My girlfriend has an 01 Impala 3.8 and there is a loud hum that seems to be coming from the front end. I believe I have mentioned it on here before. Anyway, I was thinking it could be a result of odd tire wear.
Today I actually rotated the tires, or at least moved the fronts to the rear and the rears to the front. They are directional tires--Goodyear Assurance TripleTred.
After I rotated the tires today, I went out for a ride hoping the sound would be lessened or that it would now be coming from the rear of the car. It does not seem that anything has changed.
The sound is loudest at about 55-60 mph and after driving for a while and things get warmed up, I believe the sound gets quieter. If you swerve to the right, the sound gets quieter or goes away completely but if you swerve to the left, there is really no change.
After rotating the tires today and not noticing a difference on the highway, I decided to jack up the drive wheels and get it up to speed to see how that would sound. I did not notice any humming up to 70 mph or anything out of the ordinary with the drive wheels off the ground.
I'm not sure what to do next, I was thinking maybe something like a wheel bearing was going out but wouldn't that make a sound even when the drive wheels are off the ground? Or maybe without a real load on the components, it wouldn't make the sound, I don't know. The tires do not look to be in horrible condition though they have not been rotated for a while. Also, tirerack.com surveys show good scores for road noise on this particular tire.
Does anyone have any advice?
Today I actually rotated the tires, or at least moved the fronts to the rear and the rears to the front. They are directional tires--Goodyear Assurance TripleTred.
After I rotated the tires today, I went out for a ride hoping the sound would be lessened or that it would now be coming from the rear of the car. It does not seem that anything has changed.
The sound is loudest at about 55-60 mph and after driving for a while and things get warmed up, I believe the sound gets quieter. If you swerve to the right, the sound gets quieter or goes away completely but if you swerve to the left, there is really no change.
After rotating the tires today and not noticing a difference on the highway, I decided to jack up the drive wheels and get it up to speed to see how that would sound. I did not notice any humming up to 70 mph or anything out of the ordinary with the drive wheels off the ground.
I'm not sure what to do next, I was thinking maybe something like a wheel bearing was going out but wouldn't that make a sound even when the drive wheels are off the ground? Or maybe without a real load on the components, it wouldn't make the sound, I don't know. The tires do not look to be in horrible condition though they have not been rotated for a while. Also, tirerack.com surveys show good scores for road noise on this particular tire.
Does anyone have any advice?