Suggestions for Wheel Bearing type Noise

I recently picked up a high mileage 2007 (260K miles) and it has issues I had been going through. Seems like it may be an oil burner and previous owner drove it hard.

I have a noise that sounds like a front wheel bearing.. Have replaced those on just about every Prius I have owned, so I didn't give it much thought... even when it didn't have the characteristic noise changes while swerving left and right. I replaced both front bearings and the noise did not go away. At least I was able to replace a damaged knuckle from the mechanic that was there last and used a pickle fork.

I have moved tires around and that didn't help.

It is pretty constant whether accelerating, slowing, engine on/off, and becomes noticeable around 30 mph, but is probably there all the time. Its not bad, but I try to get rid of any noise that I can.

No noticeable shakes in the steering wheel... tracks straight and drives fine.

I feel like it is a noise coming from the front.

Any suggestions for what a senior prius with a hard life might be a common failure. I have not had one with this many miles. Ball joints seemed OK with the knuckles removed, no strange suspension clunks...

One thing I did notice is it seems the only thing that makes the noise change (besides speed) is loading the suspension like going over a smooth but not flat road, if that makes sense... Its also not that dramatic of a change.

 

Would the rear bearings not react the same as the fronts to become louder when turning and loading up one side or the other?

I have never replaced a rear on a Prius, but i guess they can also fail.

I do have a chassis ear. Probably the cheapest one ever made... has a single ear bud. Can't always find a good way to use it especially around moving parts, but I might be able to route the wire through the spare tire drain plug.

I have not spun the rears to listen for a noise, but it will be something I do first thing next week.

 

if it turns out to be a rear wheel bearing that would be great news. Looks like the replacement is easy as compared with the fronts. Might also be able to pick a genuine Toyota/Koyo/NSK? from a lot nearby.

 

I just lifted the rear and both tires spun easily with no noise. Bummer

 

Seems like tires may be the culprit. I assumed that some were good but if you drive crazy and rotate maybe there will be uneven wear on all of them

I have an opportunity it’s to pickup a set of used tires and rims that the seller says has no road noise. Can use this as a diagnostic tool and temporary tires

 

Diagnosing the front wheel bearings by swerving on the highway has worked in my three previous gen 2s. This one did not have an increase in the sound when I road tested and the bearings were still ok when removed. I doubted myself because the tires were not that old and worn looking. My bearing removal process is violent so I would not reuse

if I had a good wireless chassis ear I would use a lot . My cheap model with a cord is tough to route from under the hood or the suspension

 

After some closer examination I can feel that there is cupping on at least one of the tires. The cupping is on the inner treads of the tire. That tire was moved front to back.

Sorry @ChapmanF but I am going to make some conclusions here.

• Tire cupping sounds pretty darn similar to a wheel bearing failing.
• Bad front wheel bearings do react to loading the suspension. If noise gets louder when at highway speed and swerving right, driver side bad. Swerve left and passenger bearing is suspect.
• Cupped tires, if they happen on the inside of the tire, react opposite the bearing, but the noise only got slightly lower when loading the suspension. Best case run your hand along the worn tread and you will probably feel low spots.
• Rear tire and bearing issues may not react to suspension loading, but are probably easier to diagnose with wheels off the ground.

This is not the first time I encountered this type of tire wear, both on cars driven by the previous owner. Had a Mitsubishi eclipse that sounded like a helicopter was following me. Assumed bearing so bet on that with a $30 replacement. Noise persisted. Got new tires. Quiet. Noise came back 1 year later. threw back on original bearing... Quiet again. Cheap bearings don't last.

 

In my case the bearings were OK only because one was already replaced. The aluminum spindle was pretty beat up by a picklefork and neither dust shield was put back on. I felt better for the effort that I was able to fix the crappy job don’t there with junk yard parts in reasonable shape

I do agree that bearing repair is pretty common and I have seen cars listed with that problem

 

Good audio of the bad bearing noise around 1:20. I have to say that my cupped tires had a similar sound. The tire wear, I think, is less common.

On around 2:55... I also support the spindle and pound the bearing out. Last time I had a helper hold a mini sledge positioned on the bearing and I hit that with a bigger sledge. My issue that sometimes I don't hit the center of the bearing when I swing the sledge, so i wanted to avoid damaging the sides. I also had a ton more corrosion on the last set I removed.