front axle noise?

[icefishingnut77]

I have a 2003 impala that all the sudden has a like buzzing noise comeing from the front end when i get to about 25 mph the faster i go the louder it gets till i get to about60mph then i dont here it anymore. till i start slowing down. when it is making the noise if i turn my steering wheel to the right it goes away until the steering wheel centers agian then it comes back. there is no shimmy or cluncks. the car has 100,000 miles on it. how can i check to see if it is an axle and which side? any ideas?

thanks
gs

[oldblu65]

Sounds like you have a wheel hub bearing going bad . I would guess the drivers side but you can jack it up and spin the wheel . You'll probably hear some noise when you do and may feel some looseness in the wheel . It isn't too hard nor expensive to repair yourself . You can rent the tools needed at your local auto parts store . Good luck and update on your progress !

[icefishingnut77]

I did bring it in and it was the front bearing hub assembly. It ended up being 320.00 to replace. 80 for labor and 220.00 for the assembly does that seem high. I looked online and it seems they are around 80.00 for the assembly. I asked them that and he said it was because it was the assemby a not jsut the bearing. I suppost that is what i get for not checking it out first.

thanks
gs

[oldblu65]

I haven't checked the pricing on my Impala for the part but have checked on one for my Intrigue . Autozone carries two different bearings and one is around $90 and the other was around $ 140 . The cheaper ( I suppose ) was an overseas built unit and the other was a Timken brand . They HIGHLY recommended getting the more expensive one . The parts are sold as a unit because they also contain the ABS sensor and wiring and you have to replace the entire unit , it isn't serviceable . If you go to " youtube " and type in " wheel bearing hub replacement " you can see a video of the steps involved in the repair . It isn't too difficult if you have the tools and some mechanical ability . Any garage is going to charge you more for the part than what you will pay for it yourself . That's why most ( probably all ) won't let you bring your own parts to them to install . They make a profit on the parts as well as the labor . Glad you got your car fixed ! Good luck !