Jet engine noise

I got in my daughters 2001 SL1 176,000 miles today and it sounds like a jet taking off while driving. When I put it in neutral coasting down the road at 55-60 it does not get any quieter. It is not loud sitting still revving the engine.

Wheel Bearing? I jacked it up and the tires all seem to spin fine, although the front turn pretty hard, I dont hear any grinding or anything.

Any ideas? If it is a wheel bearing how do I confirm?

Does the noise change moving the steering left and right while driving?

Does the noise change moving the steering left and right while driving?

Yes, if I turn hard right it goes away, does not hard left, from What I read this should mean the bad one is on the left?

Anymore it's a crap shoot. Sometimes they get/stay noisy when you load them ( you are loading the left side when turning right), sometimes they get quiet when loaded. If you can get the ft in the air and run it, try this, get yourself a stethascope(spelling?) at just about any good parts store. While its running in gear put the end of the scope on the knuckle, closer the the bearing the better, replace whichever side is louder.

Replaced Driver side, a little quieter, hoping passenger side is bad alos, and will fix the issue,
But with my luck, probably not. What else could cause this amount of noise?

Still sounds like bearing noise. Post what the noise does after replacing the other bearing.

Its possible for there to be a good bit of noise if the rear tires are worn in a -pattern-. See if the rear tires feel smooth-and-even when you run your hand over the tread. Its fairly common for them to 'cup', resulting in a growling that gets louder the faster you go. If thats what it is, its harmless. To prevent it in the future, you should rotate the tires front-to-rear, each 6000 miles.

The second bearing was definitely bad, since replacement the noise is gone. FYI for others, many of the instructions I found mentioned three bolts on the back of the knuckle, no such thing on this year/model. Only the hub/axle nut holds the hub on. Also, slide hammer didn't do &*^% for me. The shop that pressed the bearing in/out for me removed and replace the hub also.

Thanks

Skrizan, you said the instructions you found mentioned 3 bolts on the back of the knuckle. Did you find any good instructions for how to replace wheel bearings? I am planning to replace mine soon because of a similar problem as yours above but am not sure where to start. The more descriptive the better.
Thanks.

Not really. I found some at http://www.ehow.com/how_5014553_replace-wheel-bearings-saturn-sl.html I did not do steps 10-13, as there were not 3 bolts on the back of the hub, and I could not get the slide hammer to remove the hub assembly. Instead I removed the entire knuckle and hub assembly. To do this you remove the 2 strut to knuckle bolts and unhook the tie rod and ball joint from the knuckle. The shop I used pressed hub off, installed the new bearing, and pressed the hub back into the knuckle. FYI, I learned that ball joint and tie rod separator tools are two slightly different sizes.

1 Park the Saturn SL2 on a paved flat surface. Apply the parking brake.
2Release the hood latch if the Saturn SL2 has Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and open the hood. Disconnect the negative battery terminal from the battery.

3 remove the hub cap from the tire you're replacing the bearing on. Have someone depress the brake pedal inside the SL2 while you loosen the hub nut with a breaker bar and a hub nut socket. Have the assistant exit the SL2 once the nut is loosened.

4 Loosen the lug nuts on the wheel using the breaker bar and a socket.

5 Lift the front quarter of the Saturn with the floor jack and place the jack stand under the front frame rail. Remove the lug nuts and wheel. Remove the hub nut.

6 Pry the outboard brake pad against the rotor using the flathead screwdriver. This will compress the caliper piston enough to remove it easily and replace it easily once removed.

7 Remove the caliper anchor bolts (2) and remove the caliper, caliper anchor and pads as an assembled unit. This will save time for replacement. Support the caliper assembly to the coil spring of the SL2 with a bungee cord so it does not hang from the brake hose.

8 Remove the brake rotor. If necessary, spray lubricant on the center of the rotor by the hub bearing connection and use a rubber mallet to knock the rotor off if it is stuck to the hub

9 Remove the ABS connector if so equipped. Remove the ABS sensor jumper connection from the strut bracket if so equipped.

10 Locate and remove the three wheel bearing assembly mounting bolts located on the backside of the knuckle using the breaker bar and a socket. If necessary, tap the driveshaft spindle inward away from the hub bearing to allow room to get a socket onto the mounting bolt heads. Once the mounting bolts are broken loose, switch to a ratchet it order to speed things up.

11 Place the slide hammer onto the lug studs of the bearing assembly and tighten three lug nuts onto the studs to secure the slide hammer. Slide hammer the bearing off of the knuckle spraying lubricant as necessary in between the joint connection. When the bearing and spacer are removed, make sure to be aware of the spacer position so you replace it on the new bearing in the same position. Also note the position of the backing plate to replace that in the same position.

12
Clean the surface of the knuckle face and the hub cavity with a piece of emery cloth or light grade sand paper to remove and rust or uneven surface. Clean the inside of the rotor where the hub of the rotor sits against the flange of the hub bearing as well.

13
Replace the spacer onto the new bearing and insert it into the knuckle with the backing plate in between. Replace the bearing mounting bolts and alternately tighten them to draw the bearing into the knuckle evenly. Torque the bolts to 90 foot pounds with the adjustable torque wrench and socket.

14
Replace the ABS jumper connection to the strut bracket. Replace the ABS sensor connector. Replace the rotor, caliper assembly, and caliper mounting bolts. Torque the bolts to 80 foot pounds with the torque wrench and a socket.

15
Reattach the negative battery cable to the battery.

16
Get your assistant to step onto the brake pedal again while you torque the hub nut to 90 foot pounds with the torque wrench and the hub nut socket.



Read more: How to Replace the Wheel Bearings on a Saturn SL2 | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5014553_replace-wheel-bearings-saturn-sl.html#ixzz1gX7EYXef

Thanks for the link skrizan. I replaced my front bearings this past weekend and your instructions were a big help. I used a mix of the instructions you mentioned and these from Timken (http://connect.timken.com/wheel-bearing-replacement ).

Not great instructions but they got the job done. I guess that's all you can hope for.