Mysterious Front Whirring Sound

[Nina]

Hey folks,

So I first replaced the driver's side front wheel bearing on my 2008 LE Hatchback and that got rid of the loud growling sound but I still heard noises. Then I thought to replace the passenger side wheel bearing to eliminate the continuing noise but it's still there but not as loud. The best way I could describe the existing sound: it's not a howl/growl sound anymore but a whirring type of noise that when decelerating you can hear it like an electrical noise winding down. It's not present when idling or revving in Park so it's not the alternator or water pump but when moving it's present even when coasting in Neutral. The tires are not to blame either. I'm wondering if the CV axles were causing this but that would be more of a clicking sound which I'm not getting.

Any feedback would be awesome

[remcafee]

check the backing plate

[Nina]

When removing the knuckle for the new bearing, I took off the rusted brake backing plates.

Having a friends' opinion while driving in the passenger side...they say the car decelerating sounds like a band saw winding sound after shutting the power off???

[komichal]

Wild guess - what is the condition of rotors and brake pads? Any debris there maybe?

[Nina]

I wish t was something from the brakes but I installed new rotors, brake pads, drums and shoes all around. I also , brushed, cleaned and lubricated all contact points for each corner.

I further tested by raising the front wheels, removing the serpentine belt so no pulleys were spinning, and putting it into Drive and the noise still exists. On the road, it runs smoothly at all speeds but that noise is still heard when slowing down even with the engine shut off.

[mirageman]

Sorry... a spinning tire in the air might still make noise. How about removing the tire and trying that again?

[Nina]

I had raised the front end on jack stands and put the car into Drive and still the noise was there with the tires off.

I'm wondering if it's the CVT having issues b/c when shifting from Drive to Neutral and coasting and decelerating, the noise is present? Does something in the CVT transmission still spin in unison with the wheels? The noise definitely does NOT seem to come from the spindles/wheel bearings/tires.

[thetut]

Get one of these https://www.amazon.ca/Lisle-52500-Me...YSM?th=1&psc=1 and do that last test again.
It should help you home in on the culprit.

[Pasable]

Does the car have ABS? On mine the ABS pump makes an electric motor sound when first moving and on hard braking. It sounds like an electric motor with worn brushes.

[Nina]

Yes, it does have ABS breaking, but the whirring sound is still there even without any braking. Is there a way of turning it off by removing a fuse or unplugging something so it doesn't run the ABS pump? I'm all for methods of elimination to get to the cause.

[Pasable]

There's an ABS fuse in the underhood fuse box. It's labeled ABS something. Try pulling and see if the sound goes away.

[Nina]

So today i had a chance to take it for a test drive...When coasting in Neutral I shut off the engine and the sound still exists which eliminates any electrical issue.

I again decided to raise the front end in the garage with the tires off to hear better. With the car in Drive, I looked at the spinning CV axles and saw that they do not rotate perfectly linear straight. In fact, they looked crooked like rotating a bent bolt. I wasn't sure if it's because of the angle from the inner axle to the outer axle but could this be the cause of the whirring sound? Then I decided I was going to remove the driver's side axle first. Everything came out as intended but the inner axle would not budge! I thought the little clip/ring would finally give with some force and the entire axle would pop out but I wasted half a day and nothing! So much for an easy axle replacement #$%^^.

Could the off-centre of the shaft of the axles cause the whirring effect? From my many readings it never states this sound from the axles???

[Pasable]

I doubt it's the axles but there is no substitute for a pry bar when removing them. If you pry them using the pry point on the cv joint and use the right point on the car for leverage, they will pop out.