wierd noise from Lfront

[1995 geo tracker]

i have a wierd noise coming from the left front of the car , only does it when the car is rolling down the road , doesnt matter what the speed is and the noise doesnt change much with the speed of the car , still does it with the clutch in and coasting in nuetral ,dosent matter if am turning either,the car stops fine, it sounds like a screeching grinding type noise , hitting the brakes doesnt change it either ,it will start doing it as soon as i get moving, it will do it for maybe 15-20secs then go away, then come back , any idea's what it could be? this is on a 86 wagon

[Figori]

Check and make sure that your alternator belt is tight... I had this problem... Still do occasionally.

[1995 geo tracker]

i checked it once it felt tight i will retighten it , but it only does it when the car is moving , i can sit still and rev the engine up and it never makes the noise only does it when the car goes about 5+ MPH

[1995 geo tracker]

ok after taking to 2 shops , one said it was the transmission going out and the other said it was either the bearing or the axel , i had a friend of mine look at it while he was at lunch and we both decided that it was the axel , i have never seen a C.V. axel go bad unless the boots were torn and all the grease had slung out, but the outer joint has about 1/2 inch or more of play in it when you move it in and out <------->

[lxndr]

Usually CV joints don't make a screeching noise when they start to go bad. A bad CV joint will usually make a clicking noise as you turn the car. I'd check the brakes first since disc brakes have a "tattle tail" that is designed to make a screeching noise when it's time to change the pads. If the pads are badly worn it will screech all the time, and if you have a sticky caliper, the pad will wear through to the rivets and will make a grinding noise.

If it's not the brakes, my next guess would be that you've got a bad wheel bearing, especially since you have excessive play. How is the tread on the tire on that side? If you've got a bad wheel bearing, the tire will have excessive wear on the inner and outer sides and it will have sort of a feathered pattern on the treads.

[1995 geo tracker]

well , i replaced the axle today , got the axle out and cut the boot open to take a look in side , when i did that the outer part just fell off , but come to find out the wheel bearing is toast to

[lxndr]

The only thing holding the CV shafts together is the boots. If you cut the boots or remove the clamp holding the boots on over the joints, the end will fall right off of the bearings regardless of whether the joints are good or bad.