noise from front end

[codman paul]

hi i have a seat alhambra 1997 2.0i petrol, i have a whinning come wirring noice coming from the front of the car, have put new bearings in but still does it , i checked the gearbox oil and that is not showing in the hole , can it be that , and if yes should i buy a slightly thicker oil to take some of the noise away, or could it be the driveshaft, i am at a loss of what to do next, any help would  be gratefully received thanx 

[johnnyroper]

If oil not showing could be noisy gearbox.... When does it happen al the time or when cornering,on overrun etc?? Does dipping clutch make any difference?

[codman paul]

hi, it does the noise from 30mph and above, its also getting louder, i have topped the oil up , and it took 500mls so it was very low, but its still there, the bearings have both been done , as have all the front susspension, could it be the tracking , thats the only thing i havnt done , its there going round corners and on the straight ? im lost ??

[codman paul]

hi i have a seat alhambra 1997 2.0i petrol, i have a whinning come wirring noice coming from the front of the car, have put new bearings in but still does it , i checked the gearbox oil and that is not showing in the hole , can it be that , and if yes should i buy a slightly thicker oil to take some of the noise away, or could it be the driveshaft, i am at a loss of what to do next, any help would  be gratefully received thanx

is there any chance it could be a worn drive shaft bearing ??  thanx

[daddyfixit]

wheel bearing;
jack up one side at a time, spin as fast as you can while listening for rumbling noise--also by touching the hub/brake caliper or brake back plate when its spinning, you may even feel the rumble/roughness

[codman paul]

hi, both front wheel bearings have been renewed, would it do anything to the driving or noise if i was to swap both front wheels n tyres over, eg ptu the left onto the right, and the right onto the left   ( directional  ) or could it be inboard bearing on the driveshaft ?

[insanitybeard]

It could be a driveshaft support bearing if it's got one fitted but then it could also be diff bearings or another gearbox internal bearing.... How many miles has it done? Does the noise go away if you press the clutch pedal in?

[codman paul]

hi it dont go away when i pus the clutch in, its all the time after 30mph a droning noise

[codman paul]

also done 130000 mls

[codman paul]

hi could it be the intermediate bearing and if yes what side do i find it thanx, or is it easier to just buy the whole drive shaft, is the the intermediate bearing on left and right side driveshafts thanx

[Chrispb]

The intermediate bearing is on the right hand or drivers side.

[codman paul]

how would i tell if its the intermediate bearing , is there some sort of noise it makes or ?thanx

[codman paul]

have jacked the front wheels off the ground  and still makes the noise  ??

[insanitybeard]

If it's doing it with the wheels off the ground then that discounts the wheels and tyres, unless you've got a wheel majorly out of balance or round. If the noise isn't really changing without load on the gearbox then that to me suggests something other than driveshafts as well, unless it's an internal gearbox issue. Why were both front wheel bearings changed in the first place? Because of this noise?

[codman paul]

the nearside front bearing was changed because it was making the noises of a worn bearing, and the other one was done because of the noise, but it didnt stop the noise, when the offside bearing was done , it was driven out with a drift and put back in in the same way as i didnt do that one , and the person who did it didnt have a press

[insanitybeard]

Then before fearing the worst I'd make sure that one of the new wheel bearings isn't knackered, a common symptom of wheel bearings on their way out is a drone which gets louder with increasing road speed. If the noise was gearbox or driveshaft related I would expect the noise to lessen (at least slightly) when pressing the clutch in, thereby reducing the load on the drivetrain (driveshafts and gearbox).

If a new wheel bearing was installed badly then it could have been damaged and be the cause of your issues.

[codman paul]

thanx for your input, are you saying renew both bearings again and if that doesnt do it , then its the driveshaft or gearbox

[insanitybeard]

I'd check the bearing that you know was hammered in instead of pressed in first to see if it may have been damaged during installation. Are the front brakes in good condition and not binding or running out of true?