Hi all, I have the worst whining sound coming from the rear of the car -- but, amazingly, nothing is loose. The car is a hatch so it resonates like nobody's business and I cannot really tell for sure which wheel is bad. So far I have had 3 of 4 bearings replaced, and I think this is one that I already replaced. Do you think I corner too hard on those mountain roads? lf this car weren't so pretty... I am going to order the part, but the site doesn't have a picture. I recall the part that I got from a junk yard, the one that is whining, was a bolt-in assembly but I am not sure. I would really be grateful for any hints about this. Thanks in advance, John
Be careful here. I had the same sound for the past several weeks on an Oldsmobile. Had already changed the front bearing/hub assemblies, and was convinced that this was one of the rears. Instead, it was diagnosed as cupped and damaged tires as a result of bad struts. As soon as he said it, my head just dropped, because every GM I have ever owned has absolutely eaten either shocks or struts. Apparently, nothing has changed with them. I suggest you take the car to some kind of mechanic and have him rotate (and maybe re-balance) the tires. While that is being done, have them spin the wheels with the car in the air, inspect the tires, and run a general inspection on the entire car. Firestone Complete Auto Care will run a thorough inspection along with this for just the cost of the rotation, which is nothing if you get your tires through them. That should identify your problem. I'd hate to have you spend money on items that really don't need replaced. And BTW, you don't have to have bad struts for one or more of your tires to start making that kind of noise. A separated belt, cupping, any number of things will make your tires do that. Hope this helps.
Seems common with FWD car to have cupping (and the associated noise) on the rear. The rear tires on my '91 Regal could have easily gone 100,000 miles, but I could not stand the noise any more.
And sadly, that is my point. It seems that with new struts, you can minimize the problem, which is what I call a "classic GM-ism". But you'd better buy some of the best struts available and make sure they have a lifetime warranty if you are planning on keeping the car for any length of time, because at some point, one or more of those will have to be replaced as well. And even if you do, you will always have to pay labor and an alignment on them. But as high priced as the struts for my GM are, that still saves a lot of money. Have only ever had one Hyundai shock go bad, and it was replaced under warranty. According to my Hyundai service tech (not the one on this board), "It doesn't happen very often on these."
Thanks fellas, but I did hope it would be the tires and tried the spare on both rears. Plus dis ain't a GM, and has its own odd issues -- Korean bearings. Like I said, if she were so damn pretty !!
