I have been doing as much research as possible. I have concluded the I have a bad wheel bearing based on the rhythmic thumping noise I've been hearing.

It sounds like the front passenger side tire, and my daughter says she can feel it there when riding with me.

I bought the new hub, lifted the car and found no play in any of the wheels. The front drive shafts seem perfectly fine. And no amount of turning/jerking the wheel while driving changes the sound or if it does, I just can't tell the difference. I've spun all four wheels and have not experienced anything odd or outside the norm.

Does anyone have an easier way to verify the correct bearing aside from trial and error of systematicaly replacing all of them?

Thanks,
Josh

Edit: My car is a 2006 S with the sport suspension package if that helps or makes a difference.

 

Bearings are known to do very funky things. Sometimes you will only hear/see issues when they're under load. Try firmly pressing on the left and right side of the tire to see if there is any play in the wheel. If you put it back on the ground and turn the wheel locked to the left or right, do you hear noise coming from one of the wheels? Might be good to just turn in circles while someone listens to each wheel while following you turning outside of the car. If you have the part and the tools to do so, might as well just replace it and see if that resolves the issue.

-Luccia

 

Also... rotate your tires (tyres) and see if the issue remains or follows the tire (tyre).

Best of luck.

Motor on!

 

Thanks you for the replies.

Luccia- I have tried everything mentioned with the exception of having someone follow me around while turning circles. I will attempt that when I get home tomorrow. Not sure if it will be noticeable though, it seems the sound only comes on around 15-20mph.

James- I had the thought that it might be the tires as well. An old focus I had was lowered on low profile tires and when I got a flat and had to use the spare it gave off a rhythmic sounds as well, just not a thumping more of a hum.

I will try all that was suggested and report back with my findings.

Thanks,
Josh

 

Alright, I got an alignment and rotated and balanced all four tires. On the ride home I thought I heard very faint thumping, but I can't be sure. I'm going to take a long ride with the wife later on and see if I can hear it.

Will update as soon as I can.

 

Just got back from a long ride. During this ride I stopped and topped off my tires. The thumping has definitely moved to the back left after the tire rotation. It's louder when the tires are max inflated. I lifted the car and inspected the tire and found nothing out of the ordinary. The rim does not seem to be bent or out of round.

Any thoughts?

 

+1
A bad belt or bent rims has the same symptoms as an early wheel bearing issue....
If you are not sure....
Drive it more...
It should get louder, and more obvious.

 

Have the rim/tire balanced...eyeballing a rim that might be 1/64 inch out of round is beyong what MY eyes can do...bet most anybody's...
Any chance it is a newer tire? Some junk Chinese tires are terrible...lots of issues with construction.
Since the issue moved with the tire/rim movement, looks like it is an issue with them.

 

Zippy- agree that it's a tire/rim issue. The tires are brand new, still have the rubber nubs on them. There is some curb rash on the rim from the previous owner, I am thinking the rim is out of round. The wheels were balanced today and there was no mention of that though.

 

I have a similar issue. When I'm in some twisties, I can hear a faint thumping sound from the front right when under load in the left turns. Very faint, but it is there. Traces of grease are coming out so it's time to replace my hubs. Hopefully that will take care of it.

 

Stinch-I hope yours is just the hub. Mine is still a mystery.

 

I followed the inside bead of the rear driver side tire and it seems that there is a spot where the gap between the bead and the inner rim is a little wider. Now I just need to find a replacement R98 rim.