drivetrain hum?!

[e30carboy]

Hello,

I have an 88 325is and I found that when I turn left I get some sorta humming noise and slight vibration.

I replaced the driveshaft last summer due to a bad u joint and center bearing and noticed grease/sludge comming from the axles where they enter the diff.

Im assuming its the axels however I dont want to spend 300 bux on a new set if that isnt the problem.

On the highway it vibrates from 85 to 100 then after 100mph it smooths out but if im making a slight left at any speed the vibration starts.

Car pulls to the left and only vibrates when im turning left but whenever I slightly turn right on the highway the vibration stops and everything smooths out.

Im not sure if it needs an alignment or what?? but I have new tires and like I said just changed the driveshaft.

I deleted the powersteering but I dont think thats the problem because even when I still had P.S it still drove the same besides having a looser feel.

I also noticed that on the highway I have choppy decel when I let off the gas.


I hope I was somewhat descriptive enough.

Please help I dont want this to turn into a bigger problem than it already is.

Thanks.

[jlevie]

Check the right side wheel bearings. Well check all of them, but the right side bearings are suspect for a noise that occurs when turning left.

[e30carboy]

How do you go about inspecting wheel bearings?

[jlevie]

Get the wheel in the air and remove the brake caliper (or at least the pads). Then check for motion when trying to wiggle the wheel along the vertical axis or noise/roughness when spinning the wheel. Note that if the car has a limited slip differential, both rear wheels must be in the air.

[e30carboy]

Thank you very much sir!

[shiboujin]

Usually, at the stage where it "hums" ever so slightly, there isn't much play in the bearings. IE the shake test will come back fine. Basically, I'm 90% sure your wheel bearings are on their way out. It should be fine for now unless the shake test comes back bad. Plan to replace at least both rear wheel bearings soon.