what is most likely cause of sound from left front wheel that resembles a growl or mud grip tire. have changed wheel bearing hub and bearing. also replaced tire. same sound. 95 BUICK PA NA.

Is the wheel bearing a cheap replacement and you torque the axle nut down to spec?

Is there play in the wheel with it in the air and is there a lot of play between wheel rotation and when the axle turns at the trans?

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95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
02 Jag X-type
03 BMW M5
05 Chevy Cobalt LS
07 Infiniti G35s 6MT (Sold)
07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.

the wheel hub assembly with bearing is TIMKEN. I did torque the axle nut to specs. 1 have not checked for play in the wheel nor play between wheel and axle but will do so. assuming none of those symptons, which is more likely, axle or transmission. i have read that most likely proble with axle is clicking sound when making turn. i have not noticed clicking. so i am concerned the sound may be from transmission. more thoughts?

I'm on the same page. If it's speed dependent it's either brakes, wheel, wheel bearing, axle, or transmission.

Assuming there's nothing else wrong with the brakes, there's a small chance that the outside of the rotor and the caliper/bracket are making contact from years of rust.

_________________

95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
02 Jag X-type
03 BMW M5
05 Chevy Cobalt LS
07 Infiniti G35s 6MT (Sold)
07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.

update. checked left front tire for play horizontally and vertically. I don't detect any. also checked tire and axle rotation. seem to be no play there either. I think next move will be to get transmission specialist opinion if bearing may be bad.

what still bothers me, I looked on YOU TUBE to see if there were similar problems. there was one video of actual sound as car was speeding up and it sounded exactly like the growl I am hearing. it was under a category of wheel bearing failure. I suppose it is possible that the Timken bearing/hub assy is bad but what are the odds that the new bearing sound is exactly like the original. so guess is will get transmission specialist opinion and if negative, I will order another bearing. will report sometime in the future what the problem turned out to be. thanks for your help.

Wheel bearings can sometimes be tricky to determine what side is bad. You are talking entirely about the left front, have you looked into the right front? I always replace wheel bearings in pairs because if one side failed, the other is probably on its way out.

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Andrew - owner/operator of Bonnevilles Unlimited

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I apologize for the time elapsed since my last post and for not seeing haro's post until now (4/27/29). the significance of haro's revelation is I would not ever, ever have thought to check the right front. i was just hard headed sure the noise was coming from left front. will post back with results.