1990 Chevrolet Suburban Road noise

VW78BUS

MEMBER
1990 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN
5.7L
V8
4WD
AUTOMATIC
260,000 MILES

I'm about 75% sure my noise is coming from the tires (a bit worn). But I want to rule out some other things. When I put the transmission in N and spin the tires There doesn't seem to be any grinding or strange noises aside from the brake shoes. I jacked up the rear end and put it in gear. The tires spun silently without a load. I removed the LR tire and was able to lift the hub about 1 or 2mm. Just enough to make it bump. There's no leaks at the axle seals. I recently replace the pinion seal but I'm pretty sure there's no damage to the pinion bearing. No wigwag. When I noticed the noise, I rotated the tires and it didn't change the noise. I guess my question is, is the play in the hub a normal amount?

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,752 POSTS

There's lots of different kinds of noises. You didn't describe anything that can be used to help diagnose it so the place to start is by suspecting a front wheel bearing. Those will sound like the buzzing of an airplane engine. Sometimes you can feel it if you jack a front wheel off the ground, then feel the coil spring while you rotate the tire by hand. I prefer to run the vehicle in gear on a hoist, then I listen next to each wheel with a stethoscope. One front bearing might seem to make some noise, but the noisy one will be real evident in comparison.