Thread: Front end Hum: pitch is related to vehicle speed

My wife’s 2002 Grand Prix has a nasty sounding hum in the front end, possibly towards the right side but I am not sure. It changes pitch with the speed of the vehicle not with the speed of the engine and while rolling and popping it into neutral the hum is not affected. I have drove in a parking lot and turned from side to side to see if the hum was louder in either direction and while driver down the road at 35 or 40 mph and I can’t make a definitive change in the noise.
Now we changes the front hub assemblies in 11-08 at 60,700 and now 16 months later at 75,000 I am getting this hum.
The hubs were changed because the car did wander a bit but that is not an issue this time. Anyone have any ideas?

mine was doing the same thing about a week ago so i changed the cv shafts and the sound is gone

Originally Posted by gpgtman83

mine was doing the same thing about a week ago so i changed the cv shafts and the sound is gone

I was thinking about that: there a u-joint looking part correct?

How much work was it to change it out?

Lawngoose,
Actually I did hear a bit, just a small droan after the hubs were replaced but I don't drive the car regularly. My wife has made numerous trips in the last year since we did the hub replacement up to 70 miles from home quite often but normally drives 10 miles to work and then back.
She told me this morning to listen to the car as it seems to be getting loud... Wow! Its noticeable...
With the hubs I was able to make the noise louder by turning in one direction or another, but not in this case. I did crawl down there and try to see if one had more play than the other but with the car on the ground I could not tell any difference from one side to the other. Both were pretty solid.

it was not that bad of a job to do i went ahead and replaced hubs at the same time since i had it apart there is a write up on cv shaft replacement in the how to section of this site

Well, I broke down and took it into the local garage that I have dealt with. I'll know by tomorrow evening and I'll post results... Not sure if I want to crawl down there and pull front end apart without knowing for sure if its the culprit.

I had to replace the driver's side hub, again... I had the car into Michel Tire in Nov 08 and after 15,000 and within 16 months the driver's side failed. That was $468 for both hubs and they also got me for an alignment, another $50. So much for their cheap parts...
I had a local garage install a NAPA hub with a lifetime warranty. Total was $295...
I just didn't feel like breaking my knuckles on this one.