Intermediate (joint) shaft bearing symptoms?

[nlinesk8s]

I tried searching for this, and didn't find anything.

I have a hum that's noticeable from 30mph up through highway speeds. At 30mph it will go away if I turn suddenly left; I'm not trying this at highway speed <g>. and The noise is on the right side, but not distinctly at the wheel.

I replaced the wheel bearing and control arm without affecting the noise. Darn it. The control arm, links, etc. are all newer. I know what a bad CV joint typically sounds like (knock, knock), and this isn't it.

Could this be an intermediate shaft (joint shaft according to the manual) bearing? Do those go bad, and what does it sound like when they do? Can you feel play in the bearing if it's bad?

thanks,

Sean

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

Man, that really sounds like a bearing. Are you sure it's not maybe the rear wheel on the right? You should be able to jack up each wheel, spin it by hand and tell if a bearing is bad. I have never heard of anyone having an intermediate shaft bearing issue. It definitely could be that, but I would make sure you run down all the other possibilities first.

 

[kamesama980]

Bearing on the other side would be my vote. I've replaced a few (used to work in a shop) that made noise opposite conventional wisdom. It's possible, but I doubt the intermediate shaft bearing would be sensetive to steering.

 

[nlinesk8s]

Thanks guys. I'll check both. I was wondering whether the bearing might be in the rear. As far as sounds sometimes being opposite, I just replaced the right control arm, and a rattle in the LEFT side that happened during turning left disappeared. Go figure.

 

[nlinesk8s]

Turned out to be the driver's side wheel bearing. You'd swear it was coming from the right, but it was the left. I have a very quiet car now; it's amazing how the noise builds up over time, and you attribute it to the engine, but it 's not. Thanks for the help!