Hello, new to the Forum, but have been reading it for years intermittently for it’s good info.
I have a 2004 Accord EX w/ 2.4l, 5-sp MT, 4 door w/ 96K. I am experiencing a noise from the right front wheel area (confirmed by a friend with works for one of the big 3 as a mechanic).
I have rotated the tires (no effect), checked the right front wheel bearing (tight, no play), right front axle/u-joints are tight (per my friend) changed the front caliper due to a leak (no effect, brake pads are in good condition). The sound is like a growl, speed dependent, and not very loud. It is present from about 30 mph and up, present with the clutch in or out, in gear or neutral, turning or straight. The sound is decreased slightly with application of the brakes. The front end and brake pedal have no vibrations.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

so what does your mechanic friend suggest as the cause?

 

May still be the wheel bearing. A faulty wheel bearing does not always have play and still make a growl or droning sound.

 

if you can hear it at highway speeds then the following test will help pinpoint a wheel bearing.

Find a stretch of open road / highway that has decent left right constant radius turns. If you are turning left at 60-70mph and the sound lessens it is a left side wheel bearing. The transverse would suggest a right side wheel bearing.


Does the pitch of the growling get higher the faster you go?

 

My mechanic friend suggests a wheel bearing, but says it is not typical of a wheel bearing noise (not like one I had in a Mazda 626). I don’t want to take it apart and replace the bearing and still have the same noise.

The pitch of the growl does not change with speed or turning right or left.

When it goes very bad, I intend to do the work myself (wheel bearing change?). I have read the shop manual. It says to tap/hammer the driveshaft out of the knuckle. How hard is that? Can a gear puller be used to pull the hub off the axle instead of tapping it out? Any additional help will be appreciated. Thanks for your current suggestions.

 

Wheel bearings can fail in different ways. The nature of the sound (and changing when turning) are not absolute things. I had a bad wheel bearing that sounded like a knobby mud-tire (like you'd find on a jeep) and it didn't change when steering. So I was frustrated figuring it out because I was too stubborn to believe it would be the wheel bearing.

Once I got the brake & axle out of the way, it was obvious from spinning the bearing.

 

I removed the brake assembly, but the noise was not very apparent.

 

Spin the hub/bearing by hand? For my particular failed bearing, I removed the knuckle from the car and the bearing felt rough when I spun it by hand.

 

On my 2009 Accord, that was what I noticed too after the knuckle was removed. It felt rough and didn't spin smoothly.

 

The noise seems amplified as it travels through the body of the car. When you hold the knuckle and spin the bearing, it's not NOISE that you're looking for. It's anything other than perfectly smooth rotation.