2 Sweet Posted October 5, 2017 Report Share Posted October 5, 2017 My wife has a 2013 Equinox FWD with the 3.6 V6. Just under 60k miles. Nice newer Bridgestone tires, drives straight and quiet. Well on a recent trip it started making a whining sound that almost sounds like a fan or an exhaust leak. You start to hear it around 20 mph and it gets louder and higher pitched as speed increases, then quieter and lower pitched as speed decreases. RPM/gear has zero effect, it's clearly related solely to the vehicle's speed. It sounds like it's coming from the front driver's side, in the engine bay or wheel area. There are no vibrations or any other weird noises. Car runs and drives perfect. I'm assuming this is a failing wheel hub? I've heard wheel hubs/bearings go bad before, and they didn't really sound like this, but I have no idea what else it could be. Your thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiek2000 Posted October 5, 2017 Report Share Posted October 5, 2017 Hubs are fairly common on those. Any way to get it on a rack and listen for noise while someone runs it up to speed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE-O Posted October 5, 2017 Report Share Posted October 5, 2017 Does the noise fade or get louder if you turn side to side ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwashmycar Posted October 5, 2017 Report Share Posted October 5, 2017 Sounds like a hub. Give any CVs a good visual too. They usually click though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted October 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2017 Hubs are fairly common on those. Any way to get it on a rack and listen for noise while someone runs it up to speed? Not really, but that sounds like the easiest way to narrow it down Does the noise fade or get louder if you turn side to side ? Good question. I only drove it through town so all the turning was at low speed, but fwiw I didn't notice any loud/quiet difference while turning, I should probably take it out to the country and work it through some turns at speed Sounds like a hub. Give any CVs a good visual too. They usually click though. Will do. Definitely not clicking though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE-O Posted October 5, 2017 Report Share Posted October 5, 2017 Even just within the lane on a highway you should be able to tell, however it's high possible that both front wheels bearings are bad so it might not be easy to track down that way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grudes Posted October 5, 2017 Report Share Posted October 5, 2017 Hub or trans. Both are common on those. Most likely Hub though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted October 5, 2017 Report Share Posted October 5, 2017 Most likely a wheel bearing, however the final drive in the trans has caused similar noises. Check out what it does when shifting the vehicles weight from side to side when it's making noise (it's not so much about turning, just loading one side or the other to see if the noise is affected). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted October 5, 2017 Report Share Posted October 5, 2017 Check out what it does when shifting the vehicles weight from side to side when it's making noise (it's not so much about turning, just loading one side or the other to see if the noise is affected). Avoid doing that at 12:45am, when there are cops around! :gabe: I've done this procedure before: You don't need to do a lot of swerving in your lane, just turn off radio/AC, roll down both front windows. Try to be on a straight stretch of highway with concrete walls; the sound should bounce off and make it easier to hear. Give it a slight side-to-side motion and listen if the whining gets louder or goes away from one side to another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99StockGT Posted October 5, 2017 Report Share Posted October 5, 2017 Manually kick it out of O/D high gear see if the sound changes at the same speed? Drive down the road with your phone out the window to record the sound for us? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted October 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2017 I shifted thru the gears, popped it into neutral while coasting, and there was zero change to the sound. It's 100% related to the vehicle speed, not the RPM's or gear. I tried to take a video but the sound wasn't loud enough to be heard on it. I'll whip it around like suggested and hopefully that'll be the clue I need. If it's the hub, I'm assuming that's a pretty quick/easy fix, right? I need to change the pads and rotors anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE-O Posted October 6, 2017 Report Share Posted October 6, 2017 Easy, as long as the axle comes out and the hub is not seized in the knuckle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted October 6, 2017 Report Share Posted October 6, 2017 I shifted thru the gears, popped it into neutral while coasting, and there was zero change to the sound. It's 100% related to the vehicle speed, not the RPM's or gear. I like playing devil's advocate so here goes, the final drive in the transmission is connected to the axles and therefore spins in relation to road speed. You need to know what you're listening for, and is specifically why I stated above to see if it changes under side loading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted October 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2017 I like playing devil's advocate so here goes, the final drive in the transmission is connected to the axles and therefore spins in relation to road speed. You need to know what you're listening for, and is specifically why I stated above to see if it changes under side loading. Interesting, thanks. It better not be the god damn transmission already at 60k miles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted October 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2017 Took it out for a drive and weaved around a bit. Yeah, it's definitely the driver's front hub. When I would whip the wheel back to the right (shifting weight to the driver's side) it got noticeably louder. Thanks for the responses guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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