I've noticed a loud humming noise that seems to be coming from the front right side of my Volvo. This noise occurred previously (5 months ago) and I took it in to a mechanic who said it was the wheel bearing. I replaced both along with struts and had it aligned and the noise disappeared. The new whining started about a month ago. I've noticed my front right tire seems to be wearing on the outside edge more than the left. The whining starts at about 10 mph and gets louder to 60 mph. It's hard to hear normal conversation inside the car. What might be causing this noise, how can I diagnose it? Thanks for any insight. This is a great forum!

 

Sounds like a wheel bearing to me.

Jack up the front of the car and SECURE SAFELY Put the car in neutral and try spinning the tire and see if it is easy or hard to turn.

I have seen alot of new parts fail.

If it is less than a year and the same bearing they should warranty it.

 

Thank you for the advice, Alan. I spun the tires, but I don't know what they are supposed to feel like with good bearings. They both spin freely, but the left one has a very slight rub at each revolution. What would a wheel with a bad bearing feel/sound like?

 

The rubbing might be the backing plate hitting the rotor.
It might also be the pads on the rotor.

A bad bearing will feel real rough when turning it or be stiff.

 

I took the car for a long drive today on the highway to see if there was any difference in the noise at speed. It appears that up to 2400 rpm (66 mph) the noise is loud, then decreases to half volume at 2500 rpm (72 mph). At 2600 rpm the hum increases again. Would a bad wheel bearing change in sound with engine rpm? Could this be any other problem? (driveshaft,cv joints, etc?) Thank you for any advice.

PS - Also, the whining noise does not change when I turn the steering wheel left or right. I remember I tried this when I thought it was the wheel bearings first time around and I could get it change pitch.

 

Also what do the tires feel like?

Maybe try to swap the front and rear and see if it goes away.

 

Alan, thank you for your response. I did swap tires back to front before today's test drive and it didn't make a difference, but as I said earlier, it appears that the right front tire is wearing a little faster on the outside edge than the left one. At 70 mph there does seem to be a very slight vibration coming from the tire. Are you thinking it might be a tire problem? Tires were replaced in Nov. last year (20,000 mi ago)

 

Yes thinking maybe a tire problem.
Feel the tires and see if they are feathered.
It will feel like ridges when you rub your hand from front to back on the tires.

 

Alan, you were right about the replacement wheel hub I previously installed as being bad. I had the mechanic install a new one. Also, one of the CV boots was bad so they pulled the axle on the right side and put new boots on both ends. Also they noted that the axle on the left side of the car had worked its way out of the transmission a little. They put it back in and put in a new seal. I think from nbow on I'll use OEM parts not aftermarket. The wheel hub I put in was a Scan-Tech unit.
Thanks for all your great advice.

 

Glad it is fixed.
FYI ScanTech is junk parts. We use some and complain about it ever day.
Thats what work wants to buy. We keep telling him to buy better but he wants cheap.
But we have to keep replacing parts under warranty.