99, Saturn SL1, sound while driving

[Rajan]

I hear strange sound of rubbing/howling at the front while driving. The frequency increases with the speed.I also feel little pulsation in the gas pedal. The sound goes off when the car stops rolling. The sound also get less or almost goes away when I turn steering a little bit left while driving.

Any help would be highly appreciated.

[procaddytech]

Sounds like a bad front wheel bearing. When you turn left you are removing load from the left front bearing and increasing load on the right. I would guess the left side first but this rule of thumb is not foolproof. It depends on how the bearing is wearing. Jack the front end up and grab the top and bottom of each front tire, push in with one hand and pull out with the other back and forth and check for looseness. The one with play is usually the bad one. On these cars the knuckle needs to be removed and the bearings pressed out and in.

[denisond3]

If its a wheel bearing (which I agree it could well be), it can be bad and making the noise - and not be at all loose. It depends on how the bearing fails. I check on which side is bad, by jacking up one front wheel at a time, turning the wheel so I can reach the spindle with a wooden dowel rod. (For the drivers side wheel this would be with the wheel turned for a 'left' turn. With the engine running and the car in low gear, I put the wooden dowel against the spindle, the other end of it I use to push inward on the flap of skin at the opening of the ear. I listen for noises. The noisiest side is where the bad wheel bearing is.
You will also hear noises from the constant velocity joints. To listen just for the bearing noise you have to have the car jacked up high enough that you can safely lie on the ground under the front of the car - but with the wheels pointed straight ahead, and put the wooden rod against the spindle.
They also make a 'mechanics stethoscope', which some folks prefer using.