2007 cooper S. started hearing this wo - wo noise, similar to a sound from a bad tire. have tried a different tire, noise is still there. The noise becomes noticeable around 30 mph, and get louder at speed.

There is a small play on the passenger side half shaft by the tranny side. do CV joints go bad?

and lately, at speed50-60 mph, when touching brake initially, I do get a small pulsation from the steering wheel. just a small left/right jolt. (not from brakes, nothing wrong with the rotors).

thanks for any help.

 

It sounds like a bad CV joint. It is easiest to change the whole axle shaft than to just change the CV joint.

 

It is either a bad CV joint (yes, they do go bad) or possibly a hub bearing. My wife's Jeep Patriot had (2) bad CV's up front at only 60K miles, so yes, they can go bad. Diagnosing between the two isn't real easy, but can be done with the car up in the air...which is best left up to a shop to do. Good luck.

 

Sounds like a bearing to me. I've got the same problem on my Suburban.

 

Generally a bad bearing will make more noise when turning, a CV joint will vibrate or pulse through the steering, a bearing won't. You also said that one CV joint has play in it, that's why it sounds like a bad CV joint to me.