Rear bearing noise or tire noise?

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How can one tell the difference?

It's a 2011 Ford Fusion front wheel drive with 101,000 miles on it. I have checked the tires visually and no damage.

The noise is on smooth roads and can't be heard on rough ones.

Thanks!
 
Cross rotate them. The edge of the tread is sharper on one side. When you X rotate the tires, you flip the sharp edges around and it usually hushes down the tires for awhile. I had an older neighbor when I lived in the city which I maintained his Chevy Colorado. He complained of tire noise, I cross rotated them and he was happy as it did the trick.
 
Almost every one runs radials now a days . Years ago I heard x rotating the radials would cause the tread to seperate .. Truth or myth ?

Thanks , :)
 
Almost every one runs radials now a days . Years ago I heard x rotating the radials would cause the tread to seperate .. Truth or myth ?

Thanks , :)
 
Originally Posted By: callbay
How can one tell the difference?

It's a 2011 Ford Fusion front wheel drive with 101,000 miles on it. I have checked the tires visually and no damage.

The noise is on smooth roads and can't be heard on rough ones.

Thanks!

If it's a wheel bearing noise, it'll typically get louder or quieter in a turn (unless both bearings on the same axle are comparably worn).

E.g., if a wheel bearing on the right is worn, it'll make more noise in left turns (when there's more load on the right side) and less noise in right turns (when there's less load on the right side). And vice versa.
 
on my 2011 Fusion FWD, it was neither of these issues. It was the fact that the brake pads had not worn equally, and the inside pad had ground grooves into the rotor, but you couldn't hear any grinding. On the highway at about 75-80, it would show up as a hum/ringing noise like a bad rear wheel bearing. Replaced pads and rotors and never heard the noise again.
 
If you still cant tell after rotating tires remove the rear wheels and lift the calipers off then rotate the hub by had, feel for any roughness and listen for noises. If either replace the hub unit, if not check for brake noise with the caliper in place and check the backing plate for contact.

This is from SKF and less than half the price of OE, do both on the same axle.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=1842498&cc=3015243&jsn=493&jsn=493
 
Run down the road over 40 mph. Do the drunken swerve back and forth repeatedly. If it’s a wheel bearing it will groan growl or whatever a little when you sidebload the bearing like that. Not very scientific but it has always worked for me.
 
Originally Posted By: Driz
Run down the road over 40 mph. Do the drunken swerve back and forth repeatedly. If it’s a wheel bearing it will groan growl or whatever a little when you sidebload the bearing like that. Not very scientific but it has always worked for me.


Yes that is how my front bearing was, going down a winding road it was off and on.
 
Originally Posted By: callbay
The noise is on smooth roads and can't be heard on rough ones


Sounds like a tire issue.
 
i never had rear bearings go bad but i had a civic with bad front bearings and the noise sounded like an airplane propeller --seriously-like the movie airplane and it kept getting louder--plus there was a bunch of dust similar to brake dust. like other said, jack it up and spin the wheel.
 
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