my rack pinion steering go out on me and had it replaced. Besides bearings, what could the noise be? The trans is not slipping so it's not that. Any thoughts?

bearbait

CV shaft,brakes????

ruley73

If it's never been replaced before and you have more than 120K miles on it, there's a good chance the wheel bearing is bad despite what the mechanic(s) found. A roaring/moaning/groaning sound that varies with vehicle speed is almost always a bad wheel bearing. The pitch of the noise will get higher as vehicle speed increases and intensity will increase when lateral stress is applied to the bad wheel bearing like when going around a corner. Find an empty road and weave from left to right and vice versa at about 45 MPH. The side that makes the noise opposite of the direction you are turning is the bad bearing (e.g. left bearing when turning right and right bearing when turning left). Worn wheel bearing/hub assemblies will also usually pass a physical inspection for looseness or "play" unless they are really bad.

A worn front CV axle usually exhibits a popping noise when turning sharply or feels like a wheel that's out of balance (usually best described as a mild thumping noise) when accelerating.

Another odd thing that is not likely, but could be causing the noise would be a really worn ball joint that is throwing the wheel alignment off. Ball joints usually cause a single pop or click when accelerating briefly from a complete stop.

SOF1165

Jack up the front left, and see if the wheel has any play in it. Right to left and up and down. If there's play it's def. the bearing/hub. While you're doing that, watch the tie rod and ball joints to see if they're loose as well.

vtbigdog

So you paid a $75/hr mechanic to rule out wheel bearings, but they could not determine the cause of the noise? I'd find another mechanic.