championadrien

iTrader: (29)

So I do a full TII drivetrain (tranny, diff, axles) and drive it for about a day just fine. The next day I do some swerving maneuvers to make sure everything's nice and safe and I get a weird rotating noise.

It sounds like its rotating with the wheel, and it sounds like its coming from the passenger side rear wheel. So this leads me to believe that my wheel bearing has gone bad, which makes sense because I had a hell of a time getting the old axle out of the spindle (I took it to a shop and they used an air impact hammer to get it out.)

So I jack the rear of my car up and I try to wiggle the top of the rear wheel, and I get no wiggle movement at all. I release the e-brake and try again, and no movement at all. I put the car on the floor and I get no movement at all. I check the front wheels and I get moderate wiggle, but I swear the sound is coming from the rear.

Another weird thing is I have been driving it like this for about 3 months and the sound has not gotten any worse.

So basically, I have no clue what my problem is, is it the front wheel bearings, the rear wheel bearings, or something completely separate? The fronts display bad wheel bearing symptoms, however I believe the sound is coming from the rear, and I would have thought that wheel bearing failures get worse the more you drive on them, and so far its still the same.

So..... help? Please?

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Probably not the problem, but check the tires. If front different swap them out.
Quick story. About 7/8 years ago on our 89TII we purchased new, it developed a roaring noise in the rear. Swore it was the bearing as the car would move up/down on dips in the road, the noise would increase/decrease accordingly. No play, but still thought it was the bearing. I replaced both, then took the car for a ride, and it was still there, it was the tires. Replaced the tires and noise gone.
Yea, had a lot of egg on my face on this one.

MazdaMike02

iTrader: (4)

There is another procedure for checking wheel bearings. Put your hand on the spring and spin the tire, sometimes bearings only have sound no play. With your hand on the spring you'll feel any noise.

championadrien

iTrader: (29)

I've already replaced the rear tires, I will try the fronts but it sounds like its coming from the rear.

I will try that spring trick sometime this week, thanks a lot.

championadrien

iTrader: (29)

Checked the bearings using mazda mikes method, and no results. I actually went back and tried to shake the top of all 4 wheels and I get little to no play.

The noise is relative to the speed, but accelerating and braking gets rid of the noise. I pretty much only hear it when I coast to a stop in neutral. After about 45mph the noise vanishes, accelerating or coasting.

Anybody else know what this noise could be?