Help diagnose Humming noise problem

I have a this humming (low pitched) noise for a couple of weeks now but cannot find the problem. It sounds like loud tire noise and it happens around 40mph and disappears if I tap on the brakes. The sound intensifies a little when I turn the wheel left or right.

The noise is coming from the front so I don't think it's the rear u-joints. Could it be bad wheel bearings? I checked the driver side hub and the runout is within spec, also checked the front diff fluid level. How could you tell if there is a bad CV joint? Any help would be much appreciated.. Thanks.

Alex

sounds like a wheel bearing if u say it intensifies when u turn the wheel, a cv axle would vibrate or make loud popping noises or clunks, check the wheel for slack and see if ur bearing has any obvious rust around it.....but that most definately sounds like ur problem

Some simple steps: (even if it sounds silly!)
1. Check your whell lug nuts (check if any is striped
2. Check all brake component bolts (calipers, etc.)
3. look around for any loose bolts!
had a simular vibration problem and it turned out to be a striped lug nut!

I have a this humming (low pitched) noise for a couple of weeks now but cannot find the problem. It sounds like loud tire noise and it happens around 40mph and disappears if I tap on the brakes. The sound intensifies a little when I turn the wheel left or right.

The noise is coming from the front so I don't think it's the rear u-joints. Could it be bad wheel bearings? I checked the driver side hub and the runout is within spec, also checked the front diff fluid level. How could you tell if there is a bad CV joint? Any help would be much appreciated.. Thanks.

Alex
Its a wheel bearing just find out what side for sure

This past weekend I pulled off the passenger right wheel and caliper to check for runout on the hub. The readings are good but I noticed that there is some uneven brake wear on the disc which I replaced a month ago. If it's a bad wheel bearing it must be on this side. I was thinking of replacing both sides but it looks like the bearing and hub assy is at least $200 each.

Alex

can you buy just the bearing?

its a bearing/hub assy...its all one piece and the reason its so expensive is cuz it has a speed sensor built into it also...

Its a wheel bearing. I went through the rear end of my '98 a couple years ago, now the front makes the same low growl. It'll go a long way that way, its just irritating. Mines been grumbling for about 8 months now. (I put off overhauling the rears until the wife's grumbling became louder than the bearings.....)

I went ahead and replaced the wheel bearing hub on both sides and the noise did not go away. It is not a click or popping noise and the humming noise is getting worst now and occurs even in reverse and slower speeds. It's getting louder and more like a low grinding noise and occurs after the first 1 mile or so.

Am I left with bad CV joints?

Thanks, Alex

i had a loud squeaking when i drove my durango.. it was the rear universal joint. u could check out the front ones u have 4wd.. its a cheap fix. i would also try the front bearings.

Can anyone tell me how to inspect the U-joints or the CV joints? I just replaced both front wheel bearings but the noise still exists and is getting worst. It's a constant grabbing/rubbing/rumbling noise and I can't figure out what is wrong with it. Thanks for your help.

Alex

i would bet money on it that it is the universal joints they are like 25 bucks. mine was doing the same thing. changed the universal from the rear end to the transfer case for the 4wd.. its just 4 bolts and pull it out

or it could be the front universal??

If the noise goes away with slight pressure on the brakes, it's probably the brake pads rattling. My 98 was doing that because the pads were too loose when the brakes got hot. I put in some new brake fluid and bled the lines and it helped clear up the problem. It still happens when the brakes are very hot, but it is rare.

my 98 has a spring clip on the outer pad that hooks over the lower caliper bracket and holds the pad in allignment. I just had to do both front brakes and a drivers side hub assembly today. the drivers side brakes were correctly installed and had even wear but the passenger side had a stripped out lower caliper guide pin and sping on the pad was on top of the bracket and not pulled down under it like it should be causing a lip to wear on the top side of the brake pads and also caused constant rubbing on the rotor makeing it glaze and crack. You should REALLY check the spring on both sides and make sure they are inside the lower bracket pulling the pads in and not on top of it forcing it outwards.

Be sure it is the front. I have had a 98 Durango that the shift differential went out on, needless to say I got rid of it. Now my 01 has a rumbling noise every once in awhile as well. However, the cure is the rear end oil. It takes about a half hour to change yourself. My problem goes away every time. The oil breaks down and just annoys the hell out of you and if you leave it go it gets louder and louder and....... 90W gear oil, Perma gasket and a couple sockets you in like flint. There is no gasket on the pumpkin, just permagasket. I change mine every 25000 miles now as stated in the book and I have no more problems, at 110000.

BPOLLEY you talking about the thing in the middle of rear axle.do i just take out bolts and add oil and permatex.how do you refill, is there room to pour bottle of oil.where do you get oil.thanks

BPOLLEY you talking about the thing in the middle of rear gasket.do i just take out bolts and add oil and permatex.how do you refill, is there room to pour bottle of oil.where do you get oil.thanks

The Haynes manual shows it all. It's well worth the $12.

The rear is easier than the front. I cleaned both differentials out with brake cleaner & let them dry before filling (10 minutes). I thinks there were little rubber filler caps on both. Also put slip differential additive (full tube in both). Costs like $7 a tube at autozone & they'll charge like $30 a tube at a shop. It's critical that it be put in or you can lose a differential if left out.

I know that I used the highest temp permatex as they don't make the gaskets. Apply liberally & read the directions on the tube. Had a quick drying time from what I remember.

Thanks guys Ill give it a shot when I get time.

Thanks guys Ill give it a shot when I get time.

What fixed this? Have the same problem.

Suprised nobody has mentioned stuck caliper,but the sound would probably change with brake pressure.

Suprised nobody has mentioned stuck caliper,but the sound would probably change with brake pressure.

Why would a stuck caliper only begin making noise at around 40mph & wouldn't you get pulling while stopping & other problems?

BTW, my sound does change with brake pressure which I attribute to the slowing of the wheels & drive train (u-joints). Now you have me wondering.

In either case, I am going to take a close look at the u-joints this weekend as other threads seem to indicate that they fixed this problem by changing u-joints.

My differential fluids just went over 25K but I can't see that being the problem. One poster claims that his makes a rumbling noise every 25K like clockwork & that he changes the fluids to get rid of it. Will change that soon just cause it's time & there is 119K on my durango.

Would be nice if posters would update fixes or attempted fixes.

My noise has no change if I put the vehicle in neutral. Would think that rules out the transmission.

you are correct; now that i am paying closer attention to your thread, i'm quite confident it is wheel bearing;. Any unusual pad wear?

you are correct; now that i am paying closer attention to your thread, i'm quite confident it is wheel bearing;. Any unusual pad wear?

I've only had the new pads & drilled rotors on for a couple of months so I havent' looked at them. Thinking back I have had a couple of brake pulls to the right on hot days after an hour in traffic. I'm not ruling anything out.

I'll probably jack up the rear & try to duplicate the noise in my garage. If I do, then it's nothing in the front. Maybe I can even pinpoint the noise with an assist from the wife? Guess I could even get a couple more jacks & raise both ends, put her in fwd to turn the front wheels if it's not duplicatable with the rear raised. Would not be surprised if neither method duplicates the noise as jacking takes most of the weight off of the offending component.

Update: This weekend I jacked up the rear & could not duplicate the noise at all. I replaced the rear differential fluid & added the Slip Diff additive. Ran out of time for the front that is much harder to get to. Also retorqued all the wheel lug nuts just in case.

I lubed the fittings in the front end including the front drive shaft. While I was doing that I noticed that my drivers-side lower ball joint had a blown grease boot. Not quite sure exactly what the ball joint does but maybe it keeps pressure off of the hub & bearing.

I don't know if that could be the cause of the roarning. Regreased it with a needle attachment I have for my grease gun. The problem is still there. Really hear it at highway speeds. Again my noise is actually starting around 35mph & does not go away if I tap/apply the brakes or put it in neutral.

Did not have time to get a 2nd set of jacks to isolate the front.

To update you on what I found out today, I stopped into a local pepboys that was slow & they said they could look at it right away. The mechanic & I took a short ride & it sounded to him like one or both hubs were making that bad noise.

But when we got back to the shop & put it on the lift, you could see that all 4 ball joints were shot, particularly the upers & as well as the drivers side inner tie rod. He said that the left front tire had developed cupping (probably from the worn out suspension) & that was probably causing the noise. Cupping was just little bumps about 2 inches in from the inner edge that you can readily feel when you spin the tire. I guess they can form anywhere.

Anyway, I'm going to fix the suspension & take the bad tire back to try & get them to replace it under my road hazard warranty. Will dirty up the new parts with some grease or something.

Would not surprise me if I still end up changing the hubs but he said they had no play & he checks them all the time. When I brake the roar changes tone drastically but does not stop until you get it down under 30mph or so.

The worse looking components are the upper ball joints.
I always fix the obviously bad & see what else goes away as a result.

Called Autozone & they have the duralast parts in stock as well the tools to pull out & press in the lower ball joints as loaners. The uppers look like just the bolts need undone.

Have had the lowers changed at Meineke about 2 years ago with so-called quality Moogs & they were blowing boots & making noise a year ago, so I'm going with something different & easy to return. Have a feeling the durango design is just tough on ball joints.

BTW call 800-992-1997 (Dodge) with your VIN # to see if upper or lower ball joints are covered by any recalls. Mine was not.

Good luck and keep us posted, if you can take pics.Thanks for the Dodge number

I have a 2001 Durango (with all-wheel and 4-wheel drive) and I have a low humming, too. It happens above 35 mph, but only when cruising (barely pressing the gas to maintain speed). I can barely feel the vibration in the floor, too. If I accelerate or let off the gas, it immediately disappears.
Unlike what you're experiencing, mine is not tied to brake use at all. And it doesn't happen at lower speeds.

Any ideas if this could be the same or a different problem?

Thanks.

Update on my lack of progress. I bought the parts at autozone & had the loaner tools. But when I took the wheels off & looked at the upper ball joints that had to be cut off & the lowers that looked like the access was really restricted, I have opted to let Pep boys change all.

The mechanic is going to rotate the tires to put the noisey tires in the rear. Lets hope that the humming is caused by them. If I have to change the hubs, I think I can do that.

Will update my results.

Well today I pulled wheels and bearings and ball joints look fine and there is no play, so I rotated my wheels and now all is quiet, no humming or vibration.Sure glad I didnt buy that wheel bearing.Thanks steeler fo make me look at tires as problem , now I can sell.

Well today I pulled wheels and bearings and ball joints look fine and there is no play, so I rotated my wheels and now all is quiet, no humming or vibration.Sure glad I didnt buy that wheel bearing.Thanks steeler fo make me look at tires as problem , now I can sell.

The Pep Boys mechanic that did my ball joints rotated my cupped tires to the rear & now the noise is coming from the rear. Should not be a problem with Discount Tire since I bought their road hazzard warranty.

Glad to hear that your problem worked out.

The mechanic also said that drilled rotors (that I have) are known for making a lot of noise at higher speeds. Told me that his wife's Durango has been noisy since he installed them.

Update on my lack of progress. I bought the parts at autozone & had the loaner tools. But when I took the wheels off & looked at the upper ball joints that had to be cut off & the lowers that looked like the access was really restricted, I have opted to let Pep boys change all.

The mechanic is going to rotate the tires to put the noisey tires in the rear. Lets hope that the humming is caused by them. If I have to change the hubs, I think I can do that.

Will update my results.

Since 2 tires were cupped badly & a third was also somewhat cupped, I had Discount Tire change all 4 tires. The cupping was the entire noise problem. There is no noise at any speed. The type of cupping I had was probably caused by the tie-rod end that was bad & just replaced along with all 4 ball joints (cupping on the inner treads in the direction of the tire spin. There are supposedly 3 types of cupping).

The manager gave me a very good price (less than half) because of the following.

I pitched a minor fit when they told me that their records showed I had not had them balanced in the year and a half that I had them rotated. He said that balancing every 5K miles & cross-rotating in addition to the front back should have been done since my tires are not direcitonal. Told them that whenever I asked that they check the balance, their workers always ask if there is any shaking (which there never was until the noise started) and always told me they don't balance unless there is shaking. Nobody in his store ever mentioned cross rotating until my tires were ruined.

Lesson to everybody: insist on the free balancing every 5 to 6 thousand miles if you buy at Discount Tires. Also do the cross rotation to spread the effects of any cupping around if any suspension parts are going bad. They'll do it if you press it & by my experience, not shaking does not mean they are not out of balance.

Despite this little glitch, they are still the best tire store in my opinion. They will also repair tires for free even if you bought them somewhere else. Bring them a written quote for new tires & they'll match it. Especially if the other place charges for rotations, balancing & repairs, you'll quickly lose any money saved on the initial purchase. They are the only ones that offer a free road hazard warranty with free replacement for things like nails in the side wall or even slamming into a curb. $12 a tire for tires in the $600 range.

They do not inspect brakes or suspension or do anything except tires. That makes them very good at tires. Also, they are always polite.

I am also going to get my suspension inspected every 6 months. Will repair any faults immediately. Some places will even do free alignment checks though I am skeptical of anything free that involves repair shops.

Just to recap, my humming noise was caused by tire cupping & was initially noticible at 40mph. The faster I went, the louder it got. Tapping the brakes changed the tone a little but did not make it stop like other humming problems I have seen on this forum. After driving for a while, you could get it to start at 30mph.

The tire technicians at Discount tire could see the cupping as soon as they looked at it though a Pep Boys mechanic first diagnosed it when checking my suspension. I could feel it on the tire about 2 or 3 inches in from the inner edge. I never really could see it.

Good Luck.

Good write up Steeler , my problem was also tire related and was since I changed a tie rod 6 months ago.thanks.

I replaced wheel bearings too, and still have the a similar howling noise in the frontend. I'm going to try the tire rotation since thats easy enough. Will keep posted, Question - has anyone had this problem be the front differential?

Still lookin for some input. wheel bearing and tires have been eliminated, whats next?

I replaced wheel bearings too, and still have the a similar howling noise in the frontend. I'm going to try the tire rotation since thats easy enough. Will keep posted, Question - has anyone had this problem be the front differential?

Have never had a peep out of my front diff, but then I've changed the fluid every 50K at least.

When you rotated the tires, are you sure the noise has not just moved to the rear? It's really hard to tell. Rotation will not eliminate the noise...just moves it. Also, all 4 of your tires could be cupped if you have balljoint or other front suspension problems & rotated your tires with that problem.

Have you had the front suspension really looked at? If the the ball joints are bad, they can show you on a rack in a couple of minutes. My guy also easily ID'd the cupping though I could barely see it. The tire people saw it with no trouble at all.

Good luck & let us know what happens.

Finally got it fixed. Left front (bargain) bearing went out again. Sometimes you get what you pay for. I got Timken replacements at autozone. So both bearings are now done, new ball joints, and tie rod ends. Also one of the caliper bolts on the right front was stripped. I had drill & tap and use another bolt. Have a new problem -- leaking outer right CV boot, but it was 1 in the morning when I made that discovery, so that one will just have to wait. The tires could stand to be replaced but this repair ate up the funds for now.

Seems like no one has posted here in a long time... I am getting a loud humming noise from the passenger side when I turn left at speeds 20 mph and up. Sometimes when i'm going straight you can hear it a bit as well. I have replaced the wheel bearing, cv axel and switched the two front tires around. The noise is still in the same place and isn't going away. I has gotten worse over the last 5 months or so. Any ideas? The ball joints and tire rod end both look fine.

Acid,

It's well documented that the Durango is EXTREMELY hard on front tires.

With regard to your problem, my first guess would have been the bearing, but you said you've already replaced it. My second guess would have been the half-shaft, but you said you replaced it too. My third try is the tire, but you said either tire on the right causes the same noise.

:banghead:

So, the only things left are the ball joints, tie rod ends and brakes. I just (as in yesterday) replaced my upper ball joints and, although they didn't "look" bad, they were awful! Man what a difference! Take a look at the brake pad retaining clip and ensure that it is pushing against the correct side of the caliper as well, if it's not the brakes will growl as your driving and any offset (turning) pressure will enhance the effect.

Also, don't forget the shocks! They have a tendancey to sag over time and cause uneven wear which can cause the tires to roar.

Good luck, let us know how it goes!
TVB

your transfer case is going out !!!!

would it really be the transfer case? The reason I ask is because we are having all similar problems with our F-150....just on a hunch that it might be a u-joint we pulled the drive shaft and got a wiff of smelly nasty transfer case oil. But we aren't sure....were you being serious or speaking from experience?