loud whinding noise coming from the front end of my car happened about a month and a half ago and are yet to figure out what it is.

30

Asked by M_walkerrr Oct 30, 2014 at 11:49 PM about the 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt LT Coupe FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

A few people have said it was the
wheel bearings but there is no play in
the wheels at all. We put it on the lift
and noticed a bearing coming from
the cv axle going into the
transmission has a lot of play and
just did not look right looked at the
left side and didn't have much play.
The noise gets louder and I go fast
and is beyond obnoxious. What in
the world is this?! How do I fix it?!

8 Answers

30

It's coming from the cv axle it's a bearing connected to the cv axle

3 people found this helpful.
18,235

Time for axles and bearings I'd say. The original ones last around 100,000 miles. Try to get good quality bearings, although that seems to be difficult to do these days. The replacement ones don't last nearly as long as the originals. It's all just regular maintenance. If you can afford it do both sides at once and do both bearings and axles and then get an alignment and you should be good as new for a while.

8 people found this helpful.
465

Drive the car and turn the wheel left and right.. Try to listen to see if the noise changes pitch.. If it does, it's your wheel bearing/s.. This type of bearing assembly will not always have play in it to be bad... If the noise doesn't change when you turn, I would remove and inspect the CV joints (inner and outer)... The bearing you see at he transmission is not a bearing but a bushing.. These do nominally have some movement when the suspension is hanging on a rack because the joint does not go very deep into the trans when the suspension is hanging. It's similar to the tail shaft/drive shaft on a rear wheel drive car.. I recommend starting with test drive, its most likely a wheel bearing. I would change the whole hub and bearing assembly and not try to just have a bearing pressed on the old hub.. You can find hub and Bearing assembly's on line relatively inexpensive 40 - 60 bucks. unless there is something special about your cobalt. Good Luck

9 people found this helpful.
30

Aren't the bearings in the control arms? I'm just asking cause I have 2009 Chevy Cobalt and it's over 100k miles and I recently replaced the control arms (total assembly) and struts ( total assembly) and now they saying it can't be aligned cause it's possible the parts store ( for commercial and law reasons so I won't say who) sold me a refurbished one instead of a good one. However, I don't believe that's the case. And that ticking noise after I shut the car off persist as well. I had warranty took it to two different Chevy dealerships and neither one knew what was wrong. I'm lost. Probably time to trade.

3 people found this helpful.
18,235

A ticking noise after you shut the car off is likely just the sound of metal contracting as it cools. Nothing to worry about. If there's something wrong with the refurbished control arm they sold you it will be covered by warranty and they will replace it with another one. They have no reason not to. It doesn't cost them anything. That said its unlikely there is anything wrong with it. Its just a control arm with a couple of new bushings and a new ball joint in it. Hard for them not to rebuild something like that incorrectly. Ask the alignment shop to tell you specifically what part is preventing them from doing an alignment, I don't think bad bearings affect alignment, but ball joints, and tie rod ends do. I think you just need to get some clear answers in layman's terms from the shops involved and you should be good as new again. You don't say what model you have or what the mileage is, but unless you've been rough with it the car should be good for around 180,000 miles without too much expense although you will have some repair bills as it gets up in mileage.

1 people found this helpful.
20

Bearing facts: A bad bearing doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to move the tire and feel play-at least not that particular design. Although it could... A bad bearing will definitely affect aligning the front end. There can't be more than 2 degrees runout as the wheel spins. The alignment machine gauges would read incorrectly and the technician would never get the proper specifications. The specification would change every time the wheel spins to another position. In fact, before performing an alignment, tire air pressure and runout are the very first things to check.

1 people found this helpful.

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