2000 Ford Focus Roaring Noise From Right Rear Wheel

CROWMAN7

MEMBER
2000 FORD FOCUS
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
128,000 MILES

Roaring noise seems to come from right rear wheel. It changes in pitch when the vehicle is accelerating. The noise decreases or even disappears when I go around a sharp curve to the right. I have felt the rims and brake drum afterward and they were not hot or even excessively warm.

3 Replies

DOCFIXIT

MECHANIC
18,828 POSTS

Think your in need of wheel bearings

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Monday, August 17th, 2009 AT 12:38 PM

CROWMAN7

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Thanks Docfixit, it was the wheel bearing.

I had taken the car to Pep Boys to get the AC recharged and asked them to look at it, but they couldn't get the wheels of because the wheel lock key was missing (actually it disappeared sometime around the last time Pep Boys had the car). I found that I could get a new drum with hub and bearing at Advance for $10 more than Pep Boys wanted just for the bearing, so when the new key I ordered arrived, I did the replacement myself with a little help from the Haynes manual in about 1 1/2 hours. Pep Boys wanted over $300 to swap out the bearing.

I had not suspected the wheel bearing because it had been replaced just about a year ago. A mechanic friend of my son-in-law did the replacement, but I know he was not aware of the torque requirements and did not properly torque the hub retaining nut. I figure that is why the bearing failed again so soon. When I removed it, the retaining nut was not tightened to anywhere near the 173 ft/lbs specified.

Rick