Hello all:

1997 Stratus 2.0 - 128k, 5sp.

Over the past several months I have noticed a very annoying droning sound (or a low pitched humming to describe it better) that seems to be coming from the driver's side front wheel. It has gradually gotten louder and louder and is noticeable at speeds above 35-40MPH. On the highway it is especially loud. It is definitely something with the wheel (maybe a bearing?) because in neutral, I can coast and I can still hear it at the same frequency as if I had it in gear. It almost sounds like I have a studded tire on that wheel! It sounds like the tire is shot and the vibration is being sent up through the car.

What is strange is that when I turn to the left, it gets louder and when I turn to the right it gets softer, almost inaudible. Straight ahead it's just plain annoying. As an experiment the other night, I put the donut spare on to see if it was the tire that was actually defective however I get the same exact result with the donut too - turning to the left it's louder and to the right it's softer. Now I guess the donut wasn't the best thing to put on but I wouldn't expect it to follow the steering thing as well.

Could this be a bearing getting ready to die? After driving, I have felt the hub and it is normally warm - not really hot like something's not lubricated.

TIA for any thoughts.

taco

 

its def. your wheel bearing. I can tell you that without even looking at it. replace it as soon as possible.

 

That's what I thought. Thanks for the reply. I have a Haynes Manual and have referred to it in other jobs on this car (timing belt, brakes, etc.). Easy enough job for a competent DIY'er?

One more question, is there a danger to driving with this bearing like this or is it mostly that I could cause additional damage to the axle or something like that? I don't want my wheel to fly off on the highway or anything.

Thanks again.

taco

 

yeah actually it can pop off while ur driving so id change it asap.

 

its not too hard either. i had to do it ona truck before and that was hard to get off, but just cus it was stuck on there. if its not stuck on then its pretty easy actually.

 

Thanks, yes from what I can see, it is only 3 bolts that hold the hub on and that's it. Sounds simple enough but you're right, if it is stuck on then it can be a problem.

taco

 

Looking at the Haynes manual, it appears that this job is more involved than I originally thought. You have to disconnect all of the steering linkage and the ball joints in order to replace this hub/bearing assembly. Anyone have any shortcuts for this job?

Thanks.

 

Well, I replaced the drivers side bearing - still noisy. Replaced the passenger side bearing - nice and quiet now! The whole job cost me about $175.

For the life of me I don't understand why Dodge uses those funky torx head bolts (that you have to go out and buy a special socket for...oh wait, that's why!) to mount the hub assembly. And the Haynes manual tried to make me take apart the entire steering linkage to get the knuckle off so I could get to the hub. I just loosened the 3 torx bolts and the hub slid right off the axle! The second bearing only took me a half hour! Thank you to xdeathwishx for your confidence in the cause of this - I trusted your judgement the whole way and it paid off!

taco

 

one good thing (and bad) about haynes is they are based on a TOTAL tear down and rebuild. basicly, they take everything apart. it just means you MAY not have to. i alway read the task twice before i look at the car, that way when i start ripping into it i can see if i NEED to take that far apart. i still think haynes is beter then 99% of otheer man's out there. happy motoring.