Murmur noise from a 2003 Toyota Corolla. Front or Rear Bearings?

[GreenCarTeacher]

I have a worn out bearing noise coming from my girlfriends 03 Toyota Corolla. I put it on a lift with some mechanic friends and did some checks. We ran the car in drive and listened to the front wheels for bearing noise. We didn’t hear any noise. So maybe it is not the front bearings. Next we felt the tires, and found that the tread pattern was starting to rise up. Think teeth on a circle saw, but not that high. The local mechanic suggested that the shocks are worn and making the tires hop… causing the tires to tooth up. I drove it. It drives great without any hop. So I have my droughts’. Next I drove the car with the rear seats down so I can listen for rear bearing noise. Do you have any other test for me? And do you have a video on changing the bearings?

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[BigC]

Hi GreenCarTeacher,

Is the tire chop only on the front tires? If so, you might rotate the tires front to back and see if the noise persists. A choppy tire will create extra round noise. With regards to worn shocks, if you physically push down on the shock, does the vehicle even out after 1 1/2 oscillations? An alignment readout might also help to provide additional info on the overall alignment condition of the vehicle. Good luck and keep us posted.

[3SheetsDiesel]

A method I use to diagnose bearings when there is no play in the wheel is to place a hand on the coil spring and then spin the tire as fast as I can. A rough bearing can be felt in the spring as the tire spins around.

[outdoorsman310]

i have a similar problem on my car. i did some tests with a stethoscope and couldnt hear anything. if you rotate the wheels sometimes the noise will move with the tires. i would try using a stethoscope. i had to take the brakes off because they were rubbing on the calipers but couldnt hear any abnormal noises so we rotated the tires and still couldnt find it. i think it has died down a bit so it might be the tires. i didnt feel like replacing a bearing that i didnt know was bad so im just going to wait until it gets loud enough to tell where it is from. then it will be obvious and make some weird sounds and i will be sure that that is the right bearing to replace

[outdoorsman310]

you can pull the parking brake while driving and see if the sound changes

[EricTheCarGuy]

#1 cause of that type of noise is the tires. You might consider rotating them to see if the noise changes or goes away. If your tires show signs of abnormal wear that should also be addressed and based on what your saying I would also agree that the struts may be the issue. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Author]

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